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

Cognitive Subscales

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Table 11a. Change in average mathematics cognitive domain scores of 4th-grade students, by education system: 2007-2015 and 2011-2015
Education system Average cognitive domain score Change in average cognitive domain score1
2007 2011 2015 Score difference: 2007 to 2015 Score difference: 2011 to 2015
Knowing Applying Reasoning Knowing Applying Reasoning Knowing Applying Reasoning Knowing Applying Reasoning Knowing Applying Reasoning

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 reasoning. 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 for the estimates shown in this table are in table 11b available at http://nces.ed.gov/timss/timss2015/timss2015_table11b.asp.

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

Korea, Republic of 614 higher 600 higher 603 higher 627 higher 595 higher 619 higher 13 * -5 16 *
Singapore2 625 higher 597 higher 584 higher 629 higher 602 higher 588 higher 631 higher 619 higher 603 higher 5 23 * 19 * 2 17 * 15 *
Hong Kong-CHN3 622 higher 606 higher 596 higher 619 higher 597 higher 589 higher 618 higher 621 higher 600 higher -4 14 * 4 -1 23 * 11 *
Japan 567 higher 570 higher 569 higher 590 higher 579 higher 592 higher 601 higher 589 higher 595 higher 35 * 19 * 26 * 11 * 10 * 3
Chinese Taipei-CHN 586 higher 574 higher 571 higher 599 higher 593 higher 577 higher 620 higher 593 higher 576 higher 35 * 19 * 5 21 * # -2
Russian Federation 539 549 higher 544 higher 541 lower 539 548 higher 556 higher 566 higher 570 higher 18 * 18 * 26 * 16 * 27 * 22 *
Kazakhstan 503 lower 499 lower 501 lower 546 541 553 higher 43 * 42 * 52 *
Northern Ireland-GBR4 580 higher 565 higher 538 higher 582 higher 575 higher 550 higher 2 11 * 12 *
Denmark2, 3 514 lower 527 525 531 lower 539 543 higher 536 lower 538 548 higher 22 * 11 * 22 * 5 -1 5
Czech Republic 472 lower 493 lower 491 lower 502 lower 512 lower 523 519 lower 528 lower 544 higher 48 * 35 * 52 * 17 * 16 * 21 *
Netherlands3 528 lower 540 higher 537 higher 537 lower 540 543 higher 521 lower 531 lower 543 higher -8 * -10 * 6 -17 * -10 * #
Sweden2 483 lower 506 lower 519 489 lower 507 lower 520 501 lower 521 lower 542 higher 18 * 16 * 22 * 12 * 14 * 22 *
Finland 548 lower 544 546 higher 530 lower 536 540 higher -18 * -8 * -5
England-GBR 546 542 higher 539 higher 552 542 531 554 544 540 higher 8 3 1 2 2 9
Belgium (Flemish)-BEL3 564 higher 546 higher 532 554 544 higher 536 -10 * -2 4
Lithuania2 520 lower 540 higher 529 525 lower 540 536 higher 534 lower 538 536 14 * -3 7 8 * -2 -1
Ireland-GBR 539 lower 529 lower 510 lower 554 549 higher 535 15 * 20 * 26 *
Germany 515 lower 530 530 524 lower 528 lower 532 524 lower 515 lower 535 9 * -15 * 5 # -13 * 3
Portugal2 531 lower 534 531 548 540 532 17 * 6 1
United States2, 3 541 524 525 556 539 525 547 537 531 6 13 * 6 -8 * -2 5
Hungary 511 lower 506 lower 510 lower 519 lower 513 lower 514 lower 532 lower 526 lower 529 21 * 20 * 20 * 13 * 13 * 15 *
Slovenia 498 lower 502 lower 504 lower 510 lower 514 lower 516 lower 517 lower 521 lower 524 lower 19 * 19 * 20 * 7 * 7 * 8 *
Australia 511 lower 522 516 516 lower 519 lower 513 lower 509 lower 521 lower 523 -2 -1 7 -7 2 10 *
Serbia5 520 lower 511 lower 514 lower 513 lower 521 lower 517 lower -7 10 * 2
Slovak Republic 492 lower 496 lower 499 lower 506 lower 505 lower 511 lower 491 lower 497 lower 515 lower -1 1 17 * -16 * -9 5
Croatia 495 lower 484 lower 492 lower 502 lower 499 lower 507 lower 8 * 15 * 15 *
Norway (4)6 459 lower 475 lower 486 lower 487 lower 499 lower 501 lower 479 lower 495 lower 506 lower 20 * 20 * 20 * -8 -4 5
New Zealand 484 lower 493 lower 502 lower 476 lower 490 lower 490 lower 475 lower 497 lower 504 lower -8 * 4 2 -1 7 * 13 *
Italy2 512 lower 499 lower 511 lower 510 lower 506 lower 505 lower 511 lower 504 lower 503 lower -1 5 -8 1 -2 -3
Spain2 482 lower 483 lower 483 lower 505 lower 505 lower 502 lower 23 * 22 * 19 *
Turkey 475 lower 469 lower 462 lower 491 lower 482 lower 466 lower 17 * 13 * 5
Chile 455 lower 463 lower 469 lower 449 lower 462 lower 466 lower -7 # -3
Georgia7 445 lower 430 lower 433 lower 449 lower 447 lower 450 lower 466 lower 461 lower 452 lower 21 * 31 * 19 * 16 * 14 * 1
Bahrain2 438 lower 431 lower 439 lower 453 lower 450 lower 447 lower 15 * 19 * 8 *
United Arab Emirates 437 lower 430 lower 434 lower 453 lower 452 lower 445 lower 16 * 22 * 11 *
Qatar 411 lower 411 lower 416 lower 444 lower 434 lower 431 lower 33 * 23 * 15 *
Iran, Islamic Republic of 404 lower 397 lower 401 lower 435 lower 427 lower 423 lower 429 lower 435 lower 426 lower 25 * 38 * 26 * -6 7 4
Oman 380 lower 382 lower 391 lower 422 lower 428 lower 420 lower 43 * 46 * 29 *
Saudi Arabia8 409 lower 405 lower 412 lower 374 lower 382 lower 383 lower -36 * -23 * -29 *
Morocco 320 lower 332 lower 347 lower 377 lower 375 lower 379 lower 57 * 43 * 32 *
Kuwait8 343 lower 330 lower 329 lower 326 lower 322 lower 306 lower -16 * -8 -23 *
Benchmarking participants
Quebec-CAN9 519 lower 516 523 536 lower 529 lower 534 higher 542 533 536 23 * 17 * 14 * 6 3 2
Florida-USA7 568 higher 542 523 555 545 534 -13 * 3 11
Ontario-CAN 498 lower 513 lower 526 510 lower 521 lower 522 505 lower 513 lower 524 7 # -2 -5 -8 3
Dubai-UAE 454 lower 436 lower 441 lower 472 lower 465 lower 464 lower 514 lower 510 lower 507 lower 60 * 74 * 66 * 42 * 45 * 44 *
Abu Dhabi-UAE2, 8 418 lower 413 lower 418 lower 418 lower 422 lower 414 lower # 9 -5