Archived: TIMSS Overview and Key 4th & 8th Grade Findings on Mathematics

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

TIMSS Overview and Key 4th &
8th Grade Findings on Mathematics

With information on a half-million students worldwide, including more than 33,000 U.S. youth in more than 500 U.S. public and private schools, the recent Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest, most comprehensive, and most rigorous international study of schools and students ever conducted. Students from 41 nations, including our country's major trading partners, were tested at three different grade levels (fourth, eighth, and upon completion of secondary school) to compare their mathematics and science achievement.

TIMSS researchers conducted intensive studies of students, teachers, schools, curricula, instruction, lessons, textbooks, and policy issues to understand the educational context in which mathematics and science learning take place. By combining multiple methodologies and scientific sampling procedures that go beyond simple student test score comparisons and questionnaires, TIMSS created a complete and accurate portrait of how U.S. mathematics and science education differ from that of other nations.

Key findings relevant to mathematics include:

ACHIEVEMENT

U.S. fourth graders score above the international average in mathematics.

U.S. eighth graders score below the international average in mathematics.

If an international talent search were to select the top 10 percent of all students, nine percent of U.S. fourth graders would be included, but only 5 percent of U.S. eighth graders would rank among the world?s top 10 percent.

Our fourth-grade students? performance exceeds the international average in Whole Numbers, Fractions, Data Representation, Geometry and Patterns. Our students are below the international average in Measurement.

Our eighth-grade students? standing is above the international average in Data Representation. Our students perform at about the international average in Algebra and Fractions. We do less well in Geometry, Measurement, and Proportionality.

There is no significant gender gap in fourth-grade or eighth-grade mathematics achievement.

CURRICULUM

The content in U.S. eighth-grade mathematics classrooms is at a seventh-grade level in comparison to other countries.

Topic coverage in U.S. eighth-grade mathematics classes is not as focused as in Germany and Japan.

U.S. eighth-grade mathematics classes require students to engage in less high-level mathematical thinking than classes in Germany and Japan.

TEACHING

Eighth-grade U.S. mathematics teachers? typical goal is to teach students how to do something, while Japanese teachers? goal is to help students learn how to do something and also understand mathematical concepts so that they can solve future problems.

Most U.S. eighth-grade mathematics teachers report familiarity with reform recommendations, although only a few apply the key points in their classrooms. Japanese teachers widely practice what U.S. mathematics reforms recommend.

Evidence suggests that U.S. eighth-grade teachers do not receive as much practical training and daily support as their German and Japanese colleagues.

CONTEXTS OF LEARNING

U.S. fourth-grade teachers assign about the same amount of mathematics homework as teachers in most other countries. U.S. eighth-grade teachers actually assign more homework than Japanese teachers and about the same amount as German teachers.

U.S. fourth graders spend more time in class learning mathematics than do their average international counterparts. U.S. eighth graders spend more hours in mathematics classes per year than students in Germany and Japan.

Heavy television watching is as common among U.S. eighth graders as it is among their Japanese counterparts.

Mathematics class sizes in U.S. fourth and eighth grades are not far from the international average for both grade levels.

The TIMSS resource kit, Attaining Excellence, is designed specifically to help districts and schools benchmark their achievement, teaching, and curriculum to what TIMSS has learned about international standards. To order the resource kit or for more information about TIMSS, including the complete eighth-grade and fourth-grade reports, consult the TIMSS World Wide Web site at <http://www.ed.gov/NCES/timss> or call 202-219-1333.

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