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

Content Subscales

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Table 10a. Change in average mathematics content domain scores of 8th-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 Algebra Geometry Data and chance Number Algebra Geometry Data and chance Number Algebra Geometry Data and chance Number Algebra Geometry Data and chance Number Algebra Geometry Data and chance

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

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

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

7 Reservations about reliability because the percentage of students with achievement too low to estimate exceeds 15 percent but does not exceed 25 percent in 2015.

8 Reservations about reliability because the percentage of students with achievement too low to estimate exceeds 25 percent in 2015.

9 Did not satisfy guidelines for sample participation 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 and Ontario-CAN had a National Defined Population that covered 90-95 percent of the National Target Population; Quebec-CAN had a National Defined Population that covered less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent); England-GBR, Hong Kong-CHN, and the United States met guidelines for sample participation only after replacement schools were included; Dubai-UAE nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included; and Kuwait 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, Lithuania, and Florida-USA had a National Target Population that did not include all of the International Target Population; the Russian Federation, Singapore, the United States, Ontario-CAN, and Florida-USA had a National Defined Population that covered 90-95 percent of the National Target Population; Israel had a National Defined Population that covered less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent); England-GBR nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates after replacement schools were included; and Bahrain tested the same cohort of students as other education systems, but later in the assessment year at the beginning of the next school year. In Bahrain, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia 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.

  The standard errors for the estimates shown in this table are in table 10b available at http://nces.ed.gov/timss/timss2015/timss2015_table10b.asp.

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

Singapore2 605 higher 591 higher 590 higher 589 higher 611 higher 614 higher 609 higher 607 higher 629 higher 623 higher 617 higher 617 higher 24 * 31 * 27 * 28 * 18 * 8 8 10
Korea, Republic of 592 higher 608 higher 600 higher 602 higher 618 higher 617 higher 612 higher 616 higher 601 higher 612 higher 612 higher 600 higher 9 * 4 12 * -1 -17 * -4 # -15 *
Hong Kong-CHN 575 higher 575 higher 580 higher 560 higher 588 higher 583 higher 597 higher 581 higher 594 higher 593 higher 602 higher 597 higher 19 * 18 * 22 * 37 * 6 10 4 16 *
Chinese Taipei-CHN 586 higher 629 higher 605 higher 579 higher 598 higher 628 higher 625 higher 584 higher 590 higher 613 higher 607 higher 588 higher 4 -16 * 2 9 -8 -15 * -18 * 4
Japan 558 higher 567 higher 584 higher 591 higher 557 higher 570 higher 586 higher 579 higher 572 higher 596 higher 598 higher 589 higher 14 * 29 * 14 * -2 15 * 26 * 12 * 10 *
Russian Federation 510 525 higher 510 higher 483 lower 534 higher 556 higher 533 higher 511 lower 533 higher 558 higher 536 higher 507 lower 23 * 33 * 25 * 24 * -1 2 3 -4
England-GBR 511 496 513 higher 552 higher 512 489 lower 498 higher 543 higher 528 492 lower 514 higher 541 higher 17 * -4 1 -11 15 * 3 16 * -2
Slovenia 504 lower 491 lower 500 higher 509 lower 511 493 lower 504 higher 518 lower 524 498 lower 522 higher 525 20 * 8 * 22 * 16 * 13 * 5 18 * 7
United States3 514 507 480 533 514 512 485 527 520 525 500 522 6 18 * 20 * -11 * 6 13 * 15 * -5
Israel4 518 521 496 higher 515 lower 518 517 487 lower 503 lower # -4 -9 -12
Hungary 520 508 510 higher 527 510 496 lower 501 higher 517 518 503 lower 518 higher 519 -3 -5 8 -8 8 6 17 * 2
Kazakhstan 479 lower 506 491 444 lower 516 555 higher 529 higher 492 lower 37 * 49 * 39 * 48 *
Sweden 505 lower 459 lower 472 526 504 lower 459 lower 456 lower 504 lower 513 482 lower 478 lower 512 7 * 23 * 5 -14 * 9 * 23 * 22 * 8
Lithuania2 507 487 lower 509 higher 526 501 lower 492 lower 500 higher 515 lower 512 498 lower 516 higher 524 5 10 * 7 -1 11 * 6 16 * 9 *
Australia 504 lower 474 lower 488 526 513 489 lower 499 higher 534 511 491 lower 500 519 8 16 * 12 * -7 -1 2 1 -16 *
Norway (8)5 485 lower 424 lower 458 lower 502 lower 492 lower 432 lower 461 lower 513 lower 504 lower 423 lower 477 lower 519 19 * -1 20 * 17 * 11 * -9 * 17 * 6
Malta 499 lower 475 lower 494 higher 482 lower 501 lower 492 lower 484 lower 487 lower 2 18 * -10 * 5
New Zealand3 492 lower 472 lower 483 513 500 lower 475 lower 488 lower 509 lower 7 3 5 -5
Italy2 480 lower 460 lower 491 higher 485 lower 496 lower 491 lower 512 higher 499 lower 494 lower 481 lower 504 496 lower 14 * 21 * 13 * 12 * -2 -10 * -8 -3
Malaysia 494 lower 455 lower 474 459 lower 451 lower 430 lower 432 lower 429 lower 472 lower 467 lower 455 lower 451 lower -22 * 11 -19 * -7 21 * 37 * 23 * 22 *
United Arab Emirates 459 lower 468 lower 431 lower 440 lower 464 lower 485 lower 447 lower 449 lower 5 17 * 17 * 9 *
Georgia2, 6 416 lower 416 lower 402 lower 350 lower 435 lower 450 lower 406 lower 392 lower 457 lower 469 lower 441 lower 421 lower 40 * 52 * 39 * 71 * 22 * 18 * 34 * 30 *
Turkey 435 lower 455 lower 454 lower 467 lower 447 lower 459 lower 463 lower 467 lower 13 * 4 8 -1
Lebanon 453 lower 468 lower 455 lower 388 lower 451 lower 471 lower 447 lower 393 lower 440 lower 466 lower 444 lower 395 lower -13 * -2 -12 * 7 -11 * -5 -4 2
Bahrain 381 lower 397 lower 403 lower 400 lower 397 lower 424 lower 398 lower 407 lower 436 lower 483 lower 449 lower 453 lower 54 * 86 * 46 * 53 * 39 * 58 * 51 * 46 *
Qatar7 408 lower 425 lower 387 lower 390 lower 435 lower 452 lower 433 lower 417 lower 27 * 27 * 45 * 27 *
Iran, Islamic Republic of7 388 lower 405 lower 414 lower 396 lower 402 lower 422 lower 437 lower 393 lower 432 lower 437 lower 448 lower 417 lower 44 * 33 * 33 * 21 * 30 * 15 * 10 24 *
Thailand 443 lower 431 lower 437 lower 438 lower 425 lower 425 lower 415 lower 431 lower 430 lower 429 lower 429 lower 425 lower -12 -1 -8 -14 * 6 4 14 -6
Chile7 413 lower 403 lower 419 lower 426 lower 427 lower 413 lower 428 lower 429 lower 15 * 11 * 9 4
Egypt7 386 lower 405 lower 397 lower 358 lower 393 lower 420 lower 393 lower 338 lower 8 15 * -4 -20 *
Oman7 354 lower 384 lower 377 lower 365 lower 351 lower 383 lower 377 lower 342 lower 389 lower 426 lower 415 lower 376 lower 35 * 43 * 38 * 11 * 38 * 43 * 38 * 34 *
Morocco8 379 lower 357 lower 390 lower 332 lower 382 lower 372 lower 410 lower 353 lower 3 16 * 20 * 21 *
Jordan8 412 lower 445 lower 429 lower 406 lower 390 lower 432 lower 407 lower 379 lower 380 lower 418 lower 381 lower 346 lower -32 * -28 * -48 * -60 * -10 * -14 * -26 * -33 *
Kuwait7 338 lower 341 lower 377 lower 339 lower 376 lower 364 lower 366 lower 361 lower 38 * 23 * -11 * 22 *
Saudi Arabia8 393 lower 399 lower 364 lower 387 lower 352 lower 391 lower 342 lower 361 lower -41 * -8 -22 * -25 *
Benchmarking participants
Quebec-CAN9 537 higher 512 527 higher 540 543 higher 516 529 higher 549 higher 557 higher 530 540 higher 546 higher 19 * 18 * 13 * 6 14 * 15 * 12 * -2
Ontario-CAN 528 higher 496 lower 510 higher 547 higher 519 497 lower 512 higher 531 530 higher 507 lower 524 higher 531 2 11 * 13 * -16 * 11 * 11 * 12 * #
Dubai-UAE 458 lower 476 lower 445 lower 444 lower 479 lower 489 lower 453 lower 468 lower 509 lower 528 496 504 lower 50 * 53 * 51 * 59 * 29 * 40 * 44 * 36 *
Florida-USA6 517 513 499 528 498 lower 502 lower 470 lower 489 lower -19 * -11 -29 * -39 *
Abu Dhabi-UAE 452 lower 459 lower 424 lower 434 lower 443 lower 462 lower 425 lower 426 lower -10 3 1 -8