The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the most extensive, comprehensive, and rigorous international study of science and mathematics education ever undertaken. A total of 41 nations participated. The tests encompassed student achievement, classroom practice, details of teachers' and students' lives, curriculum resources, and policy issues. In the United States over 33,000 students were tested in over 500 schools. The tests were conducted and partially funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Education. All countries participated in three components: What TIMSS did
1) mathematics and science assessment (both multiple choice and free response)
2) school, teacher, and student questionnaires
3) curriculum analysis (comparing mathematics and science curriculum guides and textbooks for subject content, sequencing, and performance expectations).Three groups of student populations were tested: third and fourth grades, seventh and eighth grades, and students completing their last year of secondary education . These last were tested for both general knowledge in mathematics and science and for achievement in advanced mathematics and physics.
In addition, three countries, the U.S., Japan, and Germany, also participated in the videotaping of mathematics instruction at the eighth grade level. Ethnographic studies were also done.
I. S. J.
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The TEACHERS CLEARINGHOUSE FOR SCIENCE AND SOCIETY EDUCATION