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

Cognitive Subscales

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Table 12a. Change in average mathematics cognitive domain scores of 8th-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.

† 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 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 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 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 12b available at http://nces.ed.gov/timss/timss2015/timss2015_table12b.asp.

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

Singapore2 592 higher 597 higher 589 higher 617 higher 613 higher 604 higher 633 higher 619 higher 616 higher 41 * 22 * 27 * 16 * 7 12 *
Korea, Republic of 608 higher 600 higher 592 higher 616 higher 617 higher 612 higher 607 higher 606 higher 608 higher -1 6 15 * -9 * -10 * -5
Chinese Taipei-CHN 604 higher 597 higher 602 higher 611 higher 614 higher 609 higher 598 higher 602 higher 602 higher -6 5 # -13 * -12 * -7
Hong Kong-CHN 583 higher 572 higher 567 higher 591 higher 587 higher 580 higher 600 higher 595 higher 591 higher 17 * 23 * 24 * 9 8 11
Japan 569 higher 568 higher 577 higher 558 higher 574 higher 579 higher 578 higher 592 higher 591 higher 9 * 23 * 14 * 20 * 17 * 12 *
Russian Federation 521 510 499 548 higher 538 higher 531 higher 543 higher 541 higher 528 higher 22 * 31 * 28 * -5 3 -4
Kazakhstan 489 lower 484 lower 482 lower 533 527 higher 525 44 * 43 * 42 *
England-GBR 508 514 higher 518 higher 501 lower 508 510 513 lower 519 522 5 6 4 12 11 12
Slovenia 501 lower 502 497 lower 508 lower 502 500 518 lower 514 516 17 * 12 * 19 * 10 * 12 * 16 *
Hungary 522 513 higher 515 507 lower 505 502 511 lower 516 515 -10 3 # 4 11 * 13 *
United States3 517 502 506 519 503 503 528 515 514 11 * 13 * 8 9 * 12 * 11 *
Australia 490 lower 498 503 504 lower 506 506 504 lower 502 lower 512 15 * 4 9 # -4 6
Israel4 516 513 520 higher 511 lower 512 510 -5 -1 -10
Sweden 480 lower 495 493 lower 478 lower 489 lower 478 lower 484 lower 507 509 4 12 * 17 * 7 17 * 32 *
Lithuania2 509 511 higher 487 lower 502 lower 508 493 lower 503 lower 521 502 lower -6 10 * 15 * 1 14 * 10 *
Italy2 474 lower 482 lower 482 lower 494 lower 503 496 489 lower 495 lower 500 lower 15 * 13 * 18 * -5 -8 * 4
New Zealand3 481 lower 491 lower 494 488 lower 493 lower 499 lower 7 2 5
Norway (8)5 457 lower 475 lower 474 lower 465 lower 480 lower 478 lower 476 lower 492 lower 488 lower 19 * 17 * 14 * 12 * 12 * 10 *
Malta 490 lower 491 lower 474 lower 499 lower 493 lower 484 lower 9 * 3 10 *
Turkey 441 lower 459 lower 465 lower 447 lower 460 lower 472 lower 7 1 7
United Arab Emirates 467 lower 442 lower 449 lower 476 lower 457 lower 461 lower 9 * 16 * 12 *
Malaysia 473 lower 477 lower 466 lower 444 lower 439 lower 426 lower 472 lower 463 lower 453 lower -1 -14 * -13 * 28 * 24 * 27 *
Bahrain 389 lower 400 lower 406 lower 411 lower 400 lower 415 lower 463 lower 445 lower 452 lower 74 * 45 * 46 * 52 * 45 * 37 *
Georgia2, 6 419 lower 399 lower 383 lower 438 lower 425 lower 414 lower 456 lower 454 lower 441 lower 37 * 55 * 57 * 18 * 30 * 27 *
Iran, Islamic Republic of7 397 lower 399 lower 417 lower 410 lower 411 lower 428 lower 435 lower 434 lower 436 lower 38 * 35 * 19 * 25 * 23 * 8
Thailand 432 lower 444 lower 452 lower 423 lower 428 lower 429 lower 425 lower 431 lower 435 lower -6 -13 -16 * 2 3 6
Chile7 405 lower 425 lower 422 lower 423 lower 427 lower 432 lower 17 * 2 10 *
Qatar7 418 lower 396 lower 406 lower 440 lower 435 lower 431 lower 22 * 39 * 25 *
Lebanon 457 lower 447 lower 423 lower 464 lower 436 lower 426 lower 456 lower 439 lower 406 lower -1 -8 -17 * -8 3 -20 *
Oman7 366 lower 365 lower 389 lower 365 lower 360 lower 369 lower 401 lower 401 lower 402 lower 36 * 36 * 14 * 37 * 41 * 33 *
Jordan8 425 lower 421 lower 434 lower 405 lower 397 lower 416 lower 391 lower 378 lower 380 lower -35 * -43 * -55 * -14 * -19 * -36 *
Egypt7 385 lower 391 lower 386 lower 399 lower 385 lower 379 lower 14 * -6 -7
Saudi Arabia8 402 lower 375 lower 388 lower 359 lower 364 lower 374 lower -42 * -11 -13 *
Morocco8 363 lower 378 lower 357 lower 382 lower 385 lower 374 lower 19 * 7 * 17 *
Kuwait7 344 lower 358 lower 342 lower 381 lower 371 lower 353 lower 37 * 13 * 11 *
Benchmarking participants
Quebec-CAN9 524 529 higher 528 higher 528 higher 536 higher 529 higher 541 higher 546 higher 538 higher 16 * 17 * 10 13 * 11 * 9
Ontario-CAN 509 518 higher 526 higher 503 lower 510 524 higher 513 lower 522 534 higher 4 4 9 10 * 12 * 10 *
Dubai-UAE 465 lower 454 lower 460 lower 488 lower 465 lower 470 lower 521 505 lower 509 56 * 51 * 50 * 33 * 40 * 40 *
Florida-USA6 524 504 505 501 lower 488 lower 491 lower -22 * -16 -14
Abu Dhabi-UAE 459 lower 434 lower 442 lower 453 lower 434 lower 440 lower -6 -1 -2