Indicator 6: Mathematics and Science Performance of Eighth-Grade Students

G-20 Countries Included: Australia, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom (England), United States

Nearly half (47 percent) of eighth-graders in the Republic of Korea reached the Advanced international benchmark in mathematics, compared with 7 percent in the United States.

This indicator draws on data from TIMSS 2011 to describe eighth-grade students' performance in mathematics and science in terms of four international achievement benchmarks (Low, Intermediate, High, and Advanced), which were established to describe the knowledge and skills that students display at differ- ent points on a performance scale (described in "Definitions and Methodology" below). For each subject, the indicator first describes the percentage of students reaching at least the Intermediate level of performance. Next, the indicator describes the percentage of students reaching the highest international benchmark (Advanced), followed by the percentage reaching only the Low benchmark.

In mathematics in 2011, three-quarters or more of eighth-grade students in 3 out of 10 G-20 countries reached the Intermediate international benchmark or higher (that is, at Intermediate, High, or Advanced); these countries were Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation (figure 6-1). However, only 68 percent of U.S. students reached this level of performance. At the Advancedbenchmark, the Republic of Korea and Japan stand out, with 47 and 27 percent of students, respectively, reaching this level. In addition to these two countries, the Russian Federation (14 percent), Australia (9 percent), and the United Kingdom (England) (8 percent) had higher percentages at the Advanced benchmark than the United States (7 percent). Turkey had the same percentage at this level as the United States, and three countries had a smaller percentage (3 percent or less). The Republic of Korea was the only country in which less than 10 percent of students reached only the Low international benchmark. In addition to Korea, Japan (10 percent), the Russian Federation (16 percent), and the United Kingdom (England) (23 percent) had lower percentages of students at the Low benchmark than the United States (24 percent). The remaining five countries had higher percentages at the Low benchmark, ranging from 26 percent in Australia, Italy, and Turkey to 28 percent in Indonesia. One-third of the students in Turkey and over half of the students in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia did not reach the Lowinternational benchmark.

In science in 2011, at least three-quarters of eighth-grade students in 4 out of 10 G-20 countries reached the Intermediate international benchmark or higher; these countries were Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom (England) (figure 6-1). In the United States, 73 percent of students reached this level of performance. At the Advanced benchmark, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom (England) had larger percentages of eighth-grade students (20, 18, 14, and 14 percent, respectively) than the United States (10 percent). The U.S. percentage was not measurably different from the percentages in Australia (11 percent) and Turkey (8 percent), but was larger than those in Italy (4 percent) and Saudi Arabia and Indonesia (1 percent or less). Japan and the Republic of Korea each had 1 percent of students reaching only the Lowinternational benchmark. In addition to these countries, the Russian Federation (15 percent) had a lower percentage of students at the Low benchmark than the United States (19 percent). The U.S. percentage was not measurably different from the percentages in the United Kingdom (England) (17 percent) and Australia (22 percent), but was lower than those in Italy and Turkey (25 percent each) and Indonesia and Saudi Arabia (34 percent each). Almost half of the students in Indonesia and one-third of the students in Saudi Arabia did not reach the Low international benchmark.

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Definitions and Methodologie

In TIMSS 201 at the eighth grade, countries were required to sample students in the grade that corresponded to the end of 8 years of formal schooling, providing that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 13.5 years. As defined by TIMSS, the first year of formal schooling begins with the first year of primary school (ISCED97 level 1), which should mark the beginning of formal instruction in reading, writing, and mathematics. (Note that kindergarten is not counted.) For most countries, the target grade was eighth grade or its national equivalent.

TIMSS scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000, with the scale average fixed at 500 and the standard deviation fixed at 100. Since the TIMSS achievement scales were designed to reliably measure student achievement over time, the metric of the scales was established originally in 1995, the first year in which the assessment was administered. In order to describe concretely the knowledge and skills displayed along the performance scales, TIMSS established four international achievement benchmarks (Low, Intermediate, High, and Advanced). Information about the rationale underlying the benchmarks and the procedures used to set the cutpoints is available in Methods and Procedures in TIMSS and PIRLS 2011 (Martin and Mullis 2013). Four points on the scales were identi- fied for use as international benchmarks: 400 for the Lowbenchmark, 475 for the Intermediate benchmark, 550 for the High benchmark, and 625 for the Advanced benchmark. These were selected to represent the range of performance shown by students internationally.

At the eighth-grade level in mathematics, students at the Low benchmark have some basic mathematical knowledge, such as an understanding of whole numbers and decimals, operations, and basic graphs. At the Intermediate benchmark, students can apply basic mathematical knowledge in straightforward situations, such as understanding simple algebraic relationships. At the High benchmark, students can apply their knowledge and understanding in a variety of relatively complex situations, such as showing basic procedural knowledge related to algebraic expressions. Students at the Advanced benchmark can reason with information, draw conclusions, make generalizations, and solve linear equations.

At the eighth-grade level in science, students at the Low bench- mark can recognize some basic facts from the life and physical sciences, such as having some knowledge of the human body and demonstrating some familiarity with physical phenomenon. At the Intermediate benchmark, students recognize and apply their understanding of basic scientific knowledge in various contexts, such as applying their knowledge of human health, life cycles, adaptation, and heredity, and analyze information about ecosystems. At the High benchmark, students demonstrate an understanding of concepts related to science cycles, systems, and principles, such as aspects of human biology and of the characteristics, classification, and life processes of organ- isms. Students at the Advanced benchmark communicate an understanding of complex and abstract concepts in biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth science, such as demonstrating some conceptual knowledge about cells and the characteristics, classification, and life processes of organisms.

Additionally, there may be students who do not reach the Low benchmark, indicating that their abilities could not be described based on their responses. These students are indicated by the percentages for Below Low in the figures and referred to as not reaching the Low benchmark in the text.

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