Potential differences in achievement between female and male students have always been an interesting topic in educational research, as well as having policy and economic implications. This study provides an overview of the so-called "gender gap" in mathematics and science knowledge, based on an in-depth analysis of both extremes of…

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's (IEA's) Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) can reveal a great deal about national teaching cultures and policies. Changes in instructional practices over more than a decade may be studied from a cross-cultural perspective. Using teacher and…

Class size reduction policies have been widely implemented around the world in recent years. However, findings about the effects of class size on student achievement have been mixed. This study examines class size effects on fourth-grade mathematics achievement in 14 European countries using data from TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and…

As is the case in most OECD countries, boys in Norway are more likely to have lower levels of academic achievement and attainment than girls. While this phenomenon is not recent, it has become increasingly pronounced in recent years and, as a result, is attracting considerable attention from policy-makers in many countries. This paper develops…

Class size reduction has been viewed as one school mechanism that can improve student achievement. Nonetheless, the literature has reported mixed findings about class size effects. We used 4th- and 8th-grade data from TIMSS 2003 and 2007 to examine the association between class size and mathematics achievement in public schools in Cyprus. We…

Background: The present study investigates what factors related to the school context influence student achievement on TIMSS mathematics tests across countries. A systematic review of the literature on PIRLS, TIMSS, and ICCS was conducted upstream to identify those school, teacher, and classroom factors shown to be useful predictors of student…

Despite calls for research-based policies, other types of evidence also influence education policy, including personal experience, professional expertise, and normative values. This article focuses on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative, examining how research use varied over stages of the process and how it was integrated with other…

This Forum discusses the significant growth of international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) since the mid-1990s. Addey and Sellar's contribution ("A Framework for Analysing the Multiple Rationales for Participating in International Large-Scale Assessments") outlines a framework of rationales for participating in ILSAs and examines the…

Construction of science education policy is, for most practising educators, somewhat shrouded in mist. Policies are currently conveyed by the present Secretary of State with responsibility for education through presentations of governmental papers and curricular documents. While it may seem strange that a politician can be elected one day, and…

The article argues that science assessment should change from an item-driven to a construct-driven practice and pay more attention to disciplinary scientific reasoning. It investigates assessment scales developed from a novel theoretical rationale, describing scientific reasoning as three fundamental practices (hypothesizing, experimenting, and…

To help explain the differences in students' performance on internationally administered science assessments, cross-national, video-based observational studies have been advocated, but none have yet been conducted at the elementary level for science. The USA and Germany are two countries with large formal education systems whose students…

This study was designed with the overall goal of understanding how difficulties in reading comprehension are associated with early adolescents' performance in large-scale assessments in subject domains including science and civic-related social studies. The current study extended previous research by taking a cognition-centered approach based on…

Inferences from recent international comparative data on mathematical attainment, frequently quoted as justification for curriculum change, are critically examined, and the implications are contrasted with expressed curricular aims. Using characterisations by Ball (1990) and Ernest (1991), positions of key actors are analysed in relation to…

The purpose of this paper is to help countries understand some of the "key principles and characteristics of an effective student assessment system". The focus is on assessment of student learning and achievement at the K-12 level. The paper extracts principles and guidelines from countries' experiences, professional testing standards,…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed through an unprecedented, state-led initiative that drew on the expertise of teachers, parents, administrators, researchers and content experts from across the country. The Standards define a staircase to college and career readiness, building on the best of previous state standards in English…