Background: Integrated science is a ubiquitous school subject that is an amalgamation of science disciplines; its teaching allows topics to be sequenced in any order and given various degrees of coverage and emphasis in the classroom. Ensuring canonical coherence, which is the logical organization of subject matter for effective instruction is…

Canonical coherence occurs when subject matter in school is organized to align with the logical structures of an academic discipline. Even though it is highly desired, this condition is an assumption that must be empirically tested, which was the rationale behind our examination of the coherence of topics from middle-school (grades 7-9) integrated…

The OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 (E2030) project's overall goal is that of looking to the future in terms of how school curricula should evolve given the technological advances and other changes that societies are now facing. Towards that end, the E2030 project centres on the idea that education needs to equip students with the…

This study uses a quantitative content analysis of learning competences -- as described and prescribed in 21st century frameworks -- and those competences evaluated by international assessments to explore the nexus between recommendation and reality. In drawing insights from the theoretical underpinnings of human capital theory we argue, with…

The media analysis is situated in the larger body of studies that explore the varied reasons why different policy actors advocate for international large-scale student assessments (ILSAs) and adds to the research on the fast advance of the global education industry. The analysis of "The Economist," "Financial Times," and…

The purposes of this study were to compare the differences in the use of geometry in elementary school mathematics textbooks among Finland, Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, and the USA and to investigate the relationships between the design of the textbooks and students' performance on large-scale tests such as TIMSS-4 geometry, TIMSS-8…

International surveys have served as agents of change for the introduction of reforms in curricula worldwide. The Israeli Ministry of Education set a goal of raising Israel's ranking in international surveys so that Israel will be among the 10 leading countries in the Program for International Student Assessment and Trends in International…

This study tried to explore the degree of representation of math textbooks for grades (4-8) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia concerning the key concepts, shape, and levels of questions used in the TIMSS test. The study population of this study includes both students and teachers from fourth grade to eighth grade. The goal of this study was…

It has long been argued that U.S. states' differential performance on nationwide assessments may reflect differences in students' opportunity to learn the tested content that is primarily due to variation in curricular content standards, rather than in instructional quality or educational investment. To quantify the effect of differences in…

This study offers a comparative analysis of questions found in Turkish, Singaporean, and American mathematics textbooks and workbooks based on topics covered in the 8th grade mathematics curriculum in Turkey. To this end, the study utilizes the 3-dimensional framework developed by Li. When the questions in the textbooks and workbooks…

The paper attempts to investigate the influence of textbooks on the results of international assessments such as TIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study] and PIRLS [Progress in International Reading Literacy Study]. It tries to consider the role and impact of school textbooks on PIRLS and TIMSS performance across countries. As…

Variation in test performance among examinees from different regions or national jurisdictions is often partially attributed to differences in the degree of content correspondence between local school or training program curricula, and the test of interest. This posited relationship between test-curriculum correspondence, or "alignment,"…

This study aimed to examine and track the transformations in the mathematics intended curriculum during the latest reform in China from a neutral and objective perspective. Following the document analysis used in TIMSS (the Third International Mathematics and Science Study), the results indicated that a more modern system of mathematics knowledge…

The aim of this study is to examine preservice science teachers' skills of formulating hypotheses and identifying variables. The research has a phenomenological research design. The data was gathered qualitatively. In this study, preservice science teachers were first given two scenarios (Scenario-1 & Scenario-2) containing two different…

Curriculum-assessment alignment is a well known foundation for good practice in educational assessment, for items' curricular validity purposes. Nowadays instruments are designed to measure pupils' competencies in one or more areas of competence. Sub-competence areas could be defined theoretically and statistical analysis of empirical data by…