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Science for Grades 4 and 8: Trends Over Three Time Points

Average Scores

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Figure 9. Change in average science scores of 4th-grade students, by education system: 1995-2015 and 2011-2015
Education system Average score
1995 s.e. 2011 s.e. 2015 s.e.

higher icon Average score is higher than U.S. average score at the .05 level of statistical significance.

lower icon Average score is lower than U.S. average score at the .05 level of statistical significance.

― Not available.

† Not applicable.

# Rounds to zero.

*p<.05. Change in average scores is significant at the .05 level of statistical significance.

1 The change in average score is calculated by subtracting the 1995 or 2011 estimate, respectively, from the 2015 estimate using unrounded numbers.

2 National Defined Population covers 90 to 95 percent of the National Target Population in 2015.

3 Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included in 2015.

4 National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent) in 2015.

5 Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included in 2015.

6 The number in parentheses indicates years of school not grade in schooling.

7 National Target Population does not include all of the International Target Population in 2015.

8 Reservations about reliability because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeds 15 percent but does not exceed 25 percent in 2015.

9 Did not satisfy guidelines for sample participation rates in 2015.

NOTE: Education systems are ordered by 2015 average score. Education systems that are not countries are designated by the appended three-letter international abbreviation for their country. Participants that did not administer TIMSS at the target grade are not shown; see the international report for their results. For cross-education system trend tables, data are shown for the first available and most recent year; 1995 is the first year for the overall science scale and benchmark data and 2007 is the first year for the content and cognitive subscales. Participants that only participated in one of the three time points are also excluded. U.S. state data are based on public school students only. Standard error is abbreviated as s.e. For TIMSS 2015, Norway revised its assessed population to students in their 5th and 9th years of schooling to obtain better comparisons with Sweden and Finland. However, in previous TIMSS cycles Norway assessed students in their 4th and 8th years of schooling, which were defined as 4th and 8th grades but have been redefined as 3rd and 7th grades because year 1 in Norway is now considered the equivalent of a year of kindergarten. To maintain trend with previous TIMSS cycles, in 2015 Norway also collected data from students in their 4th and 8th years of schooling, which is used in trend tables. Jordan did not participate in the science assessment at 4th grade. Trend results for Kuwait do not include private schools. Trend results for Lithuania do not include students taught in Polish or in Russian.

  For 1995, Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Portugal, and Ontario-CAN had a National Defined Population that covered 90-95 percent of the National Target Population; England-GBR had a National Defined Population that covered less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent) and met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included; and Australia and the Netherlands did not satisfy guidelines for sample participation rates.

  For 2011, Georgia, Kuwait, Lithuania, and Florida-USA had a National Target Population that did not include all of the International Target Population; Croatia, Denmark, Hong Kong-CHN, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore, and the United States had a National Defined Population that covered 90-95 percent of the National Target Population; Florida-USA had a National Defined Population that covered less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent); the Netherlands and Northern Ireland-GBR met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included; and Norway (4) nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included. In Kuwait in 2011, there were reservations about reliability because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeded 15 percent but did not exceed 25 percent; in Morocco there were reservations about reliability because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeded 25 percent.

SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995, 2011, and 2015.

Singapore2 523 lower 4.8 583 higher 3.4 590 higher 3.7
Korea, Republic of 576 higher 2.1 587 higher 2.1 589 higher 2.0
Japan 553 higher 1.7 559 higher 1.9 569 higher 1.8
Russian Federation 552 higher 3.4 567 higher 3.2
Hong Kong-CHN3 508 lower 3.4 535 lower 3.7 557 higher 2.9
Chinese Taipei-CHN 552 higher 2.2 555 higher 1.8
Finland 570 higher 2.6 554 higher 2.3
Kazakhstan 495 lower 5.1 550
United States2, 3 542 3.4 544 2.1 546 2.2
Slovenia 464 lower 3.1 520 lower 2.6 543 2.4
Hungary 508 lower 3.4 534 lower 3.7 542 3.3
Sweden2 533 lower 2.8 540 3.6
England-GBR 528 lower 3.2 529 lower 3.0 536 lower 2.4
Czech Republic 532 lower 3.1 536 lower 2.5 534 lower 2.4
Croatia 516 lower 2.2 533 lower 2.1
Lithuania2 515 lower 2.4 530 lower 2.7
Ireland 515 lower 3.5 516 lower 3.3 529 lower 2.8
Germany 528 lower 2.9 528 lower 2.4
Denmark2, 3 528 lower 2.8 527 lower 2.1
Serbia4 516 lower 3.1 525 lower 3.7
Australia 521 lower 3.7 516 lower 2.9 524 lower 2.9
Slovak Republic 532 lower 3.7 520 lower 2.6
Northern Ireland-GBR5 517 lower 2.5 520 lower 2.2
Spain2 505 lower 3.1 518 lower 2.6
Netherlands3 530 lower 3.2 531 lower 2.2 517 lower 2.7
Italy2 524 lower 2.7 516 lower 2.6
Belgium (Flemish)-BEL3 509 lower 2.0 512 lower 2.3
Portugal2 452 lower 4.1 522 lower 3.8 508 lower 2.2
New Zealand 505 lower 5.4 497 lower 2.4 506 lower 2.7
Norway (4)6 504 lower 3.7 494 lower 2.5 493 lower 2.2
Turkey 463 lower 4.7 483 lower 3.3
Cyprus 450 lower 3.4 481 lower 2.6
Chile 480 lower 2.5 478 lower 2.7
Bahrain2 449 lower 3.5 459 lower 2.6
Georgia7 455 lower 3.9 451 lower 3.7
United Arab Emirates 428 lower 2.5 451 lower 2.8
Qatar 394 lower 4.3 436 lower 4.1
Oman 377 lower 4.3 431 lower 3.1
Iran, Islamic Republic of 380 lower 4.6 453 lower 3.8 421 lower 4.0
Saudi Arabia 429 lower 5.5 390 lower 5.0
Morocco8 264 lower 4.4 352 lower 4.4
Kuwait8 347 lower 4.8 315 lower 5.1
Benchmarking participants
Florida-USA7 545 3.7 549 4.8
Ontario-CAN 516 lower 3.7 528 lower 3.1 530 lower 2.5
Quebec-CAN9 529 lower 4.2 516 lower 2.7 525 lower 4.1
Dubai-UAE 461 lower 2.5 518 lower 1.8
Abu Dhabi-UAE2 411 lower 5.0 415 lower 5.6