Responses to TIMSS and TIMSS-R

Responses in the Press

April 2, 2003
Taped Lessons Offer Insights Into Teaching
Education Week - A comprehensive examination of videotaped math lessons unveiled here last week provides rare insights into how classroom teachers approach the subject in the United States and six other countries.

December 11, 2002
"Achievement Gap" is International Problem, UNICEF Analysis Says
Education Week - A new report from UNICEF offers an international look at the "achievement gap." It uses test results in mathematics, science, and literacy from two international surveys: the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, and the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA.

February 8, 2002
Solid Curriculum Called a Smart Move
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Conventional wisdom--backed by numerous studies--usually points to family as the leading predictor of academic success. But the preliminary results of a new study of international math and science test results--including southwestern Pennsylvania schools--show that curriculum has a similarly strong effect on achievement.

April 11, 2001
Achievement Locally and Abroad
Education Week - The charts included here show 8th graders in a number of U.S. school districts, consortia, and states stacked up against students throughout the United States and in other nations on the second administration of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study in 1999.

April 11, 2001
A World-Class Education Eludes Many in the U.S.
Education Week - According to overall results released last year, U.S. 8th graders ranked slightly above the international average on the 38-nation study of the math and science knowledge of students at that grade level. That was lower than the same cohort of students who took the 4th grade TIMSS test four years earlier.

February 14, 2001
Rating Science and Math
EducationWeek - The results of the 1999 Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat confirm what we first learned in 1995 about the science and mathematics achievement of American students: Our 8th graders are not keeping pace in math or science when compared with students from around the world.

February 11, 2001
Average Hides the Extremes
The News Journal - Not many weeks ago, the TIMSS-R data were released. That's edu-speak for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat. The United States came out about average among the 38 nations whose eighth-graders took the tests, ranking only 19th in mathematics and 18th in science.

January 10, 2001
Midweek Perspectives: Preserving ASSET
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - The recent Third International Math and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R) found little change in U.S. eighth-graders' performance in math and science compared with their international peers. But some southwestern Pennsylvania fifth-graders are proving that U.S. students can excel in science learning and, at the same time, are providing a beacon of hope for educators throughout the country.

December 13, 2000
U.S. Students' Scores Drop by 8th Grade
Education Week - In 1995, the nation's 4th graders aced international mathematics and science tests. By the time they reached the 8th grade in 1999, though, they had become little better than C students on a global curve, a study released here last week concludes.

December 13, 2000
Math, Science Study to Spawn Host of Research Projects
Education Week - Test scores released last week are only the first in a series of research generated by TIMSS-R.

December 11, 2000
Editorial: Mediocre Test Results Argue for a Tougher Curriculum.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - American children do a pretty good job of learning what they are taught--which is why their performance on international examinations in math and science is so mediocre.

December 10, 2000
Forum: Making Math and Science Matter
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - An international study shows American students falling behind. Nancy R. Bunt examines what is being done regionally to boost learning in these vital subjects.

December 6, 2000
U.S. Test Scores Rise, But Not Enough ; 8th Graders Lag Behind Other Nations in Math and Science Tests
The Detroit News/Gannett News Service - America's eighth graders still lag behind their counterparts in other developed countries in science and math, raising new questions about whether they will be able to compete in an increasingly technical world.

December 6, 2000
Americans Just Above Average in Math, Science
Washington Post - The United States may well be the world's only superpower, but when it comes to brainpower in math and science, international test results released yesterday show the nation's eighth-graders are just above average when compared to peers around the globe.

December 6, 2000
U.S. Eighth-Graders Beat Global Average in Math
Christian Science Monitor - The good news: Eighth-graders in the United States are exceeding the international average in math and science among 38 nations, including top Asian math powers.

December 6, 2000
Depth Stressed to Boost Math, Science Peformance
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Fifth-grader Jessica Boff never realized how much fat was in a potato chip until she saw the oil stain on the paper bags of chips the class tasted while they learned about fat in food.

December 5, 2000
Worldwide Survey Finds U.S. Students Not Keeping Up
New York Times - Four years after American fourth-grade students scored high on an international test of science and math, their performance declined markedly when they reached the eighth grade, a second survey shows. (REGISTRATION REQUIRED)

Education Week Archives
Education Week has provided the most thorough and extensive coverage of TIMSS; TIMSS-related articles and essays can be searched for and accessed through the unrestricted archives.

Statements from the Education Community about TIMSS

Latest TIMSS Again Shows Curriculum Does Matter . William H. Scmidt, National Research Coordinator for TIMSS, Michigan State University, April 4, 2001

Paying the Price of "No Change" . William H. Schmidt, National Research Coordinator for TIMSS, Michigan State University, December 5, 2000.

Comments on the Release of TIMSS-R by Christopher T. Cross , President, Council for Basic Education, December 5, 2000.

Statement by Dr. Rita R. Colwell , Director, National Science Foundation, December 5, 2000.

Statement by Dr. Gary W. Phillips , Acting Commissioner, the National Center for Education Statistics, December 5, 2000.

Secretary of Education Richard Riley Addresses Mathematics , American Mathematical Society, January 8, 1998

Report on the Committee on Education, Hyman Bass, Chair , American Mathematical Society, December 2, 1996

Press Releases from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

TIMSS 1999 Video Study Results Available , May 2003.

Two International Studies under Way in 2003 , April 2003.

TIMSS-Benchmarking Shows U.S. Students' Mathematics Achievement Varies Widely , May 2001.

What Can We Learn from TIMSS-Repeat? January 2001.

NCTM Calls For Increased Commitment To Higher Standards For Students And Teachers In Response To TIMSS Report , December 2000.

U.S. Mathematics Teachers Repond to the TIMSS Fourth Grade Results , June 1997.

U.S. Mathematics Teachers Respond to TIMSS: Grade 8 Results , November 1996.

Responses from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

TIMSS Web site at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
This Web site includes statements and responses to the TIMSS findings, an extensive online slide presentation of the AFT perspective on TIMSS, and additional documents pertaining to TIMSS.