Mathematics Achievement of Fourth- and Eighth-Graders in 2007

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Comparisons of the mathematics achievement of fourth-graders in 2007 are made among the 36 participating countries. Comparisons of the mathematics achievement of eighth-graders in 2007 are made among the 48 participating countries.

In 2007, the average mathematics scores of both U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students were higher than the TIMSS scale averages.

U.S. fourth-graders scored 529, on average, in mathematics, which was higher than the TIMSS scale average of 500 (table 1).
The average mathematics score of U.S. fourth-graders was higher than those in 23 of the 35 other countries, lower than in 8 countries (all 8 were in Asia or Europe), and not measurably different from the average scores of students in the remaining 4 countries.
U.S. eighth-graders scored 508, on average, in mathematics, which was higher than the TIMSS scale average of 500 (table 1).
The average mathematics score of U.S. eighth-graders was higher than those in 37 of the 47 other countries, lower than in 5 countries (all of them in Asia), and not measurably different from the average scores of students in the remaining 5 countries.

In 2007, there were higher percentages of U.S. fourth- and eighth-graders performing at or above each of the four TIMSS international benchmarks in mathematics than the international medians of the percentages performing at each level.

Ten percent of U.S. fourth-graders performed at or above the advanced mathematics benchmark compared to the international median of 5 percent (figure 1).
Seven countries had higher percentages of fourth-grade students performing at or above the advanced international mathematics benchmark than the United States. The percentages in these countries ranged from 16 percent in the Russian Federation to 41 percent in Singapore (figure 2).
Six percent of U.S. eighth-graders performed at or above the advanced benchmark compared to the international median of 2 percent (figure 1).
Seven countries had higher percentages of eighth-grade students performing at or above the advanced international mathematics benchmark than the United States. The percentages in these countries ranged from 8 percent in the Russian Federation to 45 percent in Chinese Taipei (figure 2).

Tables and Figures

Table 1 — Average mathematics scores of fourth- and eighth-grade students, by country: 2007
Figure 1 — Percentage of U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students who reached TIMSS international mathematics benchmarks compared with the international median percentage: 2007
Figure 2 — Percentage of fourth- and eighth-grade students who reached the TIMSS advanced international benchmark in mathematics, by country: 2007

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