Albert E. Beaton Knihy

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a comprehensive evaluation conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, involving data collection from 45 countries in over 30 languages. This study assessed middle-school mathematics achievement (grades seven and eight) across six content areas: fractions and number sense, measurement, proportionality, data representation and probability, geometry, and algebra, involving over half a million students globally. Results indicated that Singapore excelled at both grade levels, with Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong also performing notably well. Significant disparities in average achievement were observed between top and bottom-performing nations. Gender differences in mathematics achievement were minimal in most countries, occasionally favoring boys. A strong positive correlation was found between students' enjoyment of mathematics and their achievement levels. Home factors significantly influenced mathematics success, while the relationship between instructional variables and achievement was less definitive. Notably, eighth-grade students with more educated parents tended to achieve higher in mathematics, and increased television viewing was linked to lower achievement. The introduction details each country's demographics, education expenditures, and system organization, while chapters cover international achievement, average p

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study, conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, is the largest study of its kind, involving data collection from 45 countries in over 30 languages. It assessed science achievement among seventh and eighth graders, focusing on eighth-grade results. This report includes data from 41 countries that completed all necessary steps for inclusion. Singapore emerged as the top performer at both grade levels, while Colombia, Kuwait, and South Africa ranked lowest. A notable finding was the significant disparity in average achievement between the highest and lowest performing countries, revealing a chain of overlapping performance levels among most nations. Generally, boys outperformed girls in science across both grades. While most eighth graders expressed a liking for science, not all students shared positive sentiments about the subject. Home factors were closely linked to achievement in all participating countries, though the connection between science achievement and instructional practices was less definitive. The report includes six appendixes detailing study methodology and selected achievement results, featuring 61 tables, 23 appendix tables, 19 figures, and 1 appendix figure.

The goal of this volume is to use the data from IEA's Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to investigate significant questions related to mathematics and science education as well as a number of methodological issues. The authors of the papers included in this collection come from eleven of the TIMSS countries, and they are prominent in their respective fields. The book will be of interest to readers interested in comparative education, mathematics and science education, curriculum, and survey research methodology. A study such as TIMSS costs a great deal of money to carry out; and, if the true value of that investment is to be realized, much more research of the kind reported in this collection is needed. The papers included provide insights into the impact that TIMSS has had in the participating countries. They also serve as excellent examples of the kind of follow-up research that is needed.