TIMSS 2023 marks the eighth cycle of the international mathematics and science assessment since the inauguration of the study in 1995. Providing over 20 years of trend data, TIMSS has been a valuable tool for monitoring international trends in mathematics and science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades.
Like the previous TIMSS assessments, TIMSS 2023 will collect detailed information about curriculum and curriculum implementation, instructional practices, and school resources. A new feature of TIMSS 2023 will be an innovative, group adaptive design that allows for a better alignment of the assessment with the student populations in the participating countries.
The TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at the Lynch School of Education, Boston College, United States, serves as the international study center for TIMSS 2019, working in close cooperation with the IEA, and the national centers of participating countries.
TIMSS achievement data are accompanied by a rich array of contextual questionnaire data about how countries around the world deliver and improve learning in mathematics and science. Trend results across study cycles permit countries to monitor the effectiveness of their educational systems in a global context.
The 2023 cycle presents countries with the unique opportunity to participate in TIMSS and IEA’s International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) at the same time. The parallel data collection of both studies in 2023 will enable participating entities to gain a more holistic understanding of educational outcomes: whereas ICILS measures computer literacy skills of students, TIMSS uses a computer-based assessment to assess mathematics and science achievements. Participating in both studies will enable countries to relate these educational outcomes. In addition, the burden for countries to participate in two IEA studies can be minimized and synergies can be strengthened. For more information, see ICILS 2023.
Countries participating in TIMSS 2023 are invited to participate in the optional TIMSS 2023 Longitudinal Study. This special opportunity aims to provide highly valuable information by following a longitudinal design to disentangle cohort and grade effects and to investigate learning gains over one year. Describing the learning gains and how they relate to contextual variables provides deeper insights into education systems by enriching what is possible to learn from cross-sectional studies. As a result, research can draw more robust inferences about successful practices observed in education systems.
Preparation of the optional longitudinal study will begin in parallel to the current cycle of the study, TIMSS 2023. Further information can be found within the TIMSS 2023 Longitudinal Study Information Package.
Total number of education systems participating in TIMSS 2023: 72
Albania; Armenia; Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Belgium, Flemish; Belgium, French; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Brazil; Bulgaria; Canada; Canada (Ontario); Canada (Quebec); Chile; Chinese Taipei; Côte d'Ivoire, Rep. of; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; England; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Hong Kong SAR; Hungary; Iran, Islamic Rep. of; Iraq; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Rep. of; Kosovo; Kuwait; Kurdistan Region of Iraq; Latvia; Lithuania; Macau SAR; Malaysia; Malta; Montenegro; Morocco; Netherlands; New Zealand; North Macedonia, Rep.of; Northern Ireland; Norway; Oman; Palestine; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; Romania; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Serbia; Singapore; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Türkiye; United Arab Emirates; United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi); United Arab Emirates (Dubai); United Arab Emirates (Sharjah); United States; Uzbekistan.
Education systems participating in the optional TIMSS 2023 Longitudinal Study are listed in bold. Benchmarking entities are listed in brackets.
February 2021
1st and 2nd meeting of National Research Coordinators (NRCs)
Mid 2021
Framework and instrument development work
October 2021
3rd NRC Meeting
Early 2022
Field trial
March 2022
4th NRC Meeting
Mid 2022
Field trial analysis
September 2022
5th NRC meeting
March 2023
6th NRC Meeting
Early to Mid-2023
Main survey data collection in Northern Hemisphere countries
End 2023
Main survey data collection in Southern Hemisphere countries
March 2024
7th NRC meeting
July 2024
8th NRC Meeting
November 2024
Publication of the TIMSS 2023 Encyclopedia
Wednesday, 4 December 2024
Publication of the results
Wednesday, 6 February 2025
Launch of a public-use database and documentation
9th NRC Meeting
In support of the improvement of education systems in the Western Balkan region, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education and Culture provided support by covering the costs of Western Balkan participants interested in enrollment in TIMSS 2023. The action helps to inform education policy and thus contributes to the improvement of education in the region and its possible future inclusion in the European educational area.