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The Second International Mathematics Study

1977– 1981

The study examined mathematics education at three levels:  curricular intentions, implemented curriculum, and student achievement. Student performance was measured and reported separately for five areas:  arithmetic, algebra, geometry, measurement, and statistics. The study included some features that involved a replication of the First International Mathematics Study (FIMS). It also incorporated a detailed longitudinal component designed to investigate causal relationships between the output and input measures of mathematics education.

Target Population

This was 13-year-old students and students in the final grade of secondary education.

Participating Educational Systems

Belgium (Flemish), Belgium (French), Canada (British Columbia and Ontario), England and Wales, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, United States.

Key Findings

  1. At the middle school level, there was no one subtest on which students performed in the same general way across the systems. For example, students in five systems performed best on the arithmetic subtest while those from six other systems had their poorest performance on that same set of items. One apparent trend was that students from any system were more likely to have their best or worse performance occurring on either arithmetic or geometry than on other areas.
  2. Japan and Hong Kong were the highest achieving countries at the final grade of the secondary school. Geometry curricula, more than any other branch of school mathematics, differed across the educational systems.
  3. At the middle school level, girls tended to outperform boys in computational skills and algebra. Boys performed better in geometry and measurement. By the end of secondary school, boys were outperforming girls in every subtest and in every country.
  4. There were many similarities among teachers at both grade levels and across systems regarding the teaching of mathematics. Teachers were using whole-class instructional techniques, relying heavily on prescribed textbooks, and rarely giving differentiated instruction or assignments.
  5. Wide differences between systems were observed in the degree of opportunity provided to students to complete secondary school to the Grade 12 level or equivalent. However, during the period between the first and the second IEA mathematics studies, growth occurred, and in some countries (Belgium, Finland) was very substantial (from 13 to 65 percent and from 14 to 59 percent respectively).
  6. In the period between the two mathematics studies, substantial changes took place in the mathematics curricula of many systems. At the middle school level, emphasis on arithmetic declined while emphasis on algebra and geometry increased. At the end of the secondary school level, diversity between the nature and extent of the mathematics being taught increased, particularly with respect to calculus, geometry, probability, and statistics.     

Major Publications

 

Burstein, L. (Ed.). (1992).

The IEA Study of Mathematics III: Student Growth and Classroom Processes.

Oxford: Pergamon Press.

 

Robitaille, D.F., & Garden. R.A. (Eds.). (1989).

The IEA Study of Mathematics II: Context and Outcomes of School Mathematics.

Oxford: Pergamon Press.

 

Travers, K.J., & Westbury, I. (Eds.). (1989).

The IEA Study of Mathematics I: Analysis of Mathematics Curricula.

Oxford: Pergamon Press.

 

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