Trends In International Mathematics And Science Study Research Articles

Factors predicting teachers' implementation of inquiry‐based teaching practices: Analysis of South African TIMSS 2019 data from an ecological perspective

AbstractInquiry‐Based Teaching Practice (IBTP) is an essential component of science education, and promoting its implementation is at the heart of various reform efforts. Even though science teachers regard IBTP as an essential pedagogical method, they rarely use it for various reasons. This study utilizes Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework to examine potential factors at various levels of the educational ecosystem that predict the implementation of inquiry‐based teaching practices among Grade 9 science teachers in South Africa. To this end, quantitative data from 537 educators who participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 national assessment were utilized. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that four variables at different socioeconomic levels were perceived to strongly predict teachers' implementation of inquiry teaching practices. These factors include teachers' job satisfaction, instructional resource shortage, and teachers' perception of the significance of various assessment strategies at the mesosystem level as well as teachers' participation in professional development at the exosystem level. Significant correlations exist between some of the predictive variables. Implications for policy are discussed.

Examining Position Effects on Students’ Ability and Test-Taking Speed in the TIMSS 2019 Problem-Solving and Inquiry Tasks: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Position effects occur when changes in item positions on a test impact the test outcomes (e.g., item parameters or test scores). Previous studies found that position effects may vary by the testing context and conditions and thus affect each test-taker differently. With the increasing adoption of digital assessments involving innovative item types that are focused on problem-solving skills, it is also essential to study position effects within this context. This study incorporates item-level scores and screen-level response time data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 problem-solving and inquiry tasks for Grade 4 students to examine position effects on students’ ability and test-taking speed. This dataset included responses from 27,682 students from 36 countries. A structural equation modeling approach was employed to model ability and test-taking speed within the same model. The results indicated a small but statistically significant booklet effect on students’ overall mathematics and science ability. The impact of block position changes within the booklets seemed to be greater than the impact of a reordering of subjects tested in the two sessions. The results also showed that when an item block was placed earlier in a test session, students spent more time on the items and performed better. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Re‐examining the relationship between patience, risk‐taking, and human capital investment across countries*

SummaryHanushek et al. (2022) show that students in countries in which people are more patient and less risk‐taking perform better in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test. In this paper, we probe the robustness of this study. Our narrow replication shows that most of the results are robust to alternative model specifications. Our broad replication shows that the main results are robust to measuring student performance with data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) instead of PISA.

Investigating Variables Predicting Environmental Awareness in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development: An Analysis Based on TIMSS 2019 Data

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provides unique and detailed information to explore the competencies and attitudes of fourth and eighth-grade students worldwide. The "Environmental Awareness Scale" was developed for the first time in the TIMSS 2019 cycle to measure students' environmental awareness. This cognitive scale gives essential information on students' scientific understanding of some environmental problems at the national and international levels. Using this scale to assess students' environmental awareness will improve education for sustainable development (ESD) in this setting since the obtained data provide reliable information that education policymakers use to integrate the most important environmental education topics and concepts into their curricula and identify the factors that should be considered to raise students' environmental awareness. This study aims to investigate to what extent the science self-concept variable from science-related factors, as well as the gender and socioeconomic status (SES) variables from demographic characteristics, predict the environmental awareness of eighth-grade students in Türkiye participating in the TIMSS 2019. For this purpose, a theoretical model was developed and analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to investigate the association between students' environmental awareness and science self-concept, gender, and SES. The analysis revealed that science self-concept, SES, and gender variables together explained 36% of students' environmental awareness. Furthermore, while science self-concept appears to be the strongest predictor of students' environmental awareness, SES level was also a significant variable explaining students' environmental awareness. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in environmental awareness between male and female students. The study's findings are discussed based on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s emphasis on the periodic monitoring and evaluation of progress in implementing ESD based on data.

Explanatory Cognitive Diagnosis Models Incorporating Item Features.

Item quality is crucial to psychometric analyses for cognitive diagnosis. In cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs), item quality is often quantified in terms of item parameters (e.g., guessing and slipping parameters). Calibrating the item parameters with only item response data, as a common practice, could result in challenges in identifying the cause of low-quality items (e.g., the correct answer is easy to be guessed) or devising an effective plan to improve the item quality. To resolve these challenges, we propose the item explanatory CDMs where the CDM item parameters are explained with item features such that item features can serve as an additional source of information for item parameters. The utility of the proposed models is demonstrated with the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)-released items and response data: around 20 item linguistic features were extracted from the item stem with natural language processing techniques, and the item feature engineering process is elaborated in the paper. The proposed models are used to examine the relationships between the guessing/slipping item parameters of the higher-order DINA model and eight of the item features. The findings from a follow-up simulation study are presented, which corroborate the validity of the inferences drawn from the empirical data analysis. Finally, future research directions are discussed.

A META-ANALYTIC EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECT OF INDIVIDUAL AND SCHOOL-AVERAGE ACHIEVEMENT ON STUDENTS' SELF-CONCEPT IN SCIENCE

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of individual and school average achievement on students’ self-concept in science. The data of the last four Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) cycles were used, and a two-stage individual data meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between achievement and self-concept in science. In the first stage, multilevel structural equation modeling was performed for each dataset. Furthermore, the effect sizes were synthesized via meta-analysis with a three-level random-effect model. In addition, moderation analysis was conducted for the year, grade, and degree of stratification in countries. The results suggested a positive and significant effect of individual science achievement on the self-concept of students in science. On the other hand, the relation of the average school achievement was negative. The results were discussed by considering the big-fish-little-pond effect. Keywords: big fish little pond effect, TIMSS, self-concept, science education

TIMSS vs. PISA: what can they tell us about student success?—a comparison of Swedish and Norwegian TIMSS and PISA 2015 results with a focus on school factors

This paper explores the measurement capabilities of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in assessing school factors that influence student performance. We specifically focus on the 2015 assessments of the science performance of eighth graders in Sweden and Norway. This was the latest year when the two assessments were conducted in the same year and science was the major subject area in the PISA assessment, which was essential for maximizing the assessments’ comparability. Using multilevel models, the study identifies common and unique factors across the assessments and investigates the factors that influence student performance at different proficiency levels. The findings highlight the importance of school-level factors, which are significant in both assessments. Moreover, both assessments provide information on overlapping sets of factors that have varying influence on the performance of students with different proficiency levels. Overall, there are limited common factors between TIMSS and PISA. School factors vary between low-performing and high-performing schools, with differing significance in Norway and Sweden. The results indicate that TIMSS and PISA assessments offer complementary information, particularly for low-performing schools. Our findings suggest that different school types may benefit or suffer from distinct school factors. The findings are relevant for both educational professionals and policy-makers.

Who responds inconsistently to mixed-worded scales? Differences by achievement, age group, and gender

ABSTRACT We investigated two research questions: which students are more likely to respond inconsistently to mixed-worded questionnaire scales, and which country samples have larger shares of inconsistent respondents? We defined an inconsistent response as strongly agreeing or disagreeing with both positively and negatively worded items of the same scale. Since we assumed that inconsistent responding occurs due to a lack of carefulness, reading, or cognitive skills, we expected to find that inconsistent responding was associated with lower achievement, younger age, being a nonnative speaker, and being a boy. We used data from all 38 countries that participated in the fourth- and eighth-grade assessments of TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2019. Using the mean absolute difference method, we identified shares of 1‒21% inconsistent respondents across samples. The results generally supported our hypotheses, especially the hypothesis that inconsistent responding is more common among students and countries with lower mathematics achievement levels.

Exploration of students' algebraic thinking skills in solving TIMSS problems in terms of reflective-impulsive cognitive style

The algebraic thinking is very important for students to be able to abstract and generalize a mathematical problem. The purpose of this research is to reveal students' algebraic thinking processes in solving math problems based on reflective-impulsive cognitive styles. The method used is a qualitative with a case study approach. The research subjects consisted of 55 students who were then selected six students based on the reflective-impulsive cognitive style. The research instrument used consisted of an algebraic thinking test that adopted from TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), MFFT (Matching Familiar Figure Test) and an interview guide. In this paper, researchers are focus on the exploration of students' algebraic thinking ability in solving problems on generalization and abstraction components. The finding showed that the reflective subjects and impulsive subjects are able to solve generalization and abstraction problems. The reflective and impulsive subjects are able to use patterns to solve problems related to generalizations. In addition, reflective and impulsive subjects are able to use symbols as an abstraction of the relationship between concepts and mathematical properties. However, the reflective subjects used the solution problem steps more systematic than impulsive subjects. The implication of the finding is that the individual differences such as cognitive style should be facilitated by the teachers so that students are more successful in learning mathematics.

Analysis of Cognitive Domain on Exercises in Numbers and Operations for Year 3 Mathematics Books

Pupils’ low achievement in Numbers and Operations topics in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 has been a concern for the development of mathematics education in Malaysia. Therefore, the quality of mathematics textbooks and activity books, especially in the cognitive domain of exercises, is essential to ensure effective learning of mathematics contents. Thus, content analysis was performed to identify the cognitive domain of exercises in Numbers and Operations topics in the Year 3 mathematics textbook and activity book based on the TIMSS 2023 Mathematics Framework. In this study, the exercises in Numbers and Operations were categorised based on types of exercises and cognitive domain aspects. Results showed that most of the exercises of both the mathematics textbook and activity book topics are in the domain of knowing. The findings suggest that the percentage of exercises in applying and reasoning should be increased and aligned to the suggested percentage by the TIMSS 2023 Mathematics Framework. This situation should be aware by curriculum developers to enhance mathematics learning resources for Malaysian pupils towards the international level.

ABSENTEEISM AND STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD SCIENCE: IMPACT ON EXAM RESULTS AMONG EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE

Absenteeism and students' attitudes toward science have an impact on the exam results among eighth-grade students in Malaysia and Singapore. This study employed weighted least squares and quantile regression techniques on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 data to analyze the net effect of these two factors in influencing the academic performance of eighth-grade students. Given Singapore's considerable lead in TIMSS ranking over Malaysia, this research sheds light on modifiable factors that can help Malaysia enhance its national science education. Absenteeism was more pressing in Malaysia than in Singapore, but it significantly influenced exam results in both countries. However, there was no significant difference in attitudes toward science. Results from quantile regression show that these impacts were not uniform across the performance distributions. The study's results emphasize that absenteeism, home educational resources, and parental education contribute to the performance disparities between the two countries. These results underscore the importance for policymakers and educational planners in Malaysia to take proactive steps in addressing these shortcomings to improve students' exam results, to work towards narrowing the performance gap, and to enhance science education. Keywords: home educational resources, quantile regression, science achievement, TIMSS, valuing science

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) as A Measurement for Student Mathematics Assessment Development

The Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a comprehensive study that aims to look at the mapping of the education system through evaluation in the fields of mathematics and science. Indonesia is one of the countries involved in this periodic evaluation system every four years. Considering Indonesia's position which is still relatively low (ranked 35th out of 46 countries) in the 2015 TIMSS, the Indonesian government then decided not to become one of the TIMSS evaluation objects in 2019 while formulating its own evaluation system. This article aims to examine the TIMSS 2023 framework which is used as a benchmark in the development of a national evaluation/assessment system in Indonesia. Furthermore, this article will contain the process of developing TIMSS standard questions. The method used is Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The main literature in the preparation of this article is the TIMSS 2023 Assessment Frameworks. The other supporting literature comes from the results of research on related topics. In addition to the results of the systematic literature review (SLR) conducted, the findings of this research include the questions developed in accordance with the standards set by TIMSS 2023. The questions developed are focused on the field of mathematics for grade 4, specifically in the domain of Numbers.

MENTORING IN INTEGRATING HOTS (HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS) IN READING ASSESSMENT

 
 High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) have been a topic of discussion among educators in Indonesia in recent years. The awareness of the importance of making test questions that contain HOTS is getting higher after seeing the test results of Indonesian students in several international standardized test events such as the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). It is a fact that PISA test and evaluation, the performance of Indonesian students is still relatively low. Consecutively, the average achievement scores of Indonesian students were ranked 62, 61, and 63 out of 69 countries evaluated. The fact drives this community service is done to enhance teachers’ competence in integrating HOTS into assessment, particularly in reading skills. The aim of this community service is to mentor Senior High School teachers who teach English Subjects with advanced skills to construct item tests that emphasize higher-order thinking skills in reading skills. The methods employed to achieve the goal are mentoring and focus group discussions. The result of this supervision is the increased ability of teachers in developing assessment of reading skills. This can be seen when the initial observation of the assessment of learning collected and analyzed was seen to have HOTS elements only 50%, and after the supervision and Focus Group Discussions were held, the ability was seen to increase to 80%, which means that the reading assessment created by Wijaya Putra High School teachers contain HOTS questions much higher than the initial conditions. In conclusion, this service activity is able to improve teachers' skills in developing HOTS-in reading assessments.

Integration of Gamification in Teaching Measures of Position of Grade 10 – Mathematics

The alarming findings from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) concerning the Philippines were a cause for concern. This presented a significant challenge to all those involved in the country’s education system, including teachers, students, and stakeholders, particularly given the context of the ongoing pandemic. Gamification, which refers to incorporating elements of game design into non-game situations, stands out as a promising avenue, leveraging technology to motivate student learning. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of integrating gamification in teaching measures of position to the performance of grade 10 students in mathematics in a private school in Bogo City, Cebu, Philippines. Employing a quasi-experimental approach with pre-and post-test measurements, the study consisted of both a control group taught through traditional lecture-based methods in online distance learning, and an experimental group exposed to gamification techniques. The statistical analysis, utilizing t-tests, indicated that there was no significant difference in the average scores of the experimental group before and after the intervention. This suggests that the use of gamification does not affect students’ motivation. However, the t-test results also demonstrated noteworthy progress in the performance of the experimental group in Mathematics 10, indicating that integration of gamification in teaching measures of position improves student performance. Keywords: Gamification, Motivation in Mathematics, Performance in Mathematics

Analysis of Student Errors in Solving Algebraic Math Test Based on TIMSS

The low percentage obtained by students in solving TIMSS problems, especially in the algebra material domain, shows that there are several mistakes that students often make in solving TIMSS-type problems. This study aims to examine students' errors in completing algebraic mathematics tests using the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). This was a qualitative descriptive research project in which students of a state junior high school in Sinjai, Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia, in class VIIIA were the subjects. The research's study instruments included diagnostic tests and interview protocols, and data analysis procedures were separated into three parts: data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion, which involves drawing or verifying. The researchers discovered four kinds of students’ errors in completing algebra tests based on TIMSS that were connected to Newman's category: understanding question errors, transformation errors, process skill errors, and answer writing errors. Furthermore, the cause of errors in answering algebra questions based on TIMSS was that students do not pay more attention when writing information based on the following questions; they do not master the material related to the questions; they have a limited understanding of the material related to the questions; they also forget the concept of multiplication; they do not follow the procedures appropriately; and they do not re-check the answers. As a result, teachers must create TIMSS-based questions to help students improve their mathematical abilities.

Multiple pathways to science enjoyment: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis in TIMSS 2019

ABSTRACT Cultivating students’ enjoyment of science is one of the significant aims of science education. However, it seems challenging to achieve this goal in most countries or economies. Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019 Hong Kong data, this study aims to identify multiple configurations of school conditions to develop students’ science enjoyment with a School Analytics model. A fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) was employed to capture the potential asymmetric relationships and measure multiple combinations of different conditions. Results indicated that no single school condition was necessary or sufficient for high enjoyment of science (ES). While lacking instructional clarity was a sufficient condition for low enjoyment of science (∼ES). Three different configurations resulted in ES and ∼ES respectively. The combination of supportive school discipline and high instructional clarity jointly constituted a crucial science learning environment for developing science enjoyment in Hong Kong secondary schools. Under this environment, the effectiveness of science investigation was further discussed to enhance science enjoyment. Our study enlightens educational practitioners to improve students’ science enjoyment with multiple combinations of school conditions.

Organizational Structure, Instructional Quality, and Student Achievement: The Case of Public and Private Schools

Influencing major education policies in the US such as school vouchers and charter schools, market theory assumes that organizational autonomy, parental choice, and competition between schools improve the quality of education. However, whether those policies can influence the instructional core of schools is not well understood. Comparing private and public schools offers an opportunity to examine whether market-oriented assumptions hold in practice. Relying on institutional theory, this study examines whether public and private schools differ in their instructional quality and whether such differences translate into achievement advantages in the US. Using Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) surveys and achievement data, the study integrates structural equation modeling and propensity score matching to examine the latent construct of instructional quality and mitigate selection bias. Results indicate similar instructional quality in public and private schools explaining comparable student achievement by school type. Barriers to instructional change through market-oriented reforms are discussed.

International comparative study of learning trajectories based on TIMSS 2019 G4 data on cognitive diagnostic models.

Learning trajectory describes the student's learning progress or steps in one area through which teaching and learning can be linked. The cognitive diagnostic model (CDM) is an emerging evaluation theory in education measures. Researchers can determine students' mastery of fine-grained knowledge points by describing the learning trajectory based on CDM. The present study is based on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019, particularly, 21 mathematical items in the fourth grade. It analyzes the response data of 2,854 students from 17 countries from 10 attributes based on CDM. This study explores students' different learning trajectories in the content field by analyzing the relationships between knowledge states and attribute patterns. The study found that the 17 countries differ in learning trajectories but have commonalities. The learning starting points of 17 countries can be roughly divided into two categories and geometry attribute and fractions and decimals attribute are the last two attributes to master.

Principal time use and student academic achievement in Singapore

PurposeThis study aims to test the mediated effect of school climate in the relationship of principal time use (PTU) to student academic achievement using data from Singapore's 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).Design/methodology/approachCapitalizing on the large-scale data, the study examined how Singapore principals distributed their time across 13 leadership activities and tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) how Singapore principals' time use was related to student achievement through molding intermediate school conditions, such as school climate.FindingsThe authors' findings suggest that Singaporean principals, when allocating time, generally emphasized (1) monitoring students' learning progress, (2) promoting school vision, (3) developing curricular goals and (4) monitoring teachers in areas related to curricular goals. Furthermore, after classifying the 13 principal activities into three broad domains, the authors find that Singaporean principals prioritize the domain of vision and goals over the other two domains – facilitating teaching and learning through a safe, positive school environment and problem-solving with teachers, as well as self and organizational improvement. Finally, the authors' SEM manifested a partial mediated model, suggesting principals' strategic time use could serve as a malleable factor in yielding optimal student outcomes through developing a positive school climate.Originality/valueThis study at present is one of the early attempts linking PTU, intermediate school conditions (e.g. school climate) and student outcomes using a mediated design and corresponding statistical modeling.

Making sense of TIMSS 2019 New Zealand Year 9 Science study: Item analysis of students’ performance

Much of the focus of international comparative studies of students’ achievement has been on New Zealand students’ falling standards. Using the most recent findings from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and, in particular, Year 9 New Zealand students’ performance in specific items, this article suggests that there is much more we can learn from this large-scale assessment. For example, in what ways are students’ achievements changing over the years? How has our students’ higher order thinking in science changed? What have we done well and not so well? By highlighting the values of the TIMSS Science Study, it is hoped that teachers and schools will be more likely to consider and use the findings to plan curriculum and to design assessment.