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

Cognitive Subscales

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Table 34a. Change in average science 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.

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

NOTE: Education systems are ordered by the 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 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. 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 rates 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.

  The standard errors for the estimates shown in this table are in table 34b available at http://nces.ed.gov/timss/timss2015/timss2015_table34b.asp.

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

Singapore2 561 higher 570 higher 568 higher 588 higher 589 higher 592 higher 594 higher 600 higher 595 higher 32 * 30 * 26 * 6 11 * 2
Japan 542 higher 556 higher 564 higher 541 higher 561 higher 568 higher 567 higher 575 higher 570 higher 26 * 18 * 7 * 27 * 14 * 3
Korea, Republic of 550 higher 550 higher 561 higher 554 higher 561 higher 564 higher 555 higher 552 higher 560 higher 6 2 -1 2 -9 * -3
Chinese Taipei-CHN 574 higher 564 higher 544 higher 569 higher 570 higher 551 higher 589 higher 565 higher 560 higher 15 * 2 16 * 20 * -5 9 *
Slovenia 538 higher 535 higher 540 higher 551 higher 542 higher 536 higher 558 higher 547 higher 550 higher 20 * 12 * 11 * 8 * 5 15 *
Hong Kong-CHN 537 higher 522 535 544 higher 529 538 higher 547 higher 541 550 higher 10 18 * 15 * 3 12 * 12 *
England-GBR 536 higher 540 higher 548 higher 533 531 537 higher 523 538 545 higher -14 * -1 -4 -11 7 8
Russian Federation 541 higher 527 higher 519 557 higher 539 higher 533 higher 558 higher 538 538 higher 17 * 11 18 * 1 # 5
Lithuania2 517 513 527 516 lower 512 lower 513 lower 516 lower 519 lower 529 -1 6 2 # 7 16 *
Kazakhstan 483 lower 491 lower 487 lower 529 535 528 46 * 44 * 41 *
United States3 516 517 529 527 522 524 532 531 526 16 * 14 * -2 5 9 * 3
Sweden 508 lower 509 lower 516 lower 512 lower 508 lower 510 lower 519 lower 518 lower 526 12 * 9 * 10 * 8 10 * 17 *
Hungary 530 higher 551 higher 530 511 lower 532 higher 518 525 528 524 -5 -23 * -6 14 * -4 6
New Zealand3 511 lower 509 lower 515 503 lower 513 lower 520 -8 4 4
Australia 505 lower 511 530 514 lower 517 526 510 lower 512 lower 513 lower 6 1 -18 * -4 -5 -14 *
Israel4 518 512 lower 519 503 lower 504 lower 511 lower -15 * -8 -8
Norway (8)5 487 lower 485 lower 488 lower 490 lower 496 lower 494 lower 477 lower 488 lower 498 lower -10 * 3 10 * -12 * -8 4
Turkey 490 lower 478 lower 483 lower 489 lower 492 lower 495 lower -1 15 * 12 *
Italy2 496 lower 497 lower 489 lower 512 lower 500 lower 489 lower 505 lower 496 lower 493 lower 8 -1 4 -8 * -4 4
Malta 437 lower 461 lower 468 lower 468 lower 489 lower 479 lower 31 * 28 * 11 *
United Arab Emirates 471 lower 464 lower 456 lower 478 lower 478 lower 473 lower 7 14 * 17 *
Malaysia 458 lower 470 lower 483 lower 403 lower 424 lower 439 lower 466 lower 476 lower 467 lower 8 6 -15 * 63 * 52 * 28 *
Bahrain 468 lower 465 lower 464 lower 457 lower 450 lower 449 lower 462 lower 464 lower 466 lower -6 * -1 3 4 15 * 18 *
Oman 425 lower 419 lower 419 lower 416 lower 419 lower 417 lower 455 lower 454 lower 454 lower 30 * 34 * 36 * 38 * 34 * 37 *
Qatar 418 lower 420 lower 409 lower 448 lower 460 lower 454 lower 30 * 40 * 45 *
Iran, Islamic Republic of 468 lower 452 lower 456 lower 479 lower 470 lower 475 lower 455 lower 457 lower 454 lower -13 * 6 -2 -24 * -13 * -22 *
Chile 476 lower 454 lower 459 lower 466 lower 446 lower 448 lower -10 * -7 * -11 *
Thailand 473 lower 471 lower 467 lower 443 lower 451 lower 453 lower 469 lower 450 lower 447 lower -3 -20 * -20 * 27 * -1 -6
Georgia2, 6 438 lower 418 lower 385 lower 428 lower 418 lower 412 lower 452 lower 442 lower 432 lower 15 * 24 * 47 * 25 * 24 * 20 *
Jordan 492 lower 484 lower 466 lower 453 lower 451 lower 441 lower 430 lower 425 lower 419 lower -62 * -59 * -47 * -23 * -26 * -22 *
Saudi Arabia 448 lower 432 lower 424 lower 395 lower 383 lower 405 lower -53 * -49 * -19 *
Morocco 363 lower 381 lower 366 lower 395 lower 391 lower 385 lower 32 * 11 * 18 *
Kuwait 426 lower 413 lower 402 lower 396 lower 392 lower 382 lower -30 * -22 * -20 *
Lebanon 401 lower 418 lower 410 lower 381 lower 408 lower 408 lower 403 lower 398 lower 381 lower 2 -20 * -29 * 22 * -10 -27 *
Egypt 429 lower 398 lower 385 lower 372 lower 371 lower 359 lower -57 * -27 * -26 *
Benchmarking participants
Quebec-CAN7 499 lower 500 lower 523 519 518 522 527 524 535 28 * 24 * 13 * 7 7 13 *
Ontario-CAN 515 524 542 higher 513 lower 518 532 higher 514 lower 525 532 -1 1 -10 * 1 7 * #
Dubai-UAE 496 lower 488 lower 478 lower 492 lower 486 lower 479 lower 527 525 521 32 * 37 * 43 * 35 * 39 * 41 *
Florida-USA6 541 526 524 511 lower 508 lower 506 lower -30 * -18 -19
Abu Dhabi-UAE 466 lower 461 lower 455 lower 453 lower 457 lower 454 lower -13 -4 -1