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The "PIRLS 2016 Assessment Framework, 2nd Edition" provides the foundation for the three international assessments planned as part of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2016: PIRLS, PIRLS Literacy, and ePIRLS. PIRLS represents the international standard for reading comprehension at the fourth grade. PIRLS Literacy, a less difficult version of PIRLS, is designed to assess foundational reading skills that are prerequisites for success on PIRLS. New in 2016, ePIRLS is an innovative assessment of online reading that makes it possible for countries to understand how successful the are in preparing fourth grade students to read, comprehend, and interpret online information. Chapter 1 (Ina V. S. Mullis, Michael O. Martin, Marian Sainsbury) presents the "PIRLS 2016 Reading Framework", and describes in some detail the major purposes of reading and processes of comprehension to be tested at the fourth grade. PIRLS assesses two purposes of reading that fourth grade students typically engage in: reading for literary experience, as well as to acquire and use information. PIRLS also assesses four broad processes of comprehension predominantly used by fourth grade readers: focus on and retrieve explicitly stated information, make straightforward inferences, interpret and integrate ideas and information, and evaluate and critique content and textual elements. Chapter 2 (Martin Hooper, Ina V. S. Mullis, Michael O. Martin) contains the "PIRLS 2016 Contextual Framework" describing the types of schooling situations and factors associated with students' development in reading literacy that will be investigated via the "PIRLS 2016 Encyclopedia" in addition to the questionnaires completed by students, their teachers, and schools. Finally, Chapter 3 (Michael O. Martin, Ina V. S. Mullis, Pierre Foy) provides an overview of the PIRLS and PIRLS Literacy test booklet and ePIRLS task designs, including general parameters for item development. The following are appended: (1) Acknowledgements; (2) Sample PIRLS Passages, Questions, and Scoring Guides; and (3) Sample PIRLS Literacy Passages, Questions, and Scoring Guides. [For the first edition, "PIRLS 2016 Assessment Framework." see ED545242.]

The "TIMSS Advanced 2015 Assessment Frameworks" provides the foundation for the two international assessments to take place as part of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) Advanced 2015--Advanced Mathematics and Physics. Chapter 1 (Liv Sissel Grønmo, Mary Lindquist, Alka Arora) and Chapter 2 (Lee R. Jones, Gerald Wheeler, Victoria A. S. Centurino) present the TIMSS Advanced 2015 Mathematics Framework and the TIMSS Advanced 2015 Physics Framework, respectively, describing in some detail the major content and cognitive domains in advanced mathematics and physics to be tested at the final year of secondary school. The content domains (algebra, calculus, and geometry in mathematics; and mechanics and thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, and wave phenomena and atomic/nuclear physics in physics) and the topic areas within the domains are presented, with further elaboration on specific objectives of each topic area. The cognitive domains describing the thinking students should be doing within the advanced mathematics and physics content domains are the same for both subjects, albeit with different levels of emphasis. Chapter 3 (Martin Hooper, Ina V. S. Mullis, Michael O. Martin) contains the TIMSS Advanced 2015 Context Questionnaire Framework, describing the types of schooling situations and factors associated with students' learning in advanced mathematics and physics that will be investigated via the questionnaires completed by students, their teachers, and their school principals as well as via the "TIMSS 2015 Encyclopedia". Finally, Chapter 4 (Michael O. Martin, Ina. V. S. Mullis, Pierre Foy) provides an overview of the TIMSS Advanced 2015 test booklet design, and includes general parameters for item development. The following are appended: (1) Acknowledgements; (2) Example Mathematics Items; and (3) Example Physics Items.

It is critical for countries to ensure that capable secondary school students receive further preparation in advanced mathematics and science, so that they are ready to enter challenging university-level studies that prepare them for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This group of students will become the next generation of scientists and engineers who will drive innovation and technological development in all sectors of the economy; thus, it is important for countries to understand the mathematics and science achievement of these students as they begin their university-level education. First conducted in 1995, and then again in 2008, TIMSS Advanced is the only international assessment that targets this specific group of students and provides essential information about their advanced mathematics and physics achievement. TIMSS Advanced assesses these students in their final year of secondary school or, as an option offered in 2015 for the first time, at the start of their STEM coursework in universities. Each country that participates in TIMSS Advanced 2015 gains valuable information on the following: (1) The numbers of students and the proportion of the overall student population who are participating in advanced mathematics and physics study at the end of secondary school; (2) The achievement of these students based on international benchmarks (advanced, high, and intermediate); and (3) A rich set of contextual data on curricula, teaching and learning strategies, teacher preparation, school resources, and student preparation and attitudes that can be used to guide education reform and policy planning in STEM fields. Thus, countries that participate in TIMSS Advanced 2015 can obtain data to help them understand how successful they are at preparing the future generation of scientists and engineers, and what policies can be implemented to support and expand the pipeline of students who enter STEM careers. TIMSS Advanced 2015 provides countries that participated in the prior assessments in 1995 and 2008 the opportunity to continue the trend line that shows achievement in advanced mathematics and physics over time. In conjunction with the collection of advanced mathematics and physics achievement data, TIMSS Advanced 2015 also will collect an array of contextual data from curriculum specialists, school principals, mathematics and physics teachers, and the students themselves in each participating country. These data include the following: (1) Organization of the advanced mathematics and physics curriculum; (2) Topics actually taught; (3) Teacher qualifications and experience; (4) Classroom instructional strategies, including technology use; (5) School resources; (6) Amount of instructional time; (7) School environment and climate for learning; (8) Students' homework and out-of-school activities; (9) Home educational supports, including information and communications technology (ICT); and (10) Students' attitudes and aspirations toward STEM-related careers. This extensive set of TIMSS Advanced 2015 contextual data can be used to evaluate current educational policies and instructional strategies, and shape them to improve enrollment and achievement in the advanced secondary school courses required to prepare students for university study in STEM fields. The introduction was written by Ina V. S. Mullis. Chapter 1, TIMSS Advanced 2015 Mathematics Framework (Liv Sissel Grønmo, Mary Lindquist, and Alka Arora) contains the framework for the advanced mathematics assessment. Chapter 2, TIMSS Advanced 2015 Physics Framework,(Lee R. Jones, Gerald Wheeler, and Victoria A.S. Centurino) contains the framework for the physics assessment. Chapter 3, TIMSS Advanced 2015 Context Questionnaire Framework (Martin Hooper, Ina V.S. Mullis, and Michael O. Martin) contains the TIMSS Advanced Contextual Framework describing the types of learning situations and factors associated with students' achievement in advanced mathematics and physics that will be investigated via the questionnaire data. Finally, Chapter 4, TIMSS Advanced 2015 Assessment Design (Michael O. Martin, Ina V.S. Mullis, and Pierre Foy) provides an overview of the 2015 Assessment Design, including general guidelines for item development. For TIMSS Advanced 2015, the advanced mathematics and physics frameworks were updated to better reflect the curricula, standards, and frameworks of the participating countries. The following are appended: (1) Acknowledgements; (2) Example Mathematics Items; (3) Example Physics Items.

TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is an international assessment of mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth grades that has been conducted every four years since 1995, with the most recent assessment in 2011. PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) is an international assessment of reading comprehension at the fourth grade that has been conducted every five years since 2001. In total, approximately 325,000 students participated in PIRLS 2011, including countries assessing students at the sixth as well as the fourth grades, regional participants or language benchmarking efforts, and prePIRLS (an easier version of PIRLS) for students who are still developing their reading skills. Both TIMSS and PIRLS 2011 continue series' of international assessments in mathematics, science, and reading conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational (IEA). IEA pioneered international comparative assessments of educational achievement in the 1960s to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of policies and practices across countries' different systems of education. In 2011, the TIMSS and PIRLS data collection schedules came into alignment for the first time in the history of these international assessments. This provided countries with the opportunity to assess their fourth grade students in three fundamental curricular areas: mathematics, science, and reading. However, more pertinent to the present report, 34 countries and three benchmarking entities took advantage of this unique opportunity to assess the same students in all three subjects. Equally important, because the PIRLS assessment includes a parent questionnaire that provides information describing students' home environments and supports for learning, this home environment information was available for the first time with TIMSS data as well. Taken together, the fourth grade students in these 34 countries and three benchmarking participants have achievement data in the three core academic areas--reading, mathematics, and science--accompanied by an extensive array of background questionnaire data about the home, school, and classroom contexts for learning these three subjects. Having data on the same students makes it possible to conduct a range of investigations of the important characteristics of home and school influencing early learning, while controlling for extraneous factors. Researchers can apply a variety of modeling techniques to explore these important issues by examining the interrelationships among their underlying components. To facilitate this research, the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center created a special international database including only fourth grade students assessed in all three subjects, and achievement scores in reading, mathematics, and science were estimated based on a multidimensional scaling or reading, mathematics, and science together (Foy, 2013). The purpose of the special database is to have the most appropriate basis for studying relationships among reading, mathematics, and science teaching and learning. It is anticipated that the primary value of this special TIMSS and PIRLS 2011 data will be realized through in-depth national research, as participating countries use the data for school improvement at the primary level. The intention of this initial book examining relationships among reading, mathematics, and science teaching and learning is to illustrate the potential of the special TIMSS and PIRLS 2011 database and to make some headway in the analysis process. The hope is that that the four chapters of this book will inspire many others to conduct further research and mine this valuable data. Following an introduction by Ina V. S. Mullis and Michael O. Martin, the content are as follows: (1) Profiles of Achievement across Reading, Mathematics, and Science at the Fourth Grade (Ina V.S. Mullis); (2) The Impact of Reading Ability on TIMSS Mathematics and Science Achievement at the Fourth Grade: An Analysis by Item Reading Demands (Ina V. S. Mullis, Michael O. Martin, and Pierre Foy); (3) Effective Schools in Reading, Mathematics, and Science at the Fourth Grade (Michael O. Martin, Pierre Foy, Ina V. S. Mullis, and Laura M. O'Dwyer); and (4) Effects of Home Background on Student Achievement in Reading, Mathematics, and Science at the Fourth Grade (Jan-Eric Gustafsson, Kajsa Yang Hansen, and Monica Rosén). Individual chapters contain references.

Because developing reading literacy ability is vital to every student's growth and maturation, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, more widely known as IEA, has been conducting regular international assessments of reading literacy and the factors associated with its acquisition in countries around the world for more than 50 years. PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) was inaugurated in 2001 as a follow-up to IEA's 1991 Reading Literacy Study. Conducted a five year intervals, PIRLS 2016 is the fourth assessment in the current trend series, following PIRLS 2001, 2006, and 2011, All of the countries, institutions and agencies involved in successive PIRLS assessments have worked collaboratively in building the most comprehensive and innovative measure of reading comprehension possible beginning in 2001 and improving with each cycle since then. PIRLS is directed by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College. New for 2016, ePIRLS is an innovative assessment of online reading. In order to be responsive to the information age and provide important information about how well students are developing 21st century skills, ePIRLS uses an engaging, simulated Internet environment to present fourth grade students with authentic school-like assignments involving science and social studies topics. A teacher avatar guides students through the ePIRLS assignments, prompting the students with questions about the online information. The number of countries participating in PIRLS has grown with each assessment cycle. Based on reading purposes and comprehension processes, the PIRLS framework provides the foundation for the PIRLS, prePIRLS, and ePIRLS assessments of students' reading achievement. PIRLS assesses students' reading achievement within the two overarching purposes for reading that account for most of the reading done by young students both in and out of school: (1) Reading for literary experience; and (2) Reading to acquire and use information. The PIRLS assessments integrate four types of comprehension processes within each of the two purposes for reading: (1) Focus on and retrieve explicitly stated information; (2) Make straightforward inferences; (3) Interpret and integrate ideas and information; and (4) Evaluate and critique content and textual elements. The upcoming PIRLS 2016 assessment with its questionnaires, as well as the PIRLS 2016 Encyclopedia, will collect and report data on a variety of activities and experiences from the following range of learning to read contexts: (1) National and community; (2) Home; (3) School; (4) Classroom; and (5) Student. As a result, the PIRLS 2016 Encyclopedia and questionnaire data will provide a dynamic picture of reading educational policies and practices across the participating countries that can raise issues and indicate avenues relevant to educational improvement efforts. Consistent with the purpose of extending PIRLS or bridging to PIRLS, the less difficult reading assessment has been named prePIRLS. The prePIRLS assessment follows the same conception of reading literacy as PIRLS outlined in this publication, but is intended to measure the reading comprehension skills of students who are still in the process of learning how to read. The availability of prePIRLS enables IEA to target the PIRLS assessment to each country's situation in order to provide the best possible measurement. Depending on a country's educational development and the students' reading level, countries can participate in either or both PIRLS and prePIRLS in order to conduct the most effective assessment. The goal is to provide the best policy-relevant information about how to improve teaching and learning and to help young students become accomplished and self-sufficient readers. Updating the PIRLS framework with each assessment cycle provides participating countries opportunities to introduce fresh ideas and current information about curricula, standards, frameworks, and instruction. This keeps the frameworks educationally relevant, creates coherence from assessment to assessment, and permits the framework, instruments, and procedures to evolve gradually into the future. The introduction was authored by Ina V. S. Mullis. Chapters of this report are as follows: (1) PIRLS 2016 Reading Framework (Ina V. S. Mullis, Michael O. Martin, and Marian Sainsbury); (2) PIRLS 2016 Context Questionnaire Framework (Martin Hooper, Ina V. S. Mullis, and Michael O. Martin); and (3) PIRLS 2016 Assessment Design and Specifications (Michael O. Martin, Ina V. S. Mullis, and Pierre Foy). Appendices include: (1) Acknowledgements; (2) Sample PIRLS Passages, Questions, and Scoring Guides; and (3) Sample prePIRLS Passages, Questions, and Scoring Guides.

For more than 50 years, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has been conducting comparative studies of educational achievement in a number of curriculum areas, including mathematics and science. TIMSS 2011 represents the fifth cycle of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), developed by IEA. During the past two decades, TIMSS has reported on mathematics and science achievement trends at the fourth and eighth grades, providing educational policymakers, administrators, teachers, and researchers with powerful insights into how educational systems are functioning as well as critical intelligence about the possibilities for educational reform and improvement. The "TIMSS 2011 International Results in Science" presents extensive information on student performance in science, including trends over the five assessments since 1995. Also included are data on performance in the science content domains (earth science, biology, chemistry, etc.) and on competence in managing the problem solving challenges in these science contexts. In addition, the TIMSS 2011 report contains vital information on key curricular, instructional, and resource-related factors that can impact the teaching and learning process. These data on student achievement trends and the contexts for teaching and learning science will ensure that TIMSS continues to set the standard for studies of this type and be regarded as a fundamental source of information for educational policymakers, planners, and researchers alike. The following appendices are included: (1) Countries Participating in TIMSS 2011 and in Earlier TIMSS Assessments; (2) Characteristics of the Items in the TIMSS 2011 Science Assessment; (3) Population Coverage and Sample Participation Rates; (4) Percentage of Students with Achievement Too Low for Estimation; (5) Average Percent Correct in the Science Content and Cognitive Domains; (6) The Test-Curriculum Matching Analysis--Science; (7) Percentiles and Standard Deviations of Science Achievement; and (8) Organizations and Individuals Responsible for TIMSS 2011. (Contains 143 exhibits and 5 footnotes.)

The "TIMSS 2011 International Results in Mathematics" summarizes fourth and eighth grade student achievement in each of the 63 countries and 14 benchmarking entities which participated in TIMSS 2011. The report includes trends in mathematics achievement over time for participants in the previous TIMSS 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007 assessments, as well as student performance at the TIMSS International Benchmarks. Achievement results also are presented for mathematics content and cognitive domains. The "Mathematics Report" provides a rich array of information which describes the educational contexts for mathematics, including home environment support, students' backgrounds and attitudes toward mathematics, the mathematics curriculum, teachers' education and training, classroom characteristics and activities, and school contexts for mathematics learning and instruction. The following appendices are included: (1) Countries Participating in TIMSS 2011 and in Earlier TIMSS Assessments; (2) Characteristics of the Items in the TIMSS 2011 Mathematics Assessment; (3) Population Coverage and Sample Participation Rates; (4) Percentage of Students with Achievement Too Low for Estimation; (5) Average Percent Correct in the Mathematics Content and Cognitive Domains; (6) The Test-Curriculum Matching Analysis--Mathematics; (7) Percentiles and Standard Deviations of Mathematics Achievement; and (8) Organizations and Individuals Responsible for TIMSS 2011. (Contains 145 exhibits and 5 footnotes.)

Because of the educational importance of mathematics and science, IEA's (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, widely known as TIMSS, is dedicated to providing countries with information to improve teaching and learning in these curriculum areas. Conducted every four years on a regular cycle, TIMSS assesses achievement in mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth grades. TIMSS 2011 is the most recent in the TIMSS series, which began with the first assessment in 1995 and has continued with subsequent assessments in 1999, 2003, and 2007. For countries with data back to 1995, TIMSS 2011 will provide the fifth trend measure. This publication contains three frameworks and explains the assessment design that will serve as the basis for implementing TIMSS 2011. The "TIMSS 2011 Mathematics Framework" and the "TIMSS 2011 Science Framework" in Chapters 1 and 2, respectively, describe in some detail the major content and cognitive domains in mathematics and science to be tested at the fourth and eighth grades. The content domains (for example, algebra, geometry, etc. in mathematics, and biology, chemistry, etc. in science) and the topic areas within the domains are described separately for the fourth and eighth grades with each topic area elaborated with specific objectives. The cognitive domains describing the thinking students should be doing within the mathematics and science content domains are the same for mathematics and science and parallel across grades, but with different levels of emphasis. Chapter 3 contains the "TIMSS 2011 Contextual Framework" describing the types of situations and factors associated with students' learning in mathematics and science that will be investigated via the questionnaires. Finally, Chapter 4 provides an overview of the "TIMSS 2011 Assessment Design", including general parameters for item development. Appendices include: (1) Acknowledgements; (2) Example Mathematics Items; and (3) Example Science Items. (Contains 12 exhibits and 6 footnotes.) [Funding for this paper was provided by the Boston College.

The Progress in Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) was developed to help improve the teaching of reading and the acquisition of reading skills around the world, and was approved by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) General Assembly as an essential component of the IEA's regular cycle of core studies, which also includes mathematics and science (known as TIMSS). PIRLS is in its third round of assessing reading achievement for students in their fourth year of school. PIRLS 2011 provides countries with the unique opportunity to obtain internationally comparative data about how well their children can read after four years of primary schooling. Countries also will obtain detailed information about home supports for literacy as well as school instruction. For the countries that participated in PIRLS 2001 and PIRLS 2006, PIRLS 2011 will provide information on changes in students' reading achievement. Since PIRLS will continue on a five-year cycle into the future, countries participating for the first time can collect important baseline information for monitoring trends in reading literacy. As a new initiative in 2011, IEA has developed the prePIRLS assessment in response to the needs of the growing population of countries requiring the kind of information provided by PIRLS but whose students are earlier in the process of learning to read than expected by the PIRLS assessment. PrePIRLS, which can be administered to students in the 4th, 5th, or 6th grades, is designed to test basic reading skills that are a prerequisite for success on PIRLS. The "PIRLS 2011 Assessment Framework" is intended as a blueprint for IEA's 2011 assessment of reading literacy. Adapted from the widely accepted earlier version of the PIRLS framework, the 2011 framework resulted from a collaborative process involving many individuals and groups--notably the PIRLS Reading Development Group (RDG) and the National Research Coordinators (NRCs) of the more than 50 participating countries. All told, the framework underwent several iterations in response to the comments and interests of the PIRLS countries and the reading research community, and embodies the ideas and interests of many individuals and organizations around the world. Appendices include: (1) Acknowledgements; (2) Sample PIRLS Passages, Questions, and Scoring Guides; and (3) Sample prePIRLS Passage, Questions, and Scoring Guides. (Contains 6 figures and 4 footnotes.)

Developing the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Advanced 2008 Assessment Frameworks was a collaborative venture involving mathematics and physics experts from around the world. The document contains two frameworks for implementing TIMSS Advanced 2008--one for advanced mathematics and one for physics. It also contains an overview of the assessment design. TIMSS uses the curriculum, broadly defined, as the major organizing concept in considering how educational opportunities are provided to students, and the factors that influence how students use these opportunities. The TIMSS Advanced content frameworks specify the mathematics and physics to be covered by the assessment, as follows: Advanced Mathematics (Algebra, Calculus, Geometry) and Physics (Mechanics, Electricity and Magnetism, Heat and Temperature, Atomic and Nuclear Physics). Both the advanced mathematics and physics frameworks also have a cognitive dimension--Knowing, Applying, and Reasoning. TIMSS Advanced plans to report student achievement on each subject overall as well as separately by each content and cognitive domain. (Contains 4 tables.) [This document was prepared by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and published by TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College.]

Developing the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 Assessment Frameworks represents an extensive collaborative effort involving individuals and expert groups from more than 60 countries around the world. The document contains three frameworks for implementing TIMSS 2007--the Mathematics Framework, the Science Framework, and the Contextual Framework for questionnaires. It also provides an overview of the assessment design, including general parameters for item development. The TIMSS content frameworks for 2007 rely heavily on the extensive efforts expended to update the frameworks for 2003, when specific assessment objectives were developed for Grades 4 and 8. For 2007, there was a further effort to consolidate the major content domains and present them separately for the two grades, as follows: (1) Mathematics: Grade 4--Number, Geometric Shapes and Measures, Data Display; Grade 8--Number, Algebra, Geometry, Data and Chance Science; and (2) Science: Grade 4--Life Science, Physical Science, Earth Science; Grade 8--Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science. Both the mathematics and science assessment frameworks also have a cognitive dimension--Knowing, Applying, and Reasoning. To enable reporting by cognitive domains, these also were revised for TIMSS 2007 to sharpen the distinction among categories. Following a foreword and an introduction, this publication offers four chapters: (1) TIMSS 2007 Mathematics Framework; (2) TIMSS 2007 Science Framework; (3) TIMSS 2007 Contextual Framework; and (4) TIMSS 2007 Assessment Design. Appended are: (1) Acknowledgements; (2) Example Mathematics Items; and (3) Example Science Items. (Contains a list of 32 resources consulted.) [This document was also published by TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College.]

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 Assessment Framework and Specifications is intended as a blueprint for IEA's 2006 assessment of reading literacy. Concrete information about how well students can read provides policymakers and researchers in every country with insight on how to improve literacy and reading achievement. To help improve reading teaching and learning around the world, the IEA General Assembly approved reading literacy as an essential component of the IEA's regular cycle of core studies, which also included mathematics and science (known as TIMSS. With PIRLS 2006, IEA's Progress on PIRLS is in its second round of assessing reading achievement for students in their fourth year of school. This document contains the following: (1) Overview of IEA's PIRLS Assessment; (2) PIRLS Reading Purposes and Processes of Reading Comprehension; (3) Context of Learning to Read; and (4) Assessment Design and Specifications. The following are appended: (1) PIRLS National Research Coordinators Contributors to PIRLS Development; (2) Sample Passages, Questions, and Scoring Guides; and (3) Comparison of PIRLS and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) covered five different grade levels, with more than 40 countries collecting data in more than 30 different languages. More than a million students were tested. The present report contains the TIMSS results for students in the final year of secondary school. Mathematics and science literacy achievement results are reported for 21 countries; advanced mathematics results and physics results, respectively, are reported for 16 countries. These results complete the first round of descriptive reports from the TIMSS study. Together with the results for primary school students (third and fourth grade in most countries) and middle school students (seventh and eighth grades in most countries), the results contained in this report provide valuable information about the relative effectiveness of a country's education system as students progress through school. A ten-page Executive Summary details the extensive conclusions to be drawn from the study. Dozens of tables and figures provide detailed statistics for all participating countries. The Netherlands and Sweden were the top performing countries in mathematics; France was the top performer in advanced mathematics; Norway and Sweden had physics achievement levels significantly higher than other participating countries. The appendixes contain extensive information pertaining to the development of the TIMSS tests, sample sizes and participation rates, compliance with sampling guidelines, and the test-curriculum matching analysis. (DDR)

A recently completed landmark study of mathematics and science education in more than 40 countries gathered information that can help address questions as to why students in one country do better in math and science than students in another. This report focuses on the results of the primary school science test of students in 26 countries, from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS). Details of how the study was conducted, the nature of the science test, country characteristics, differences in student achievement, student achievement by science content area, and an analysis of example problems are included. Ideas of intended and implemented curricula are discussed and a number of questions related to these ideas that TIMMS may answer are listed. (DDR)