International Mathematics Tests Research Articles

Factors leading to low performance of second-grade female students in international mathematics tests (TIMSS) from the point of view of teachers and supervisors: العوامل المؤدية إلى تدني مستوى أداء طالبات الصف الثاني متوسط لمادة الرياضيات في الاختبارات الدولية (TIMSS) من وجهة نظر المعلمات والمشرفات

The current study aimed to investigate the factors that lead to low level of results of second-grade students in the international mathematics tests (TIMSS) in Riyadh, from the viewpoint of the teachers and educational supervisors. The sample of the study consisted of (99) math teachers and (51) a math supervisor, the questionnaire was used as a tool to achieve the objectives of the study, as it contained three axes: factors related to the teacher, factors related to the curriculum and teaching, and factors related to the student and family. Result find that the reasons of low students' performance in the international tests (TIMSS) return to the teacher, who got the first place, followed by the factors related to the school curriculum and teaching, then the factors related to the student and the family, and in light of this the study recommended several recommendations.

For long-term economic development, only skills matter

Politicians typically focus on short-term economic issues; but, a nation’s long-term economic well-being is directly linked to its rate of economic growth. In turn, its growth rate is directly linked to the economically relevant skills of its population. Until recently, however, economists have found it hard to confirm this through empirical analysis because of difficulties in measuring the skills of different societies. International tests of mathematics and science achievement now offer reliable measures of a population’s relevant cognitive skills.

Developing classroom formative assessment in dutch primary mathematics education

In the last two decades Dutch primary school students scored below expectation in international mathematics tests. An explanation for this may be that teachers fail to adequately assess their students’ understanding of learning goals and provide timely feedback. To improve the teachers’ formative assessment practice, researchers, curriculum experts and teachers worked together to develop a model for classroom formative assessment (CFA). In three pilot studies, six teachers from three different schools implemented the CFA-model and evaluated its feasibility together with the researchers by means of checklists. The CFA-model was primarily changed with regard to the assessment techniques. Teachers indicated that classroom management and preparation time were preconditions for an optimal implementation. Analysis of covariance was used to explore students’ learning outcomes. The results showed that a correct implementation of the CFA-model might result in the enhancement of students’ mathematical performance. The implications of the three pilots for the implementation of the CFA-model on a larger scale are discussed.

Can we learn anything from China about Education in Mathematics?

Some countries in South East Asia do better than us in international mathematics tests. This would appear to indicate that their children are more able mathematically than ours. Our government is very keen to explore this further and in 2014/15 funded a National Shanghai Exchange Programme, involving teachers from the newly formed 34 National Maths Hubs. This opinion piece reflects upon the practices in Shanghai and explores whether we could actually learn anything from them which might improve our own teaching and learning in mathematics, and the impact this might have for HEIs.

Gaps in educational outcomes: analysing national examination performance of Singaporean Malay and non-Malay students in the past 20 years

Singaporean students generally perform very well in international tests of mathematics and science. Nonetheless, in multi-cultural Singapore, there exist gaps with the Malays, a minority group in Singapore, systematically lagging behind the other ethnic groups of the Chinese and Indians in many educational performance indicators. While there have been previous qualitative assessments of this issue, rigorous statistical analyses are lacking. In this article, I analyse data from 1991 to 2011 of aggregate percentage passes in national examinations for the different ethnic groups in Singapore. Using time series techniques and regression, I uncovered two major findings. First, the Malay trends in percentage passes for the last two decades were strongly correlated with the non-Malay, national trends. Second, despite the correlation, there remained fluctuations around the national trend by Malay cohorts in the past two decades. Malay cohorts tended to perform better during an upward national trend, but also performed worse during a downward national trend, indicating systematic volatility in performance. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of current research on educational gaps and three decades of community self-help to improve the educational achievement of the minority Malays in Singapore.

Correlation between Reading Comprehension Skills and Students’ Performance in Mathematics

The deteriorating performance of Filipino students in the national and international mathematics tests for the last decade has become a major challenge to Philippine education. The Department of Education attributed this problem to students’ poor reading comprehension. Previous studies showed varied findings on the association between variables in reading and mathematics. The present study utilized the six elements of reading comprehension skills to determine their relationship to students’ performance in mathematics. A total of 666 students belonging to the randomly selected first year classes from 18 public and private high schools were taken as sample. A correlation research design was used and a competency-based achievement tests in reading comprehension and mathematics were the research instruments. Students in private schools performed better in reading comprehension skills and mathematics than their counterparts. While reading comprehension skills were insignificantly correlated to private school students’ mathematics performance, the case is different in public schools wherein three skills namely understanding vocabulary in context, getting main idea, and making inference surfaced to have connection with mathematics. The overall students’ reading comprehension skills were not significantly correlated to mathematics performance. Hence, the poor mathematics performance could be explained by other factors not related to reading comprehension skills. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v2i1.1803

Rankings of International Achievement Test Performance and Economic Strength: Correlation or Conjecture?

Examining a popular political notion, this article presents results from a series of Spearman Rho calculations conducted to investigate relationships between countries’ rankings on international tests of mathematics and science and future economic competitiveness as measured by the 2006 World Economic Forum’s Growth Competitiveness Index (GCI). The study investigated the existence of relationships between international test rankings from three different time periods during the last 50 years of U.S. education policy development (i.e., 1957–1982, 1983–2000, and 2001–2006) and 2006 GCI ranks. It extends previous research on the topic by investigating how GCI rankings in the top 50 percent and bottom 50 percent relate to rankings on international tests for the countries that participated in each test. The study found that the relationship between ranks on international tests of mathematics and science and future economic strength is stronger among nations with lower-performing economies. Nations with strong economies, such as the United States, demonstrate a weaker, nonsignificant relationship.

International mathematics tests and pupils with special educational needs

Tandi Clausen‐May is a principal research officer in the Department for Research in Assessment and Measurement at the National Foundation for Educational Research. In this article, she examines the accessibility for learners with special educational needs of some of the mathematics questions from tests used in the 2003 cycle of two international surveys. Aspects of the language and layout of the questions are considered in relation to the principles of universal design as these are being formulated in the context of test development. Some potential barriers to the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs are identified and possible alter‐native wording and presentation of the questions are suggested. Tandi Clausen‐May closes her article with a discussion of the way in which some of the principles of universal design might inform the development of more inclusive tests for the future.