The OECD's PISA exercise has by now been widely critiqued. Whilst we agree with most concerns, we begin with the assumption that PISA will remain an enduring and powerful feature of the global educational landscape. Even if the PISA test itself were discontinued, a similar large-scale quantitative assessment exercise would soon arise to take its…

TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is a long-standing international assessment of mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth grades that has been collecting trend data every four years since 1995. About 70 countries use TIMSS trend data for monitoring the effectiveness of their education systems in a global…

This study demonstrates the relations of the position of education in the correlation between religiosity, and socioeconomic variables by using national-level, and large survey data. We used data from the international survey of 68 countries, and used statistical methods to create the composite scores of every variable. Next, we used Pearson and…

As a consequence of the large-scale assessment studies (TIMMS; PISA) in compulsory schooling, attention is now being given to the modelling and measurement of competencies in initial vocational education and training. This new output-led perspective of teaching/training and learning/working processes demands new approaches to research. Using the…

A recent study in the USA documented the existence and growth of "excellence gaps" among students. These gaps are similar to the minimum competency achievement gaps that proliferate in policy discussions in many Western countries, but excellence gaps focus on the highest level of achievement rather than minimum competency. We extend this…

This report is designed to help frame discussion and analysis of data that will emerge from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a landmark study of mathematics and science education that investigates the mathematics and science curricula at three academic levels--age 9, age 13, and the last year of high school--in more…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest, most comprehensive, and rigorous international study of schools and student achievement ever conducted. This report compares the general mathematics and science knowledge of students in the United States in their last year of secondary school with that of students in 20…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest, most comprehensive, and most rigorous international comparison of education ever undertaken. During the 1995 school year, the study tested the mathematics and science knowledge of a half-million students from 41 nations at five different grade levels. In addition to…

This book contains a compilation of papers presented at the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END 2017), organized by the World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (W.I.A.R.S.). Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the…