Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study

TIMSS 8th grade average Mathematics scores (2019)
TIMSS 8th grade average Science scores (2019)
TIMSS 4th grade average Mathematics scores (2019)
TIMSS 4th grade average Science scores (2019)

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)'s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)[1] is a series of international assessments of the mathematics and science knowledge of students around the world. The participating students come from a diverse set of educational systems (countries or regional jurisdictions of countries) in terms of economic development, geographical location, and population size. In each of the participating educational systems, a minimum of 4,000 to 5,000 students is evaluated. Contextual data about the conditions in which participating students learn mathematics and science are collected from the students and their teachers, their principals, and their parents via questionnaires.[2]

TIMSS is one of the studies established by IEA aimed at allowing educational systems worldwide to compare students' educational achievement and learn from the experiences of others in designing effective education policy. This assessment was first conducted in 1995, and has been administered every four years thereafter. Therefore, some of the participating educational systems have trend data across assessments from 1995 to 2023.[3] TIMSS assesses 4th and 8th grade students, while TIMSS Advanced assesses students in the final year of secondary school in advanced mathematics and physics.

Definition of terms

[edit]

"Eighth grade" in the United States is approximately 13–14 years of age and equivalent to:

  • Year 9 (Y9) in England and Wales
  • 2nd Year (S2) in Scotland
  • 2nd Year in the Republic of Ireland
  • 1st Year in South Africa
  • Form 2 in Hong Kong
  • 4ème in France
  • Year 9 in New Zealand
  • Form 2 in Malaysia

"Fourth grade" in the United States is approximately equivalent to 9–10 years of age and equivalent to:

  • Year 5 (Y5) in England and Wales
  • Primary 6 (P6) in Scotland
  • Group 6 in the Netherlands
  • CM1 in France
  • Fourth Class in the Republic of Ireland
  • Standard 3 or Year 5 in New Zealand

History

[edit]

A precursor to TIMSS was the First International Mathematics Study (FIMS) performed in 1964 in 11 countries for students aged 13 and in the final year of secondary education (FS) under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). This was followed in 1970–1971 by the First International Science Study (FISS) for students aged 10, 14, and FS. Fourteen countries tested 10-year-olds; 16 countries tested the older two groups. These were replicated between 1980 and 1984.[4]

These early studies were revised and combined by the IEA to create TIMSS, which was first administered in 1995. It was the largest international student assessment study of its time and evaluated students in five grades. In the second cycle (1999) only eighth-grade students were tested. In the next cycles (2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015) both 4th and 8th grade students were assessed. The 2011 cycle was performed in the same year as the IEA's Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), offering a comprehensive assessment of mathematics, science and reading for the countries participating in both studies. The sixth cycle was conducted in 2015, and the results were released in 2016;[5] the data set was published in February 2017. TIMSS 2015 included data collected from parents for the first time.[6] TIMSS Advanced, previously conducted in 1995 and 2008, was also conducted in 2015, and assessed final-year secondary students' achievement in advanced mathematics and physics. Policy-relevant data about curriculum emphasis, technology use, and teacher preparation and training accompanies the TIMSS Advanced results.

The seventh cycle of TIMSS was conducted in 2019 and marked the beginning of the transition to a digital assessment format, with the digital assessment administered to half of participating countries, and the paper assessment administered to the remaining half. 64 countries and 8 benchmarking systems participating in TIMSS 2019. Results were released in December 2020.[7]

Method, data and documentation

[edit]

Along with the overall students' achievement data, TIMSS comprehensive assessments include data on student performance in various mathematics and science domains (algebra, geometry, biology, chemistry, etc.) and on performance in the problem solving challenges in each of these contexts. In addition, TIMSS provides contextual data on crucial curricular, instructional, and resource-related factors that can impact the teaching and learning process. These data are gathered using student, teacher, school, and curriculum (national) questionnaires filled out by students, teachers, school principals and National Research Coordinators, respectively.

According to the TIMSS 2019 Assessment Frameworks, "The TIMSS mathematics and science achievement scales were created with the first TIMSS assessment in 1995, separately for each subject and each grade. The scale units were established so that 100 points on the scale was equivalent to one standard deviation of the distribution of achievement across all of the countries that participated in TIMSS 1995, and the scale midpoint of 500 was located at the mean of this international achievement distribution. The TIMSS achievement scales were first used for reporting TIMSS results with TIMSS 1995, and all results from subsequent TIMSS assessments have been reported on the same scale metrics, making it possible to measure growth or decline in countries' achievement distributions from assessment to assessment."[8]

Because TIMSS is administered in four-year cycles, it enables participating counties to use the results between the fourth and eighth grades to track the changes in achievement and certain background factors from an earlier study. For example, results of the fourth grade in TIMSS 1995 can be compared with the results of the eighth grade in TIMSS 1999, as fourth graders had become eighth graders in the next cycle of study.[9]

The collected information is presented in different formats. For example, for TIMSS 2019 the results are presented as TIMSS 2019 International Results in Mathematics and Science TIMSS 2019 International Results in Mathematics and Science.[10] The TIMSS 2019 Encyclopedia[11] provides an overview of how mathematics and science are taught in each participating country. Methods and Procedures: TIMSS 2019 Technical Report[12] documents the development of the TIMSS assessments and questionnaires, and describes the methods used. The TIMSS 2019 User Guide for the International Database describes the content and format of the data in the TIMSS 2019 International Database[13]

The IEA has developed an application for working with data from TIMSS and other IEA large-scale assessments called the IEA International Database (IDB) Analyzer.[14] This application allows researchers to combine data files and facilitates some types of statistical analysis (such as computing means, percentages, percentiles, correlations, and estimating single level multiple linear regression). The application takes into account the complex sample structure of the databases when calculating the statistics and their standard errors. It also allows researchers to estimate achievement scores and their standard errors.

For an overview of the IEA study results and interpretation of information, see IEA's Data Visualizer.[15]

Cycles

[edit]

TIMSS 2023

[edit]

TIMSS 2023 was the eight cycle of TIMSS and reported overall achievement as well as results according to international benchmarks, by major content domains (number, algebra, and geometry in mathematics, and earth science, biology, and chemistry in science) and by cognitive domains (knowing, applying, reasoning).[16] TIMSS 2023 collected detailed information about curriculum and curriculum implementation of participating countries and published this information the TIMSS 2023 Encyclopedia: Education Policy and Curriculum in Mathematics and Science.[17]


TIMSS 2023 results are summarized in TIMSS 2023 International Results in Mathematics and Science.[18]".This detailed report presents achievement and contextual data from participating countries and benchmarking entities. The TIMSS 2023 Encyclopedia: Education Policy and Curriculum in Mathematics and Science describes various features of the education systems in each participating country, including the mathematics and science curriculum, professional development requirements for teachers, and methods of monitoring student progress in mathematics and science. Each country's "chapter" in the encyclopedia was authored by that country's TIMSS representative.[17]

Eighth grade

[edit]
Mathematics[19]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 605 Decrease 11 points
2  Chinese Taipei 602 Decrease 10 points
3  South Korea 596 Decrease 11 point
4  Japan 595 Increase 1 points
5  Hong Kong 575 Decrease 3 points
6  England 525 Increase 10 points
7  Ireland 522 Decrease 2 point
8  Czech Republic 518 N/A
9  Sweden 517 Increase 14 points
10  Lithuania 514 Decrease 6 points
11  Austria 512 N/A
12  Australia 509 Decrease 8 points
13  Turkey 509 Increase 13 points
14  Hungary 506 Decrease 11 points
15  Finland 504 Decrease 5 points
16  Norway[a] 501 Decrease 2 points
17  Italy 501 Increase 4 points
International average 500 Steady
18  Malta 499 N/A
19  Romania 496 Increase17 points
20  Cyprus 494 Decrease7 points
21  United Arab Emirates 489 Increase 16 points
22  United States 488 Decrease27 points
23  New Zealand 485 Decrease14 points
24  Israel 487 Decrease 32 points
25  Azerbaijan 479 N/A
26  France 479 Decrease4 points
27  Portugal 475 Decrease 25 points
28  Georgia 467 Increase 6 points
29  Kazakhstan 454 Decrease 34 points
30  Qatar 451 Increase 8 points
31  Bahrain 426 Decrease 55 points
32  Iran 423 Decrease 23 points
33  Uzbekistan 421 NA
34  Chile 416 Decrease 25points
35  Oman 411 0
36  Malaysia 411 Decrease 50 points
37  Kuwait 399 Decrease 4 points
38  Saudi Arabia 397 Increase 3 points
39  South Africa[a] 397 Increase 8 points
40  Jordan 388 Decrease 32 points
41  Palestine 382 N/A
42  Brazil 378 N/A
43  Morocco 388 Decrease 10 points
44  Ivory Coast 263 N/A
Benchmarking participants
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 546 Increase 9 points
– Emirate of Sharjah Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) 499 NA
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 454 Increase 18 points
Science[20]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 606 Decrease 2 points
2  Chinese Taipei 572 Decrease 2 points
3  Japan 557 Decrease 13 point
4  South Korea 545 Decrease 16 points
5  England 531 Increase 14 point
6  Finland 531 Decrease13 points
7  Turkey 530 Increase 15 points
8  Hong Kong 528 Increase 3 points
9  Czech Republic 527 NA
10  Ireland 525 Increase 2 points
11  Hungary 522 Decrease 8 points
12  Sweden 521 0 points
13  Australia 520 Decrease 8 points
14  Lithuania 519 Decrease 15 points
15  United States 513 Decrease 9 points
16  Austria 512 N/A
17  Portugal 506 Decrease 13 points
18  New Zealand 502 Increase 3 point
19  Malta 501 N/A
20  Italy 501 Increase 1 point
International average 500 Steady
21  Norway[a] 488 Decrease 7 points
22  United Arab Emirates 486 Increase 13 points
23  France 486 Decrease3 points
24  Qatar 481 Increase 5 points
25  Israel 481 Decrease32 points
26  Romania 466 Decrease 4 points
27  Cyprus 475 Decrease 20 points
28  Oman 456 Decrease 1 points
29  Chile 455 Decrease 7 points
30  Bahrain 452 Decrease 34 points
31  Georgia 448 Increase 1 points
32  Kazakhstan 443 Decrease 35 points
33  Malaysia 426 Decrease 34 points
34  Brazil 420 N/A
35  Kuwait 420 Decrease 324 points
36  Saudi Arabia 419 Decrease 12 points
37  Iran 419 Decrease 30 points
38  Jordan 413 Decrease 39 points
39  Azerbaijan 411 N/A
40  Uzbekistan 396 N/A
41  Palestine 393 N/A
42  South Africa[a] 362 Decrease 8 points
43  Morocco 327 Decrease 67 points
44  Ivory Coast 186 N/A
Benchmarking participants
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 547 Increase 10 points
– Emirate of Sharjah Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) 499 Decrease 23 points
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 443 Increase 23 points
  1. ^ a b c d Ninth grade students

Fourth grade

[edit]
Mathematics[21]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 615 Decrease 10 points
2  Chinese Taipei 607 Decrease 8 points
3  South Korea 594 N/A
4  Hong Kong 594 Decrease 8 points
5  Japan 591 Decrease2 points
6  Macau 582 N/A
7  Lithuania 561 Increase 19 points
8  Turkey[a] 553 Increase 30 points
9  England 552 Decrease 4 point
10  Poland 546 Increase26 points
11  Ireland 546 Decrease 2 points
12  Romania 542 N/A
13  Netherlands 537 Decrease 1 points
14  Latvia 534 Decrease 12 points
15  Norway[a] 531 Decrease 12 points
16  Czech Republic 530 Increase 3 points
17  Sweden 530 Decrease 9 points
18  Bulgaria 530 Increase 15 points
19  Finland 529 Decrease 3 points
20  Australia 525 Increase 9 points
21  Germany 524 Increase 3 points
22  Denmark 524 Decrease 1 points
23  Serbia 523 Increase15 points
24  Belgium(Flemish) 521 Decrease11 points
25  Hungary 520 Decrease 3 point
26  Portugal 517 Decrease 8 points
27  United States 517 Decrease 18 point
28  Cyprus 516 Decrease 16 points
29  Slovakia 515 Increase 5 points
30  Slovenia 514 N/A
31  Italy 513 Decrease 2 points
31  Armenia 513 Increase 15 point
33  Albania 512 Increase 18 points
34  Canada 504 Decrease 8 points
International average 500 Steady
34  Spain 498 Decrease 4 points
36  United Arab Emirates 498 Decrease 17 points
37  Georgia 498 Decrease 17 points
38  Azerbaijan 494 N/A
39  New Zealand 490 Increase 3 points
40  Belgium(French) 487 N/A
41  Kazakhstan 487 Decrease 25 points
42  France 484 Decrease 1 points
43  Montenegro 477 Increase 5 points
44  North Macedonia 474 Increase 2 points
45  Qatar 464 Increase 15 points
46  Bahrain 462 Decrease 18 points
47  Kosovo 451 Increase 2 points
48  Belize 447 Decrease 5 points
49  Chile 444 Increase 3 points
50  Uzbekistan 443 N/A
51  Jordan 427 N/A
52  Oman 421 Decrease 10 points
53  Iran 420 Decrease 23 points
54  Saudi Arabia 420 Increase 23 points
55  Brazil 400 N/A
56  Morocco 393 Increase 10 points
57  Kuwait 382 Decrease 1 points
58  South Africa[a] 362 Decrease 12 points
Benchmarking participants
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 557 Increase 13 points
– Quebec Quebec (Canada) 515 Decrease 17 points
– Emirate of Sharjah Sharjah (UAE) 504 N/A
– Ontario Ontario (Canada) 503 Decrease9 points
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 459 Increase 22 points
Science[22]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 607
2  South Korea 583
3  Chinese Taipei 573
4  Turkey[a] 570
5  England 556
6  Japan 555
7  Poland 550
8  Australia 550
9  Hong Kong 545
10  Finland[a] 542
11  Lithuania 537
12  Macau 536
13  Sweden 533
14  Ireland 532
15  United States 532
16  Norway[a] 530
17  Bulgaria 530
18  Romania 526
19  Czech Republic 526
20  Slovenia 526
21  Latvia 526
22  Hungary 524
22  Denmark 522
24  Canada 521
24  Slovakia 521
26 NZ 517
26  Netherlands 517
26  Germany 515
29  Portugal 511
30  Italy 511
30  Serbia 510
32  Spain 504
International average 500 Steady
33  United Arab Emirates 495
34  Albania 491
35  Belgium (Flemish) 599
36  France 488
37  Cyprus 487
38  Belgium(French) 481
39  Chile 479
40  Bahrain 475
41  Qatar 472
42  Kazakhstan 467
43  Georgia 465
44  Montenegro 461
45  Armenia 457
46  Belize 448
47  North Macedonia 439
48  Oman 433
49  Iran 432
50  Saudi Arabia 429
51  Brazil 425
52  Azerbaijan 422
53  Jordan 418
54  Uzbekistan 412
55  Kosovo 403
56  Morocco 390
57  Kuwait 373
58  South Africa[a] 308
Benchmarking participants
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 562
– Ontario Ontario (Canada) 525
– Quebec Quebec (Canada) 508
– Emirate of Sharjah Sharjah (UAE) 503
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 446
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Fifth grade students

TIMSS 2019

[edit]

TIMSS 2019 marked the transition to a digital assessment format, allowing for new and innovative item types. In the digital assessment, students solved problems by interacting with shapes and patterns, arranging items on the screen, dragging and dropping items, and drawing. The digital version of TIMSS 2019 also introduced Problem Solving and Inquiry tasks that simulated real-world and laboratory situations and called for students to integrate and apply process skills and content knowledge. Half of the participating countries took the paper version of TIMSS and half of the participating countries took the digital version of TIMSS.

Eighth grade

[edit]
Mathematics[23]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 616 Decrease 5 points
2  Chinese Taipei 612 Increase 13 points
3  South Korea 607 Increase 1 point
4  Japan 594 Increase 8 points
5  Hong Kong 578 Decrease 16 points
6  Russia 543 Increase 5 points
7  Ireland 524 Increase 1 point
8  Lithuania 520 Increase 9 points
9  Israel 519 Increase 8 points
10  Australia 517 Increase 12 points
11  Hungary 517 Increase 3 points
12  United States 515 Decrease 3 points
12  England 515 Decrease 3 points
14  Finland 509 N/A
15  Norway[a] 503 Decrease 9 points
15  Sweden 503 Increase 2 points
17  Cyprus 501 N/A
18  Portugal 500 N/A
International average 500 Steady
19  Italy 497 Increase 3 points
20  Turkey 496 Increase 38 points
21  Kazakhstan 488 Decrease 40 points
22  France 483 N/A
23  New Zealand 482 Decrease 11 points
24  Bahrain 481 Increase 27 points
25  Romania 479 N/A
26  United Arab Emirates 473 Increase 8 points
27  Georgia 461 Increase 8 points
27  Malaysia 461 Decrease 4 points
29  Iran 446 Increase 8 points
30  Qatar 443 Increase 6 points
31  Chile 441 Increase 14 points
32  Lebanon 429 Decrease 13 points
33  Jordan 420 Increase 34 points
34  Egypt 413 Increase 21 points
35  Oman 411 Increase 8 points
36  Kuwait 403 Increase 11 points
37  Saudi Arabia 394 Increase 26 points
38  South Africa[a] 389 Increase 17 points
39  Morocco 388 Increase 4 points
Benchmarking participants
– Moscow Moscow (Russia) 575 N/A
– Quebec Quebec (Canada) 543 Steady
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 537 Increase 25 points
– Ontario Ontario (Canada) 530 Decrease 8 points
– Western Cape Western Cape (South Africa)[a] 441 N/A
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 436 Decrease 6 points
– Gauteng Gauteng (South Africa)[a] 421 N/A
Science[24]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 608 Increase 11 points
2  Chinese Taipei 574 Increase 5 points
3  Japan 570 Decrease 1 point
4  South Korea 561 Increase 5 points
5  Russia 543 Decrease 1 point
5  Finland 543 N/A
7  Lithuania 534 Increase 15 points
8  Hungary 530 Increase 3 points
9  Australia 528 Increase 16 points
10  Ireland 523 Decrease 7 points
11  United States 522 Increase 8 points
12  Sweden 521 Decrease 1 point
13  Portugal 519 N/A
14  England 517 Decrease 20 points
15  Turkey 515 Increase 22 points
16  Israel 513 Increase 6 points
17  Hong Kong 504 Decrease 42 points
18  Italy 500 Increase 1 point
International average 500 Steady
19  New Zealand 499 Decrease 14 points
20  Norway[a] 495 Decrease 14 points
21  France 489 N/A
22  Bahrain 486 Increase 20 points
23  Cyprus 484 N/A
24  Kazakhstan 478 Decrease 55 points
25  Qatar 475 Increase 18 points
26  United Arab Emirates 473 Decrease 4 points
27  Romania 470 N/A
28  Chile 462 Increase 8 points
29  Malaysia 460 Decrease 11 points
30  Oman 457 Increase 2 points
31  Jordan 452 Increase 26 points
32  Iran 449 Decrease 7 points
33  Georgia 447 Increase 4 points
34  Kuwait 444 Increase 33 points
35  Saudi Arabia 431 Increase 35 points
36  Morocco 394 Increase 1 point
37  Egypt 389 Increase 18 points
38  Lebanon 377 Decrease 21 points
39  South Africa[a] 370 Increase 12 points
Benchmarking participants
– Moscow Moscow (Russia) 567 N/A
– Quebec Quebec (Canada) 548 Increase 18 points
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 537 Increase 12 points
– Ontario Ontario (Canada) 522 Decrease 2 points
– Western Cape Western Cape (South Africa)[a] 439 N/A
– Gauteng Gauteng (South Africa)[a] 422 N/A
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 420 Decrease 34 points
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ninth grade students

Fourth grade

[edit]
Mathematics[21]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 615 Increase 7 points
2  Chinese Taipei 607 Decrease 13 points
3  South Korea 594 Decrease 8 points
4  Hong Kong 594 Increase 2 points
5  Japan 591 Steady
6  Macau 582 Increase 3 points
7 LIT 561 Decrease 4 points
8  Turkey[a] 553 Increase 10 points
9  England 552 Increase 1 point
10  Poland 546 N/A
11  Ireland[a] 546 Decrease 6 points
12  Romania 542 Increase 7 points
13  Netherlands 537 N/A
14  Latvia 534 Increase 8 points
15  Norway[a] 531 Decrease 4 points
16  Czech Republic 530 Increase 5 points
17  Sweden ' 532 Decrease 14 points
17  Bulgaria 530 Increase 9 points
17  Finland 529 Decrease 3 points
20  Australia 525 Decrease 16 points
20  Germany 524 Decrease 14 points
22  Denmark 524 Decrease 6 points
22  Serbia 523 N/A
24  Belgium"Flanders" 521 Increase 2 points
24  Germany 521 Decrease 1 point
26  Poland 520 Decrease 15 points
27  Australia 516 Decrease 1 point
28  Azerbaijan 515 N/A
28  Bulgaria 515 Decrease 9 points
28  Italy 515 Increase 8 points
31  Kazakhstan 512 Decrease 32 points
31  Canada 512 Increase 1 point
33  Slovakia 510 Increase 12 points
34  Croatia 509 Increase 7 points
34  Malta 509 N/A
36  Serbia 508 Decrease 10 points
37  Spain 502 Decrease 3 points
International average 500 Steady
38  Armenia 498 N/A
39  Albania 494 N/A
40  New Zealand 487 Decrease 4 points
41  France 485 Decrease 3 points
42  Georgia 482 Increase 19 points
43  United Arab Emirates 481 Increase 29 points
44  Bahrain 480 Increase 29 points
45  North Macedonia 472 N/A
46  Montenegro 453 N/A
47  Bosnia and Herzegovina 452 N/A
48  Qatar 449 Increase 10 points
49  Kosovo 444 N/A
50  Iran 443 Increase 12 points
51  Chile 441 Decrease 18 points
52  Oman 431 Increase 6 points
53  Saudi Arabia 398 Increase 15 points
54  Morocco 383 Increase 6 points
54  Kuwait 383 Increase 30 points
56  South Africa[a] 374 Decrease 2 points
57  Pakistan 328 N/A
58  Philippines 297 N/A
Benchmarking participants
– Moscow Moscow (Russia) 593 N/A
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 544 Increase 33 points
– Quebec Quebec (Canada) 532 Decrease 4 points
– Community of Madrid Madrid (Spain) 518 N/A
– Ontario Ontario (Canada) 512 Steady
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 441 Increase 22 points
Science[22]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 595 Increase 5 points
2  South Korea 588 Decrease 1 point
3  Russia 567 Steady
4  Japan 562 Decrease 7 points
5  Chinese Taipei 558 Increase 3 points
6  Finland 555 Increase 1 point
7  Latvia 542 N/A
8  Norway[a] 539 Increase 1 point
8  United States 539 Decrease 7 points
10  Lithuania 538 Increase 10 points
11  Sweden 537 Decrease 3 points
11  England 537 Increase 1 point
13  Czech Republic 534 Steady
14  Australia 533 Increase 9 points
15  Hong Kong 531 Decrease 26 points
15  Poland 531 Decrease 16 points
17  Hungary 529 Decrease 13 points
18  Ireland 528 Decrease 1 point
19  Turkey[a] 526 N/A
20  Croatia 524 Decrease 9 points
21  Canada 523 Decrease 2 points
22  Denmark 522 Decrease 5 points
22  Austria 522 N/A
24  Bulgaria 521 Decrease 15 points
24  Slovakia 521 Increase 1 point
26 Northern Ireland 518 Decrease 2 points
26  Netherlands 518 Increase 1 point
26  Germany 518 Decrease 10 points
29  Serbia 517 Decrease 8 points
30  Cyprus 511 Increase 30 points
30  Spain 511 Decrease 7 points
32  Italy 510 Decrease 6 points
33  Portugal 504 Decrease 4 points
34  New Zealand 503 Decrease 3 points
35  Belgium (Flemish) 501 Decrease 11 points
International average 500 Steady
36  Malta 496 N/A
37  Kazakhstan 494 Decrease 56 points
38  Bahrain 493 Increase 34 points
39  Albania 489 N/A
40  France 488 Increase 1 point
41  United Arab Emirates 473 Increase 22 points
42  Chile 469 Decrease 9 points
43  Armenia 466 N/A
44  Bosnia and Herzegovina 459 N/A
45  Georgia 454 Increase 3 points
46  Montenegro 453 N/A
47  Qatar 449 Increase 13 points
48  Iran 441 Increase 20 points
49  Oman 435 Increase 4 points
50  Azerbaijan 427 N/A
51  North Macedonia 426 N/A
52  Kosovo 413 N/A
53  Saudi Arabia 402 Increase 12 points
54  Kuwait 392 Increase 55 points
54  Morocco 374 Increase 17 points
56  South Africa[a] 324 N/A
57  Pakistan 290 N/A
58  Philippines 249 N/A
Benchmarking participants
– Moscow Moscow (Russia) 595 N/A
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 545 Increase 27 points
– Ontario Ontario (Canada) 524 Decrease 6 points
– Community of Madrid Madrid (Spain) 523 N/A
– Quebec Quebec (Canada) 522 Decrease 3 points
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 418 Increase 3 points
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Fifth grade students

TIMSS 2015

[edit]

In TIMSS 2015,[25] nationally representative samples of students in 57 countries and 7 benchmarking entities participated in the fourth grade assessment, the eighth grade assessment, or both.[26]

Eighth grade

[edit]
Mathematics[27]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 621 Increase 10 points
2  South Korea 606 Decrease 7 points
3  Chinese Taipei 599 Decrease 10 points
4  Hong Kong 594 Increase 8 points
5  Japan 586 Increase 16 points
6  Russia 538 Decrease 1 point
7  Kazakhstan 528 Increase 41 points
8  Canada 527 N/A
9  Ireland 523 N/A
10  United States 518 Increase 9 points
10  England 518 Increase 11 points
12  Slovenia 516 Increase 11 points
13  Hungary 514 Increase 9 points
14  Norway[a] 512 N/A
15  Lithuania 511 Increase 9 points
15  Israel 511 Decrease 5 points
17  Australia 505 Steady
18  Sweden 501 Increase 17 points
International average 500 Steady
19  Italy 494 Decrease 4 points
19  Malta 494 N/A
21  New Zealand 493 Increase 5 points
22  Malaysia 465 Increase 25 points
23  United Arab Emirates 465 Increase 9 points
24  Turkey 458 Increase 6 points
25  Bahrain 454 Increase 45 points
26  Georgia 453 Increase 22 points
27  Lebanon 442 Decrease 7 points
28  Qatar 437 Increase 27 points
29  Iran 436 Increase 21 points
30  Thailand 431 Increase 4 points
31  Chile 427 Increase 11 points
32  Oman 403 Increase 37 points
33  Kuwait 392 N/A
33  Egypt 392 N/A
35  Botswana[a] 391 Decrease 6 points
36  Jordan 386 Decrease 20 points
37  Morocco 384 Increase 13 points
38  South Africa[a] 372 Increase 20 points
39  Saudi Arabia 368 Decrease 26 points
Benchmarking participants
– Quebec Quebec (Canada) 543 Increase 11 points
– Ontario Ontario (Canada) 522 Increase 10 points
– Emirate of Dubai Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 512 Increase 34 points
– Florida Florida (United States) 493 Decrease 20 points
–  Norway[b] 487 Increase 12 points
– Emirate of Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) 442 Decrease 7 points
– Buenos Aires Buenos Aires (Argentina) 396 N/A
Science[28]
Rank Country Average
scale score 		Change
over 4 years
1  Singapore 597 Increase 7 points
2  Japan 571 Increase 13 points
3  Chinese Taipei 569 Increase 5 points
4  South Korea 556 Decrease 4 points
5  Slovenia 551 Increase 8 points
6  Hong Kong 546 Increase 11 points
7  Russia 544 Increase 2 points
8  England 537 Increase 4 points
9  Kazakhstan 533 Increase 43 points
10  Ireland 530 N/A
10  United States 530 Increase 5 points
12  Hungary 527 Increase 5 points
13  Canada 526 N/A
14  Sweden 522 Increase 13 points
15  Lithuania 519 Increase 5 points
16  New Zealand 513 Increase 1 point
17  Australia 512 Decrease 7 points
18  Norway[a] 509 N/A
19  Israel 507 Decrease 9 points
International average 500 Steady
20  Italy 499 Decrease 2 points
21  Turkey 493 Increase 10 points
22  Malta 481 N/A
23  United Arab Emirates 477 Increase 12 points
24  Malaysia 471 Increase 45 points
25  Bahrain 466 Increase 14 points
26  Qatar 457 Increase 38 points
27  Iran 456 Decrease 18 points
27  Thailand 456 Increase 5 points
29  Oman 455 Increase 35 points
30  Chile 454 Decrease 7 points
31  Georgia 443 Increase 23 points
32  Jordan 426 Decrease 23 points
33  Kuwait 411 N/A
34  Lebanon 398 Decrease 8 points
35  Saudi Arabia 396 Decrease 40 points
36  Morocco 393 Increase 17 points
37  Botswana[a] 392 Decrease 12 points
38  Egypt 371 N/A
39  South Africa[a] 358 Increase 26 points
Benchmarking participants
– Quebec Quebec (Canada) 530