International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement
2003
Tuesday's TIMSS results are better than the dismal findings from last week's PISA study (click here for more), but still cause for concern. American students lag behind those from many European and Asian nations in math and science performance. Fourth grade scores in math and science remained unchanged from 1995 to 2003, but gains by other nations during that period actually lowered the relative ranking of U.S. students. (Among eighth graders from 45 countries, U.S. students ranked fifteenth in math and ninth in science; fourth graders were twelfth in math and sixth in science among 25 countries.) Meanwhile, only 7 percent of young Americans scored at the "advanced" level on either TIMSS test, versus 44 percent in Singapore and 38 percent in Taiwan. On the bright side, the black-white achievement gap narrowed a bit and eighth grade scores rose on both tests. So let's call it a gentleman's C, breathe a sigh of relief that matters aren't worse, and get to work to rectify the deep-seated, long-term problems that both TIMSS and PISA have laid bare. Check out the full results here.
"U.S. students lose stride in science, math," Associated Press, December 15, 2004
"Math and science tests find 4th and 8th graders in U.S. still lag many peers," by Karen Arenson, December 15, 2004, New York Times
America's C-," Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2004 (subscription required)