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.” A third report will assess data gathered about 12-graders in the same TIMSS international study.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, TIMSS is “the largest, most comprehensive, and most rigorous international comparison of education ever undertaken.” Twenty-six nations provided data on fourth-grade math and science, fewer than the 41 that participated in the eighth-grade portion of the study. TIMSS, the report says, is intended to be not just a “scorecard,” but “a diagnostic tool to help us examine our nation’s progress.”

In fourth-grade science, the study finds, only Korean students outperformed the U.S. Five other participating countries showed performance comparable to the U.S. (Japan, Austria, Australia, The Netherlands, and the Czech Republic), and 19 nations demonstrated lower performance. In math, fourth-graders in seven countries scored higher than U.S. students (Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Austria.) U.S. performance was comparable to six other countries (Slovenia, Ireland, Hungary, Australia, Canada, and Israel), and exceeded the performance of 12 countries.

TIMSS measured scientific achievement in four content areas: Earth Science; Physical Science; Environmental Issues and the Nature of Science; and Life Science. U.S. fourth-graders scored above the international average in all four science areas. They outperformed all but one or two countries in each area except Physical Science, where five countries had higher scores than the U.S. Math achievement was assessed in six content areas: WholeNumbers; Fractions and Proportionality; Measurement, Estimation,and Number Sense; Data Representation, Analysis, and Probability; Geometry; and Patterns, Relations, and Functions. Fourth-graders in the U.S. scored above the international average in five out of the six areas (U.S. students scored below the average in Measurement, Estimation, and Number Sense.)

More of the countries participating in the fourth-grade study showed gender equity in math than in science. The U.S. showed no significant gender disparity in fourth-grade math, but was one of ten countries with a gender gap in science (most significant in the Physical and Earth Sciences.)

As well as achievement, the study collected international data on the context in which fourth-grade students learn math and science. The report looked at such variables as class size; amount of time spent in class, on homework and watching TV; use of calculators and computers; education of teachers; and resources available in the home. However, the analysis indicates that “no single factor or combination of factors emerges as particularly important.” It finds little or no difference in background factors between the U.S. and the international average. When there is a significant difference, the report says, it is not shared by all the high performers. Many of the findings run counter to conventional wisdom. For example, U.S. fourth-graders spend more class time on math and science than the international average, yet four of the seven nations that surpass the U.S. in math spend less class time on the subject. While the U.S. average fourth-grade class size (24) is similar to the international average (25), three of the countries that outperformed the U.S. in math have larger class sizes. U.S. fourth-graders have access to more educational resources in their homes than the international average, but students in most of the other high-performing nations do not. Fourth-graders in the U.S. watch greater amounts of TV than the international average.

“Although the evidence presented in this report does not point to any factors that are strongly related to high achievement,” the report summarizes, “the evidence does suggest that some factors commonly thought to be related are not necessarily so.” It adds that “there may be multiple recipes for excellence.” The study suggests that the collected data need to be analyzed more deeply, and concludes that “all countries, including the U.S., have something to learn from other nations, and have something from which other countries can learn.”

The 68-page report, “Pursuing Excellence: A Study of U.S. Fourth-Grade Mathematics and Science Achievement in International Context” can be obtained on the Internet at: http://www.ed.gov/NCES/timss