Over the past few decades, researchers, policy makers, educators and the general public, who have an interest in mathematics education in different countries, pay a great deal of attention to the results from international comparative studies. Of great interest to the international studies is the results of Eastern students consistently achieving…

The international comparative studies in 1959 were conducted by International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) researchers who recognized that differences in student achievement measures in mathematics across countries could be caused by differences in curricula. The measurements of opportunity to learn (OTL) grew…

This supplement describes national adaptations made to the international version of the TIMSS 2011 background questionnaires. This information provides users with a guide to evaluate the availability of internationally comparable data for use in secondary analyses involving the TIMSS 2011 background variables. Background questionnaire adaptations…

Since 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been the common yardstick for measuring the progress of students' education over time across the country. Teachers, principals, parents, policymakers, and researchers all use NAEP results to assess progress and develop ways to improve education in America. To make the…

Primary school data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were analyzed in this study to examine performance difference between third and fourth grades. The score comparison was conducted across all TIMSS items in each of the 26 participating countries. The empirical findings indicate that not all TIMSS items have…

This study asserts that central examinations need not necessarily be those administered by the government; they can be examinations centralized at some administrative level, but in any case, they are external to the school. This study also assessed the impact of central examinations on the functioning of the education system and students academic…

This kit is designed to assist citizens and educators in using the findings from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to help improve related educational programs in the United States. The kit helps state and local policymakers, educators, and citizens compare their local community's education system for mathematics and…

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 1995-1996 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest and most comprehensive international study ever conducted. Students from 41 nations were tested in 30 languages at three educational levels to compare their achievement in mathematics and science. Over 33,000 students and 500 schools were included in this study…

International comparative educational studies make use of test instruments originally developed in English by international panels of experts, but that are ultimately administered in the language of instruction of the students. The comparability of the different language versions of these assessments is a critical issue in validating the…

The 12 chapters of this special issue focus on national findings and analyses from five Western European countries that participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), an international comparative study of mathematics and science achievement. Focuses on populations of 9- and 13-year olds in England, Germany, Sweden,…

This report recommends items from international comparative education studies that are related to inservice professional development (IPD) for possible inclusion in the Schools and Staffing Survey of 1999-2000. To justify these recommendations, the value of international comparisons and of state and nation comparisons generally is discussed, along…

Describes the development of the performance assessment tasks of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. The challenge was to produce tasks that would measure the achievement of curricular objectives while being sufficiently reliable to allow comparisons between countries and of groups within countries. (SLD)

Reports from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provide a starting point from which to examine U.S. student achievement in mathematics and science in an international context. This publication illustrates how the different types of information found in the international reports can provide a springboard for in-depth…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest, most comprehensive, and most rigorous international comparison of education ever undertaken. TIMSS findings show similarities and differences in the processes and outcomes of schooling between the United States and East Asian countries, particularly Japan. This report…