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

Content Subscales

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Table 9a. Change in average mathematics content domain scores of 4th-grade students, by education system: 2007-2015 and 2011-2015
Education system Average content domain score Change in average content domain score1
2007 2011 2015 Score difference: 2007 to 2015 Score difference: 2011 to 2015
Number Geometric shapes and measures Data display Number Geometric shapes and measures Data display Number Geometric shapes and measures Data display Number Geometric shapes and measures Data display Number Geometric shapes and measures Data display

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.

# 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 2007 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 Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included in 2015.

5 National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent) 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 in number. 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 mathematics 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. 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. Trend results for Kuwait do not include private schools. Trend results for Lithuania do not include students taught in Polish or in Russian.

  For 2007, Georgia and Lithuania had a National Target Population that did not include all of the International Target Population; the United States, Ontario-CAN, and Quebec-CAN had a National Defined Population that covered 90-95 percent of the National Target Population; Denmark and the United States met guidelines for sample participation only after replacement schools were included; the Netherlands and Dubai-UAE nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included; and Dubai-UAE tested the same cohort of students as other education systems, but later in the assessment year at the beginning of the next school year.

  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 Oman 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 Kuwait and Morocco there were reservations about reliability because the percentage of students with achievement too low for estimation exceeded 25 percent.

  The standard errors of the estimates shown in this table are in table 9b available at http://nces.ed.gov/timss/timss2015/timss2015_table09b.asp.

SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2007, 2011, and 2015.

Singapore2 611 higher 584 higher 597 higher 619 higher 589 higher 588 higher 630 higher 607 higher 600 higher 18 * 24 * 3 11 * 18 * 12 *
Hong Kong-CHN3 608 higher 613 higher 600 higher 604 higher 605 higher 593 higher 616 higher 617 higher 611 higher 9 3 10 * 12 * 12 * 18 *
Korea, Republic of 606 higher 607 higher 603 higher 610 higher 610 higher 607 higher 4 3 4
Chinese Taipei-CHN 583 higher 566 higher 576 higher 599 higher 573 higher 600 higher 599 higher 597 higher 591 higher 17 * 31 * 15 * # 24 * -9 *
Japan 564 higher 575 higher 588 higher 584 higher 589 higher 590 higher 592 higher 601 higher 593 higher 28 * 26 * 6 8 * 12 * 4
Northern Ireland-GBR4 566 higher 560 higher 555 higher 574 higher 566 higher 567 higher 8 6 12 *
Russian Federation 549 higher 543 higher 529 lower 545 542 533 lower 567 higher 557 higher 573 higher 18 * 14 44 * 22 * 15 * 40 *
Kazakhstan 515 lower 491 lower 476 lower 552 540 higher 524 lower 37 * 48 * 48 *
Ireland 533 lower 520 lower 523 lower 551 542 higher 548 18 * 22 * 25 *
England-GBR 535 552 higher 551 539 545 higher 549 547 542 higher 552 higher 11 * -9 * 2 8 -3 3
United States2, 3 529 522 546 543 535 545 546 525 540 16 * 3 -5 3 -9 * -4
Belgium (Flemish)-BEL3 552 higher 552 higher 536 lower 543 564 higher 523 lower -8 * 11 * -13 *
Portugal2 522 lower 548 higher 548 541 539 higher 546 18 * -9 -2
Lithuania2 536 higher 518 529 lower 537 531 526 lower 539 527 542 3 9 * 13 * 1 -4 16 *
Denmark2, 3 513 lower 546 higher 527 lower 534 lower 548 higher 532 lower 535 lower 555 higher 526 lower 21 * 10 * -1 1 7 -6
Finland 545 543 higher 551 532 lower 539 higher 542 -14 * -4 -9
Netherlands3 539 higher 522 545 543 524 lower 559 higher 531 lower 522 539 -8 * # -6 -12 * -2 -20 *
Hungary 515 lower 507 lower 497 lower 515 lower 520 lower 510 lower 531 lower 536 higher 513 lower 16 * 29 * 16 * 16 * 16 * 3
Czech Republic 486 lower 487 lower 482 lower 509 lower 513 lower 519 lower 528 lower 531 525 lower 42 * 44 * 43 * 19 * 18 * 6
Serbia5 529 lower 497 lower 503 lower 524 lower 503 lower 517 lower -5 6 14 *
Germany 524 527 532 lower 520 lower 536 546 515 lower 531 535 -9 * 4 3 -5 -5 -11 *
Sweden2 495 lower 503 lower 527 lower 500 lower 500 lower 523 lower 514 lower 523 529 lower 19 * 19 * 2 14 * 23 * 6
Slovenia 490 lower 520 512 lower 503 lower 526 lower 532 lower 511 lower 530 540 21 * 10 * 28 * 8 * 4 8
Italy2 510 lower 507 lower 499 lower 510 lower 513 lower 495 lower 510 lower 503 lower 498 lower # -3 -1 # -9 * 3
Australia 503 lower 536 higher 532 lower 508 lower 534 515 lower 509 lower 527 533 6 -9 # 1 -7 17 *
Spain2 487 lower 476 lower 479 lower 504 lower 503 lower 509 lower 18 * 26 * 30 *
Slovak Republic 500 lower 494 lower 482 lower 511 lower 500 lower 504 lower 502 lower 491 lower 496 lower 2 -3 14 * -9 * -9 -8
Croatia 491 lower 490 lower 488 lower 498 lower 512 lower 498 lower 7 * 22 * 10 *
Turkey 477 lower 447 lower 478 lower 489 lower 475 lower 476 lower 12 * 28 * -2
Norway (4)6 468 lower 479 lower 474 lower 488 lower 507 lower 494 lower 489 lower 499 lower 495 lower 21 * 20 * 21 * 1 -7 1
New Zealand 485 lower 495 lower 506 lower 483 lower 483 lower 491 lower 485 lower 489 lower 506 lower # -7 # 3 6 15 *
Georgia7 470 lower 395 lower 390 lower 473 lower 411 lower 433 lower 483 lower 429 lower 435 lower 12 * 33 * 45 * 10 * 17 * 2
United Arab Emirates 438 lower 418 lower 437 lower 455 lower 442 lower 453 lower 17 * 24 * 16 *
Chile 462 lower 455 lower 465 lower 455 lower 460 lower 463 lower -7 4 -2
Bahrain2 439 lower 422 lower 442 lower 453 lower 447 lower 454 lower 14 * 25 * 12 *
Qatar 417 lower 399 lower 416 lower 446 lower 423 lower 435 lower 29 * 24 * 19 *
Iran, Islamic Republic of 407 lower 408 lower 374 lower 440 lower 435 lower 397 lower 435 lower 428 lower 416 lower 28 * 19 * 42 * -5 -7 18 *
Oman 384 lower 376 lower 381 lower 423 lower 430 lower 414 lower 39 * 54 * 33 *
Saudi Arabia8 410 lower 404 lower 403 lower 384 lower 381 lower 365 lower -27 * -23 * -38 *
Morocco 340 lower 350 lower 271 lower 381 lower 385 lower 351 lower 41 * 35 * 80 *
Kuwait8 333 lower 321 lower 347 lower 329 lower 315 lower 321 lower -4 -6 -26 *
Benchmarking participants
Florida-USA7 548 546 higher 541 556 529 541 8 -16 * #
Quebec-CAN9 515 lower 524 523 lower 531 lower 536 538 533 lower 542 higher 541 17 * 18 * 18 * 1 6 4
Dubai-UAE 452 lower 424 lower 444 lower 474 lower 449 lower 471 lower 514 lower 503 lower 517 lower 61 * 79 * 73 * 40 * 54 * 45 *
Ontario-CAN 495 lower 530 545 504 lower 535 536 lower 500 lower 526 536 4 -3 -9 -4 -9 -1
Abu Dhabi-UAE2, 8 420 lower 401 lower 418 lower 422 lower 412 lower 423 lower 2 10 5