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TIMSS The International Math and Science Study
Headlines reported that the US is far behind other countries, but in
fact, US 8th graders were about average, and close to other European
nations. US 4th graders were #2 in science, and still in the top 20%
in math, 5th out of 25. It has been reported elsewhere that US 4th
graders are among the best in the world, contrary to criterion-based
state assessments that US students do not meet state "expectations"
which are allegedly "set to world class standards".
Gerald Bracey is also probably correct in
observing that there are many problems with using the TIMSS as a
valid instrument for comparing the US with other nations.
Also see
Home page for study
http://forum.swarthmore.edu/social/timss/timss.brochure.html
Minnesota participation
http://www.informns.k12.mn.us/scimathmn/timss.html
Home Page, Acrobat documents
http://wwwcsteep.bc.edu/TIMSS1/TIMSSPublications.html# International
--------------------------------------------------------
@@Anti-Reform
\clip\98\06\timsref.txt Editorial, The Richmond Times-Dispatch,
Sunday, March 1, 1998 "Wobegon" (anti-reform editorial): Clinton is
right. But -- as expected -- he exploits the dismal scores to plug an
education agenda ill-suited to the task. Chester Finn -- a former
Assistant Secretary of Education -- rebuts his policies:
@@AP students
TIMSS AP students AP students
didn't do much better than international average on TIMSS Calculus
@@Asian American
Comparing the TIMSS with the NAEP, two other people besides me have
figured out that Asians who go to crappy American schools score just
as high as Asians in Taiwan and Korea!
ASIANS IN HAWAII USA JUST AS GOOD AS ASIANS IN TAIWAIN, KOREA!
\clip\98\18\factare.txt
http://www.intellectualcapital.com/issues/98/0305/icbusgraph.asp
Facts Are Worthless Without Nuance
by Howard Wainer
International 1991 Scores Estimated 8th Grade
Mathematics NAEP Math Scores for
Assessment Hawaii's Principal
(Predicted Ethnic Groups
Proficiency for 13
year olds)
Taiwan 286 Chinese
Korea 283 Korean, Japanese
Soviet Union, 280
[I also figured this out during the early 90s but nobody was
listening! It basically proves that Asians do well no matter which
country runs the schools! Stevenson of U Michigan disagrees, but his
comparisons are not nationally representative]
US ASIANS ARE BEST IN THE WORLD
TAIWAN HAS BETTER AVERAGE, BUT IOWA HAS MUCH HIGHER FLOOR
http://www.kiva.net/~pdkintl/kappan/kres9811.htm
\clip\99\05\bracres.txt
Test Scores of Nations and States
By Gerald W. Bracey
"The best students in Taiwan outperform the best in Iowa. But
Taiwan's fifth percentile is also substantially lower than Iowa's.
The lowest-performing students in Taiwan score much worse than the
lowest-performing students in Iowa."
These overheads show eighth-grade mathematics data from the 1992
Second International Assessment of Educational Progress (IAEP-2) and
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).1 The data look
like this:
Top Scorers
Asian students, U.S.
schools 287
Taiwan 285
Iowa 284
Top third of U.S. schools 284
Korea 283
Advantaged urban students,
U.S. 283
Hungary2 277
White students, U.S.
schools 277
It is not clear why Asian American students score higher than anyone
in the world, but at least part of the explanation no doubt has to do
with the fact that, as a group, their parents are better educated and
more prosperous than the nation as a whole
examine NSF 96-52 ( which may be on line), full title is "Indicators
of Science & Mathematics Education 1995" and is a National Science
Foundation publication. Figure 2-19 on page 28 is most interesting.
Want to really know the top 20 countires for math proficiency for 13
years olds? OK, hold your hat, here they are.
1. Tawain
2. Iowa
3. Korea
4. North Dakota
5. Minnesota
6. Soviet Union
7. Switzerland
8. Maine
9. New hampshire
10. Hungary
11. Nebraska
12. Wisconsin
13. Idaho
14. Utah
15. Wyoming
16. Connecticut
17. France
18. Colorado
19. Israel
20. Italy
If one disaggregates the international date, the USA looks very
different from what the popular press writes. Most data are not
carefully analyzed. Don Orlich Pullman, WA 99164-4237
@@Critical
%%Bracey
Most quoted critic of TIMSS study.
The TIMSS final year report and study a critique -
there is no standard for final year 12 grade, many aren't
even in school.
http://www.aera.net/pubs/er/arts/29-04/bracey01.htm
z42\clipim\2000\06\07\er2904-1.pdf
\clip\99\05\brac8\brac8.txt
http://www.kiva.net/~pdkintl/kappan/kbra9810.htm The Eighth Bracey
Report on the Condition of Public Education By Gerald W. Bracey
CANADA RANKS BOTTOM OF CHART
http://www.kiva.net/~pdkintl/kappan/kba9810-1.htm#3a
\clip\95\05\brac8\award.htm The With Friends Like These Award goes to
the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training. Recall that Ontario
is home to John Snobelen, the man who as education minister once said
that "you have to generate a sense of crisis" about the education
system.
The ministry constructed the graph shown below [Canada is at the
bottom]. But Canada was about average, chart showed only nations
above Canada.
Kappan Professional Journal
8 May 1998
URL: http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kbra9805.htm
filed: \clip\99\05\timss\dims.txt
TIMSS, Rhymes with 'Dims,' As in 'Witted' By Gerald W. Bracey
Simplistic and misleading statements seriously distort
what the TIMSS official report actually says
* The TIMSS "kids" in Iceland are about the same age as American
college seniors.
* Norwegian kids, who bested the rest of the world, had been studying
physics for three years.
link
\clip\99\05\timss\timss.htm
Tinkering with the TIMSS Gerald Bracey Phi Delta Kappan Sept 1998
"In many countries, it is about grade 13 or grade 14 or about
students in their third year of study of a subject or about students
enrolled in a curriculum concentrated on math and science and little
else."
* Age is not comparable
* Asks Calculus questions when most US
students don't take calculus, some nations only tested science / math
oriented schools where children get 3 years of physics.
* 60% of us students go on to college to take advanced science and
calculus, only half as many in other countries go on to college, plus
most high school students in other countries at age 18 are on
vocational / apprenticeship tracks]
* German college tracks enroll kids
in grade 13.
http://www.kiva.net/~pdkintl/kappan/kwan9809.htm
link \clip\99\05\timss\kwan.htm "A Content Examination
of the TIMSS Items" Phi Delta Kappan Sept 1998. Test items have more
than one correct answer, give a wrong answer, or grade correct
answers as wrong.
%%General
4th grade math was not all that great
4TH GRADE DIDN'T HAVE ALL COMPETITORS 08 Dec 1998 Bruce Crawford
There's more to the story below. Remember,
ten of the countries which bested us in the eighth grade did not
participate in the fourth grade TIMSS. Our improvement at the lower
level was not because of any encouraging developments. Our
"improvement" was because some of the fast horses sat out the
preliminary heat.
DON'T PANIC OVER "LOW" MID/HS SCIENCE SCORES
\clip\98\09\timss2.txt http://www.edweek.org/ew/current/40letend.h17
[June 17, 1998] [Education Week on the Web] International
Competitiveness In Science By Gerald LeTendre and David Baker
The Seventh Bracey Report on the Condition of Public Education
\clip\98\08\bracey\bracey.htm Phi Delta Kappan
Magazine timss: People have offered various reasons for the
"slide" from fourth grade to eighth grade in mathematics. I would
contend that it's primarily because mathematics instruction stops for
most students after grade 4 or 5. Thus it is interesting that the
variabilities of Asian nations are not that much smaller than the
variability of Americans at grade 4, and, for the most part, this
variability increases from grade 4 to grade 8 to become larger than
the U.S. variability in mathematics. Goya contended that the
curriculum in Japanese high schools is tough and unbending and that
at the advanced levels up to 95% of the students don't know what is
going on
z49\clipim\2001\04\25\backslid.gif 150dpi
2000 STUDY: US 8TH GRADERS DO WORSE LONGER THEY STAY IN SCHOOL
U.S. Students Backslide on International Retest Wall Street Journal
Dec 2000 (?) June Kronholz - concludes US 4th graders who did well in
1995 fell to slightly above average, and worse if compared against
the original countries in 1995. "the repeat test was designed
to see if children who did well on the earlier fourth grade
test could sustain their achievement" .. "results showed
US children did worse the longer they stayed in school" [But US
4th graders did well, even though low TIMSS scores are given as
reason we have to adopt fuzzy math]
In a quadrilateral, if you have two 115 deg, third 70 deg, what
is remaining angle *a)60 b)70 c)130 d)140 e) none US 19% Int 40%
What is area of shaded rectangle in a parallelogram? (20 sq cm)
US 34% Int 43%
->3 <---
+-------+ v
/ | |/ 4
+--------+ ^
<---8cm-->
. \clip\98\08\bracey.txt
Copyright 1998 by Gerald W. Bracey. AN OPEN LETTER TO SECRETARY OF
EDUCATION RICHARD RILEY By Gerald W. Bracey March 27, 1998 [TIMSS
results are not valid, not excuse to abandon public education]
American Prospect article says
there is no correlation between TIMSS scores and economic dominance
of a county.
TIMSS IS NOT ACCURATE MEASURE OF US PERFORMANCE
"Bob & Barbara Tennison" 3 Mar 1998 19:29:38 -0800
I don't know what is being said in the press in your neck of the
woods but around here the it is being pointed out that the TIMMS is
NOT an accurate gauge of how well our students do in Science and
Math. I have noticed the reference to the TIMMS in cartoons as well
as many editorials. But combining the best of all the editorials and
letters to the editor are the following thoughts.
1. In the U.S. we test ALL our students.
2. In Japan, England and elsewhere they test ONLY their high achievers.
3. In the U.S. students do not hit their stride in science and math UNTIL
they go to college, because...
High School Teachers are NOT proficient in science and math
College Professors are more likely to use validated research and require
that their students validate their own research
4. If we are so bad, why are the Pacific Rim countries knocking down the
doors of our colleges and universities to get their kids in?
It makes me "feel good" to hear so many people on the local, state and
national level, saying that the TIMMS is bogus and we as parents shouldn't
put too much faith in the test results.
Bob & Barbara Tennison
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
http://www.jb.com/~btennison
@@General
@@News
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/opinion/edop10.shtml
z47\clip\2000\12\achmath.txt Improve what we’re teaching our kids
Sunday, December 10, 2000 By LOUIS V. GERSTNER JR. and TOMMY G.
THOMPSON GUEST COLUMNISTS [Achieve] "What American schools consider
eighth-grade math is barely sixth-grade math in countries like The
Netherlands and Singapore. "
2000 TIMSS-R WE'RE ABOVE AVERAGE, BUT THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH
The spin on the 2000 test is that it's nice that our 4th graders are
still on top, but they didn't stay on top in 8th grade, and we're in
crisis even though we're above the international average, and we
still need to raise standards to world class levels even though
international average _IS_ world class.
z47\clip\2000\12\math8.htm US eighth-graders beat global average in
math By Gail Russell Chaddock (chaddockg@csps.com) Staff writer of
The Christian Science Monitor 12/6/2000
A club has 86 members, but 14 more girls than boys. How many
boys and girls?
x = number of boys
x + (14 + x ) = 86
2x + 14 = 86
2x + 14 - 14 = 86 - 14
2x / 2 = 72 / 2
x = 36 boys
86 - 36 = 50 girls
-------------------------------------------------------------
72% Singapore
66% Taipei
40% Russia
33% World Average
29% US
Source: Boston College, TIMSS
MATH REFORM FAILS TO DENT US MATH PROGRESS ON TIMSS
U.S. Students Fail to Keep Up in Global Science and Math Tests
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/06/national/06EXAM.html December 6,
2000 By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 Four years after
American fourth-grade students scored high on an international test
of science and math, their performance declined markedly when they
reached the eighth grade, The reforms on which their hopes hinged,
included the efforts of school districts to bring uniformity and
coherence to science and math curriculums... and to raise standards.
US TOPS IN 4TH GRADE, LAGGING BY G12
http://archives.seattletimes.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=harv07&date=20000507
z42\clip\2000\06\harvey.txt .HTM
Seattle Times Company
Sunday, May 07, 2000
The higher the grade level, the lower the scores for American students
by James Harvey Special to The Times
z42\clipim\2000\05\16\transform\transform.htm
http://www.brook.edu/comm/transcripts/20000320.htm
Brown Center on Education Policy
and New American Schools
present
Transforming American Schools
A Brown Center Issues in Education Series Event
http://www.brook.edu/press/books/legacy_learning.htm
A Legacy of Learning
Your Stake in Standards and New Kinds of Public Schools
David T. Kearns and
James Harvey
Foreword by George Bush
c. 216 pp. / 2000
Cloth 0-8157-4894-9 $24.95
Brookings Institution Press
\clip\98\05\iqtimss.txt NY TIMES, March 2, 1998 Letters to the Editor
I.Q.'S RISE, YET STUDENTS FALL BACK
\clip\98\06\newscl01.txt 3/1/98 New York Times Tests Prove That
Nobody's Smart About Intelligence By GEORGE JOHNSON [TIMSS, RISING
NAEP, SAT SCORES, IQ, FLYNN EFFECT, MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES]
US Students Don't Measure Up: Dismal Performance on international
math science test (TIMSS) Feb 24, 1998 San Francisco Examiner. US
among lowest of 21 nations in 12th grade. Science and math are
"repetitive and unchallenging". US teaches one subject per year,
other nations blend disciplines (advocating integrated curriculum?)
US in math = Czech Republic, Italy, Russa. No Asian nations
participated. Science = Czech France, Germany, Russia. Advanced math
= Austraia, Czech, Germany, Italy, but 11 nations, including Russia
were better. In physics, US was last with Austria (but consistently
equal to rival Germany in almost every case!)
z39\clipim\99\12\15\whostop.efx Who's Top Economist March 29, 1997
Rankings of nations show Singapore, Japan at top of 13 yr old math
and science rankings, but also shows controversies. "the average
scores of American and British pupils are mediocre because average
performance is mediocre, not because of some peculiarity at the very
bottom". The scale was scored so 500 was average, the US was average,
not rock bottom out of a very respectable group of advanced nations.
Julia Whitburn of Britains National Institute of Economic and Social
Research has studied math teaching in Japan and Switzerland, some
common factors: (In general, traditional instructivist math)
- more time is spent on basic arithmetic rather than general topics
such as handling data (statistics?)
- pupils learn to do sums in their heads before they are taught to do
them on paper, calculators are banned.
- standardized teaching manuals
- whole-class instruction, teaching whole class, then posing
questions to each pupil to check comprehension. Americans let
children work in groups.
-
Why America Has the World's Dimmest
Bright Kids 2/26/98 By CHESTER E. FINN JR. [US 12 graders rate
low on TIMSS in science]
TIMSS as justification for new-new
math
\clip\97\28\97198.pdf
US Dept of Ed 8th grade report "Pursuing Excellence" U.S. eighth
graders score below average in mathematics achievement and above
average in science achievement, compared to the 41 nations in the
TIMSS assessment.
In mathematics, our eighth-grade students' international
standing is stronger in Algebra and Fractions than in Geometry and
Measurement.
The content taught in U.S. eighth-grade mathematics classrooms is at
a seventh-grade level in comparison to other countries.
The content of U.S. mathematics classes requires less high-level
thought than classes in Germany and Japan.
U.S. mathematics teachers' typical goal is to teach students
how to do something, while Japanese teachers' goal is to help them
understand mathematical concepts.
Japanese teachers widely practice what the U.S. mathematics
reform recommends, while U.S. teachers do so less frequently.
Eighth-grade students of different abilities are typically divided
into different classrooms in the U.S., and different schools in
Germany. In Japan, no ability grouping is practiced.
In the U.S. students in higher-level mathematics classes study
different material than students in lower-level classes. In Germany
and Japan, all students study the same material, although in Germany,
lower-level classes study it less deeply and rigorously.
The content of U.S. eighth-grade mathematics classes is not as
challenging as that of other countries, and topic coverage is not as
focused.
As noted earlier, the U.S. eighth-grade mathematics curriculum
focuses more on arithmetic, while the German and Japanese curricula
focus more on geometry and algebra. Furthermore, U.S. eighth graders
are studying topics usually learned at the seventh grade in most
other TIMSS countries.
=========================================
National rankings and average scores of eighth-grade students in math
and science according to the Third International Mathematics and
Science Study, a private research study. There is a 10 point margin
of error.
Comment - America actually compares favorably with other nations with
Caucasians, especially considering that 25% of the population is of
under-performing African and Latino descent. The top nations are all
East Asian. This study does not break down Americans by race, if they
did, Asian Americans would likely score as high as Asians in their
home countries, and Whites would rank near the top of the European
nations.
8TH GRADE WORLD RANKING
Mathematics:
Singapore, 643
Korea, 607
Japan, 605
Hong Kong, 588
------ E Asia 588-643 ----
Belgium (Flemish), 565
Czech Republic, 564
Slovak Republic, 547
Switzerland, 545
Netherlands, 541
Slovenia, 541.
Bulgaria, 540.
Austria, 539.
France, 538.
Hungary, 537.
Russian Federation,535.
Australia, 530.
Ireland, 527.
Canada, 527.
Belgium (French), 526.
Thailand, 522.
Israel, 522.
Sweden, 519.
Germany, 509.
New Zealand, 508.
England, 506.
Norway, 503.
Denmark, 502.
United States, 500.
------ US near other Europeans 500-560 ----
Scotland, 498.
Latvia, 493.
Spain, 487.
Iceland, 487.
Greece, 484.
Romania, 482.
Lithuania, 477.
Cyprus, 474.
Portugal, 454.
Iran, 428.
Kuwait, 392.
Colombia, 385.
South Africa, 354.
Science:
Singapore, 607.
Czech Republic, 574.
Japan, 571.
Korea, 565.
Bulgaria, 565.
Netherlands, 560.
Slovenia, 560.
Austria, 558.
Hungary, 554.
England, 552.
Belgium (Flemish), 550.
Australia, 545.
Slovak Republic, 544.
Russian Federation, 538.
Ireland, 538.
Sweden, 535.
United States, 534.
Germany, 531.
Canada, 531.
Norway, 527.
New Zealand, 525.
Thailand, 525.
Israel, 524.
Hong Kong, 522.
Switzerland, 522.
Scotland, 517.
Spain, 517.
France, 498.
Greece, 497.
Iceland, 494.
Romania, 486.
Latvia, 485.
Portugal, 480.
Denmark, 478.
Lithuania, 476.
Belgium (French), 471.
Iran, 470.
Cyprus, 463.
Kuwait, 430.
Colombia, 411.
South Africa, 326.
TABLE SHOWS US 4TH GRADERS LAG WHEN IT'S STILL IN TOP 20%
US 4th graders lag behind other nations in Math, Science (but chart
does not show US was in top 20%)
Math Science ’93 spending
Country score score per student*
Korea 611 597 $1,715
Japan 597 574 $3,960
Czech
Republic 567 557 $1,506
Ireland 550 539 $1,882
United States 545 565 $5,492
New Zealand 499 531 $2,659
Iceland 474 505 $2,645
* U.S dollars
Sources: OECD, Third International
Mathematics and Science Study (1997)
"Czech students excel at math, science" Seattle Times Feb 15, 1998 p.
A17. Czech students rank with best Asian nations. Students enter 1st
grade able to count to 5, sit in rows with flashcards, drills,
workbook problems. US 7th and 8th graders way down the list, 4th
graders were 4th in science but falling far behind in math. No pain,
no gain vs. "math is fun" frequent testing, unforgiving grading,
memorization of formulas and equations, teacher has the last word.
Student enjoyed school in the US more.
From table by MSNBC
"An exodus from the public schools?" MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/news/124752.asp#BODY 11/25/97
\clip\97\16\timss4\timss4.htm Education Week Jun 18, 1997 ranking:
Science 1- Korea 2 Japan 3 US/Australia Math 1- Singapore 2 Korea 3
Japan 4 Hong Kong .... 11 - Australia 12- US
US 4TH GRADERS TOP 8% 2/26 IN SCIENCE, TOP 20% 5/26 IN MATH
\CLIP\97\15\MATHSTAN.TXT 4th-Graders Excel In Science, Math By SONYA
ROSS Associated Press Writer Tuesday, June 10, 1997 6:14 pm EDT "the
Third International Mathematics and Science Study showed American
fourth-graders second among 26 countries in science, outpaced only by
South Korea. In math, U.S. students came in behind five other
countries: Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and the Czech
Republic."
\clip\96\09\timss.txt AP 20-Nov-1996 7:58 EST REF5345 American Kids
Bad In Math By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press Writer
Third International Math and Science Study
http://www.apnet.com/inscight/06101997/graphb.htm Academic Press
Inscight (Science Magazine) Posted 10 June 1997, 5 pm PST U.S. Kids
Start Strong in Science, Then Fade Washington, D.C.--Elementary
school students in the United States are world-class achievers in
science.
http://www.hep.net/documents/newsletters/aipfyi/1997/aipfyi- 084.html
US 4TH GRADERS ABOVE AVERAGE IN MATH AND SCIENCE
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 84: July 3, 1997 U.S. 4th-Graders Make Good Showing in Math
and Science The latest findings from the most recent international
comparison of grade-school math and science achievement reveals some
more optimistic results for the U.S. than earlier data. The first
report based on the "Third International Mathematical and Science
Study" (TIMSS), released in November, focused on eighth-graders (see
FYI #159, 1996.) It showed that U.S. eighth-graders ranked slightly
below the international average in math, and slightly above in
science. The more recent report, put out on June 10, targets
fourth-graders, with a more positive result: "U.S. fourth-graders
perform above the international average of the 26 TIMSS countries in
both mathematics and science."
10/1/97 Education Week http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-17/05timss.h17
Ill. Scores at Odds With Perceptions of Capabilities By Kathleen
Kennedy Manzo Illinois teachers and students feel confident about
their knowledge of science and math, but that confidence is at odds
with the state's lackluster performance in an international
comparison. The sample of 2,000 Illinois students scored on a par
with American students in general, but significantly lower than peers
in 25 other countries in math and 16 other countries in science.
------------------------------
http://www.thonline.com/th/news/1996/th1121/stories/35200.htm
November 21, 1996
U.S. students aren't at the top of the class
Associated Press . Average: American teens score low in math, but
better in science WASHINGTON (AP) - American eighth graders ranked
28th in math tests given to students in 41 nations, far behind Asian
countries at the top of the list. The U.S. students made it into the
top half in science, ranking 17th.
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has a videotape study
that shows Japanese teachers already were doing a better job
implementing the kind of reforms the council advocates. In the
United States and Germany, students are taught procedures for solving
practice math problems, said Jim Stigler, who directed the classroom
videotape study. In Japan, the goal is conceptual understanding, he
said.
TIMSS FINDS US AVERAGE IN MATH
\clip\97\01\timss.txt Education Week Volume 16, Issue 13, November
27, 1996 Copyright 1996, Editorial Projects in Education, Inc. U.S.
Students About Average In Global Study By Millicent Lawton
\clip\96\09\timss.txt AP 20-Nov-1996 7:58 EST REF5345 American Kids
Bad In Math By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press Writer
Third International Math and Science Study
@@Girls
AMERICAN GIRLS DO POORLY ON TIMSS MATH SCIENCE z42\doc\web\2000\05\girltims.txt
Summary of TIMSS The TIMSS (Third International Math & Science Study)
provided an unprecedented opportunity for debate and analysis of the
US education system. It demonstrated that the "gender gap" (the
difference between boys' and girls' test scores) is constant across
the world and is not the result of some systemic discrimination
against girls and in favor of boys in the US, as claimed by
feminists. It demonstrates that American 12th grade girls had been
taught math and physics principles, but that zero percent of them
were able to apply those principles to problem solving.
@@Math
Prof Wm Schmidt PHD of TIMSS
study says TIMSS proves we have to reform math, but it's really a
thinly disguised sales pitch for OBE/standards-based education reform
and fuzzy math.
@@Private Schools
Council for American Private Education
Test Results Show Private Education Raises Test Scores
The Counsel for American Private Education reported that American
private schools scored significantly above the national average on
tests that measured math and science performance in 38 countries
around the world. If private school scores had been included in the
rating for the U.S. ranking among other countries, the U.S. would
have gone from being ranked 19th in math to 12th and from 18th in
science to 6th.
@@Race
If Americans were broken out separately by race, the Asians would
rank the highest, Whites fairly high up, and underperforming
minorities would rank with the worst nations.
US WHITE EIGHTH GRADERS WOULD BE 6TH IN SCIENCE, 13TH MATH
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 10:41:03 -0500
From: "Ken Hirsch"
see TIMSS - Trends in International Math and Science Study. See
http://nces.ed.gov/timss/results.asp
Eighth-graders in the U.S. scored 515 on the science portion of the 1999
TIMSS test, in 18th place. But white students in America scored 547, which
would put them in sixth place, behind only Taiwan, Singapore, Hungary,
Japan, and Korea. That is higher than all Western European countries.
In math, the U.S. scored 502, which is 19th place. White students scored
525, which would tie them with Australia for 13th place.
Ethnic data from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001028
For a criticism of TIMSS as a method of comparison, see
http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/kbra9809.htm
TIMSS FAILINGS CONCENTRATED AMONG MINORITIES, WHITES WOULD BE IN TOP 3
z47\clip\2001\01\timsbad.txt ---------------------------------------
The Washington Post Our Schools vs. Theirs: Averages That Hide The
True Extremes By David C. Berliner Sunday, January 28, 2001 ; Page
B03 Statistically, these public school students are on a par with the
top scorers internationally in mathematics and science. Improving
public schools where students are doing this well would be difficult.
In science, for the items common to both the TIMSS and the TIMSS-R,
the scores of white students in the United States were exceeded by
only three other nations. But black American school children were
beaten by every single nation, and Hispanic kids were beaten by all
but two nations. A similar pattern was true of mathematics scores.
@@Valid
z68\doc\web\2003\07\timss.txt
Harlow, A., & Jones, A. Why students answer TIMSS science test items
the way they do.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore how year 8 students
answered Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
questions and whether the test questions represented the scientific
understanding of these students.
"only 13% of the written test items actually elicited the
knowledge held by the students in the middle school interview sample.
For 58% of the items in the test, students had more knowledge than
they wrote in their written responses, and for 29% of the items,
students who had the 'correct' written response did not have a
complete understanding of the concept being assessed." (p. 10)