Third International Mathematics and Science Study

TIMSS 1995 (1993–1997)

TIMSS was the first in a four-year cycle of assessments of trends in students’ mathematics and science achievement. Students were tested in mathematics and science, and extensive information about the teaching and learning of mathematics and science was collected from them, and from teachers and school principals. TIMSS tested and gathered contextual data for more than half a million students and administered questionnaires to thousands of teachers and school principals. In many participating countries, sub-samples of students in Grades 4 and 8 who participated in the main testing sessions were selected to participate in the TIMSS performance assessment. In the performance assessment, students designed experiments, manipulated materials, tested hypotheses, and recorded findings when completing a range of mathematics and science tasks. TIMSS also investigated the mathematics and science curricula of the participating countries through an analysis of curriculum guides, textbooks, and other curricular materials. The TIMSS results have provided policy-makers and practitioners in the participating countries with valuable information about mathematics and science instruction and the achievement of their students.

The TIMSS test and questionnaires were administered in 1994–1995.

Target Population

TIMSS was conducted at five grade levels:

Students enrolled in the two grades containing the largest proportion of nine-year-old students (Grades 3 and 4 in most countries).
Students enrolled in the two grades containing the largest proportion of 13-year-old students (Grade 7 and 8 in most countries).
Students in their final year of secondary education. As an additional option, countries could test two special sub-groups of these students: students taking advance courses in mathematics and/or students taking advanced courses in physics.

All countries participated in the testing at Grades 7 and 8 (mandatory population). The other grade levels were optional.

Participating Educational Systems

Middle school:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flemish), Belgium (French), Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Scotland, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United States.

Primary school:

Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, England, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, Thailand, United States.

Final year of secondary school/mathematics and science literacy:

Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russian Federation, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United States.

Final year of secondary school/advanced mathematics:

Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, United States.

Final year of secondary school/physics:

Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, United States.

Key Findings

Primary Grades

In mathematics, Singapore and Korea were the top performing countries. Japan and Hong Kong also performed among the best in the world, as did the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Austria. In science, the highest level of achievement was identified in Korea, Japan, the United States, Australia, and Austria.
Gender difference in mathematics was small or non-existent. In science, boys outperformed girls in about half of the countries, particularly in the earth and physical sciences. In nearly every country, a large majority of both boys and girls reported that they liked mathematics and science.
Having educational resources in the home (i.e., computer, own study desk, 200 or more books) was strongly related to mathematics and science achievement in every country.
In most countries, mathematics classes typically met three or four hours a week. In the case of science, there was more differentiation. In half of the countries, science was taught for less than two hours a week, and in one-fifth of the countries, science instruction was integrated with the teaching of other subjects.
Across countries, the most frequently used instructional approaches were working together as a class with the teacher teaching the whole classroom and students working individually. The textbook was the major written source that teachers used in deciding how to present a topic to the students.

Middle School Grades

Nine of the 12 countries that performed above the international average at the primary school level also did so at Grade 8. The countries were Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong (SAR), the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, and Hungary. In science, the same was true for Korea, Japan, Austria, Australia, the Czech Republic, England, Singapore, and Slovenia.
For most countries, gender differences were minimal in mathematics but pervasive in science. Boys had higher achievement, particularly in physics, chemistry, and earth science.
Home factors (as in the case of the primary school) were strongly related to mathematics and science achievement in every TIMSS country (i.e., educational resources, books in the home, and parental education).
In almost every country, the majority of students agreed that they did well in mathematics and science. Interestingly, some of the countries with the highest achievement were those whose students had the most negative perception of success, namely Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong.
Both mathematics and science classes in most countries met for at least two hours a week but no more than three and half hours. In some countries, the hours were more (up to five), but no clear patterns could be identified between the number of in-class instructional hours and achievement.
As in the primary school, working together as a class with the teacher teaching the whole class and having students work individually under teacher supervision were the most frequently used instructional approaches. In most participating countries, teachers reported using a textbook to teach both science and mathematics for 95 percent or more of the students.

Final Year of Secondary School

The Netherlands and Sweden were the top performing countries in mathematics literacy. The top performers in science literacy were Sweden, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Norway.
In science literacy, males had significantly higher achievement than females in all countries except South Africa. In mathematics literacy, there were no significant gender differences in performance in Hungary and in the United States.
Students enrolled in academic programs had higher average achievement than students in vocational programs. The average achievement of students in technical programs generally was somewhere between that of the academic and vocational students.
Despite the different educational approaches, structures, and organization across the countries, it was clear that parental education was positively related to students’ mathematics and science literacy.
Led by France, the countries performing above the international average in advance mathematics also included the Russian Federation, Switzerland, Denmark, Cyprus and Lithuania. In advanced physics, Norwegian and Swedish students performed significantly better than students in the other participation countries. The Russian Federation and Denmark also performed above the international average.
In physics, males had significantly higher achievement than females. In advanced mathematics, the gender difference of males outperforming females was found in all countries except Greece, Cyprus, Australia, Italy, and Slovenia.
Most final-year students who had taken advanced mathematics or physics planned to attend university. Popular choices for future study included engineering, business, and health sciences.

Major Publications

Beaton, A.E., Martin, M.O., Mullis, I.V.S., Gonzales, E.J., Smith, T.A., & Kelly, D.L. (1996).

Science Achievement in the Middle School Years: IEA’s TIMSS.