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"U.S. Performance on the 2015 TIMSS Advanced Mathematics and Physics Assessments: A Closer Look" expands upon the results described in NCES' [National Center for Education Statistics'] initial "Highlights" report on TIMSS Advanced. This new report provides in-depth analyses that (1) examine the demographics, school characteristics, and coursetaking patterns of the small subset of U.S. 12th-graders taking the TIMSS Advanced assessments; (2) describe the extent to which the topics assessed in the study were covered in the curricula of the advanced mathematics and physics courses taken by U.S students; (3) provide detailed performance data within content domains for student subgroups and overall; and (4) illustrate student performance with example items. This report uses data from the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Advanced (TIMSS Advanced), an international assessment that measures advanced mathematics and physics achievement in the final year of secondary school. TIMSS Advanced is sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and conducted in the United States by NCES.

This supplement contains documentation on all the derived variables contained in the TIMSS 2011 data files that are based on background questionnaire variables. These variables were used to report background data in the TIMSS 2011 International Results in Mathematics and TIMSS 2011 International Results in Science reports, and are made available as part of this database to be used in secondary analyses. This supplement has eight sections corresponding to each background questionnaire from which reporting variables are derived: (1) Fourth Grade Student Questionnaire; (2) Fourth Grade Home Questionnaire; (3) Fourth Grade Teacher Questionnaire; (4) Fourth Grade School Questionnaire; (5) Eighth Grade Student Questionnaires; (6) Eighth Grade Mathematics Teacher Questionnaire; (7) Eighth Grade Science Teacher Questionnaire; and (8) Eighth Grade School Questionnaire. The following information is provided for each derived variable: (1) Derived Variable Name; (2) Variable Label; (3) Title of International Report Exhibit; (4) Report Location; (5) A procedural description of how the derived variable was computed, including missing data rules if different from the general missing data rule described herein; and (6) Information about whether the variable was available in the previous cycle. [For the "TIMSS 2011 User Guide for the International Database," see ED544555. For Supplement 1, see ED544556. For Supplement 2, see ED544557. For Supplement 4, see ED544559.]

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.)

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.]

This report summarizes findings from a study concerned with Arizona school safety. The survey component highlights safety-related policy information across 300 schools; the interview component highlights school-safety perceptions of 64 staff across 16 schools. Various policies and programs that respond to internal and external threats to school safety include visitor sign-ins, printed codes of conduct for students and parents to increase awareness pertaining to discipline, and education in prevention and behavior modification intervention. Survey respondents had concerns about their inability to prevent the influence of community factors on school safety such as the relationship between domestic abuse and negative family reinforcements and subsequent student bullying; the effect of parental attitudes, such as apathy, on student attitudes and subsequent behavior; and the negative impact of community crime on student violence. However, respondents also recognized that there is more that they can do, such as teaching conflict resolution and peer mediation; improving collaboration with agencies such as law enforcement, Child Protective Services, and health services; and increasing communication, enforcing discipline consistently, and strengthening leadership at various staff levels to promote discipline efforts. Appendices contain the school-safety survey, interview sample matrix, table of interviewees, and interview protocols. (RT)