Malaysian education: Trends in Mathematics and Science Study 2007

Results out -- International Maths and Science scores (TIMSS)


Students In Asia Score Highest On Math, Science Tests, U.S. Makes Gains In Math.


The New York Times (12/10, Dillon) reports, "American fourth and eighth grade students made solid achievement gains in math in recent years and in two states showed spectacular progress," but "science performance was flat," according to a survey released Tuesday by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS. "Fourth grade students in Hong Kong and eighth grade students in Taiwan" earned the top scores in math, "while Singapore dominated in science at both grade levels." According to the Times, "the latest TIMSS study, the world's largest review of math and science achievement, involved testing a representative sample of students in each country in 2007, the first time the tests had been administered since 2003. ... The results included fourth grade scores from 36 countries, and eighth grade scores from 48 countries."


Similarly, the Washington Post (12/10, Glod) reports, "Results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), released today, show how fourth- and eighth-graders in the United States measure up to peers in dozens of countries. U.S. students showed gains in math at both grades." Specifically, "the average score among fourth-graders has jumped 11 points since 1995, to 529." Still, "students in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Russia, and England were among those posting a higher average. Hong Kong topped the list with an average score of 607." Meanwhile, the "average science performance" for students in the U.S., "although still stronger than in many countries, has stagnated since 1995."


In science, "USA fourth-graders scored 549, well above the international average of 500, but below a few Asian nations -- Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong and Japan," adds USA Today (12/10, Toppo). "Eighth-graders scored 520, similarly above average but below a handful of other nations."

According to the Associated Press (12/10, Quaid), "Kids in Massachusetts and Minnesota did even better than the U.S. overall. In fact, Massachusetts students did as well as some of their Asian peers." The Boston Globe (12/9, Vaznis) explained that Massachusetts "performed strongest on the fourth-grade science exam, coming in second worldwide just behind Singapore and ahead of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan. By contrast, the United States as a whole placed eleventh with a score that researchers characterized as significantly lower than Massachusetts." In math, the state's eighth-grade "score rose 34 points to 547 from eight years ago, compared to a seven-point increase for the United States, which averaged 508 last year. In eighth-grade science, the state's score rose 23 points to 556, compared to a 5-point gain for the United States, which scored 520 last year."

The Christian Science Monitor (12/10, Paulson, Khadaroo) points out that most of the math and science gains in the U.S. "took place among the lowest-performing students, a similar trend to that seen in national report cards on education." Some analysts say that could be a result "of the increased focus on bringing up America's struggling students without as much attention to those at the top."

The Wall Street Journal (12/10, Hechinger) the Chicago Tribune (12/10, Malone), and the Journal of New England Technology (12/9, Lynch) also covered the story. Canada's CBC News (12/10) reports on Canadian students' performances in math and science, the BBC News (12/10) reported on U.K. students' performance, and the Jerusalem Post (12/10, Selig) covered Israel's declining math and science rankings, as reported in TIMSS.


SOURCE: The Opening Bell, NJEA Publication

More below, from USA Today:


U.S. students' math, science scores deliver mixed results
Updated

FOURTH-GRADE MATH SCORES
TIMSS scale average: 500
Average scores significantly higher than U.S.

Hong Kong - 607
Singapore - 599
Chinese Taipei - 576
Japan - 568
Kazakhstan - 549
Russian Federation - 544



England - 541
Latvia - 537
Average not measurably different from U.S.
Netherlands - 535
Lithuania - 530
United States - 529
Germany - 525
Denmark - 523
Average significantly lower than U.S. average score
Australia - 516
Hungary - 510
Italy - 507
Austria - 505
Sweden - 503
Slovenia - 502
Armenia - 500
Slovak Republic - 496
Scotland - 494
New Zealand - 492
Czech Republic - 486
Norway - 473
Ukraine - 469
Georgia - 438
Iran - 402
Algeria - 378
Colombia - 355
Morocco - 341
El Salvador - 330
Tunisia - 327
Kuwait - 316
Qatar - 296
Yemen - 224


Source: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
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Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007

TIMSS 2007

TIMSS 2007 is the fourth assessment in the framework of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The previous assessments, conducted in 1995, 1999, and 2003, were very successful in measuring trends in student achievement in mathematics and science. TIMSS 2007 extends this sequence, providing achievement data at four time points over a 12-year period.
Target Population

TIMSS 2007 will collect data in mathematics and science at fourth and eighth grades.
Participating Educational Systems

More than 60 educational systems participate. These include: Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Québec), Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dubai, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palestinian National Authority, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain (Basque Country), Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Yemen.
Schedule

TIMSS 2007 was initiated with the first National Research Coordinators (NRCs) meeting, in February 2005. Instrument development and field test activities has been carried out between February 2005 and April 2006. Data collection for the main survey has been conducted in October–December 2006 (Southern Hemisphere) and April–May 2007 (Northern Hemisphere). The International Reports for grades fourth and eight will be released in December 2008, and the International Data Base and User Guide will be available in March 2009.
Management

As previous TIMSS assessments, TIMSS 2007 is coordinated by the IEA International Study Center located at Boston College, United States. The study Co-directors are Dr Michael Martin and Dr Ina Mullis. Other members of the TIMSS 2007 consortium are the IEA Secretariat and the IEA Data Processing Center, Statistics Canada, and the Educational Testing Service.
Funding

The international management of TIMSS 2007 project is funded by the participating countries with support from the World Bank, the United States Department of Education through the National Center for Education Statistics, and the United Nations Development Programme.

For countries participating at both fourth and eighth grades, the participation fee is USD 60,000 per year for the four-year duration of the study, or USD 240,000 in total. The fee for participating at the fourth or eighth grade only is USD 40,000 per annum, for a total of USD 160,000.

For more information, please contact

http://timss.bc.edu/TIMSS2007/index.html