Pursuing Excellence

Pursuing Excellence
Author: Patrick Andrew Gonzales
Publisher: Education Department
Total Pages: 117
Release: 2001
Genre: Academic achievement
ISBN: 9780160507489
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The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is one of the most comprehensive international studies of schooling and students' achievement in science and mathematics. TIMSS was originally conducted in 1995. Four years later in 1999, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R) was conducted. This document presents information on how U.S. eighth grade students performed in both studies and questions whether there have been any significant changes in achievement from an international perspective. Contents are divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 explains the importance of international comparison in education and the reasons for repeating TIMSS, identifies questions used and participating countries, discusses how the research was conducted, and presents the organization of the report. Chapter 2 discusses the mathematics and science achievement of the eighth grade students and presents student scores in both studies. Chapter 3 reviews issues related to curriculum and teaching, confidence levels of teachers, professional development, peer cooperation and classroom practices, and activities. Chapter 4 presents questions raised by the results of this report. (YDS)

Science Achievement in the Middle School Years

Science Achievement in the Middle School Years
Author: Albert E. Beaton
Publisher: International Study Center Lynch School of Educatio College
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1996
Genre: Education
ISBN:
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The Third International Mathematics and Science Study is the largest and most ambitious study ever undertaken by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Forty-five countries collected data in more than 30 languages. Five grade levels were tested in the two subject areas. This report describes the science achievement of seventh and eighth graders, emphasizing the results from the eighth-grade assessment. Results are presented for the 41 countries that completed all the steps necessary to appear in this report. Singapore was the top performing country at both grade levels, with Colombia, Kuwait, and South Africa performing at the lowest levels. Perhaps the most striking finding was the large difference in average achievement between the top-performing and bottom-performing countries. Results provided a chain of overlapping countries, with most countries having an average achievement similar to that of a cluster of others, but with large differences between the top and bottom of the chain. In most countries and internationally, boys outperformed girls at both grade levels. The majority of eighth graders in nearly every country indicated that they liked science, but not all students had positive feelings about the subject. Home factors were strongly related to achievement in every participating country, but relationships between science achievement and instructional practices were less clear within and across countries. Six appendixes present information on study methodology and selected achievement results for some countries. (Contains 61 tables, 23 appendix tables, 19 figures, and 1 appendix figure.) (SLD)

Pursuing Excellence

Pursuing Excellence
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 1996*
Genre: Academic achievement
ISBN:
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Report of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), largest, most comprehensive, and most rigorous international comparison of education ever undertaken. During the 1995 school year, the study tested the math and science knowledge of a half-million students from 41 nations at five different grade levels. In addition to tests and questionnaires, it included a curriculum analysis, videotaped observations of mathematics classrooms, and case studies of policy issues.

Facing the Consequences

Facing the Consequences
Author: W.H. Schmidt
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2007-05-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0306472163
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Facing the Consequences presents a perspective on US mathematics and science education that is developed from data gathered as part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). TIMSS is the most extensive and far-reaching cross-national comparative study of mathematics and science education ever attempted. It includes comparing official curricula, textbooks, teacher practices, and student achievements for many countries (from 20 to 50 countries, depending on the particular comparison). Thousands of official documents and textbooks were analyzed. Thousands of teachers, principals, and other experts responded to survey questionnaires. A sample of mathematics teachers in three countries had their lessons videotaped. Hundreds of thousands of children in almost 50 countries were tested in mathematics and science. This report presents a closer look at US mathematics and science education through careful examination of TIMSS data. The authors believe this investigation shows how deceptive many often unquestioned assumptions about American education can be. Drawing upon many new analyses not previously reported and integrating these with previous analyses of TIMSS data, the authors develop and illustrate the argument that what happens to American students is the consequence of American beliefs that shape educational practice and the accretion of a myriad educational choices made in mathematics and science education.

Mathematics Achievement in the Middle School Years

Mathematics Achievement in the Middle School Years
Author: Albert E. Beaton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1996
Genre: Education
ISBN:
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The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest and most ambitious study undertaken by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Forty-five countries collected data in more than 30 languages. Five grade levels were tested in the two subject areas, so that more than half a million students were tested around the world. This report addresses middle-school mathematics achievement (grades seven and eight) in six content areas: (1) fractions and number sense; (2) measurement; (3) proportionality; (4) data representation, analysis, and probability; (5) geometry; and (6) algebra. Results cover 41 countries with complete data collection. Singapore was the top-performing country at both grade levels, with Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong also performing very well. There were large differences in average achievement between top performers and bottom performing nations. Gender differences in mathematics achievement were small or nearly nonexistent in most countries, but when they did appear, they favored boys. In nearly every country there was a strong positive relationship between student enjoyment of mathematics and higher achievement. Home factors were strongly related to mathematics achievement in every participating country, but relationships between instructional variables and achievement were less clear. In every country, the pattern was for the eighth grade student whose parents had more education to also have higher achievement in mathematics. The amount of television viewing was negatively associated with mathematics achievement. The document's introduction provides information on each country's characteristics including demographics, public expenditures on education, organization of educational system. Chapters address: (1) International Student Achievement in Mathematics; (2) Average Achievement; (3) Performance on Items within Each Mathematics Content Area; (4) Students Backgrounds and Attitudes towards Mathematics; and (5) Teachers and Instruction. Appendixes include: Overview of TIMSS Procedures; Test-Curriculum Matching Analysis; Selected Mathematics Achievement Eighth-Grade Results for the Philippines, Denmark, Sweden, and German-Speaking Switzerland; and Percentiles and Standard Deviations of Mathematics Achievement. (SLD)