Accounting for Variation in Science and Mathematics Achievement: A Multilevel Analysis of Australian Data Third International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss)

One of the most consistent themes evident in the literature dealing with rural education is that of rural disadvantage. Much research and literature indicates that students from rural schools receive an education that is inferior to that of students from larger urban or suburban schools. Of the matrix of factors reported to lead to that disadvantage, geographical isolation and the extent to which it restricts access is reported to result in rural schools not having the same standard of resource allocation as urban schools where access is not a problem. This study addresses the issue of resource availability in rural and urban Australian schools and includes the variables: students' attitudes towards science and mathematics and career aspirations of these students. The analysis includes socioeconomic status and gender of these students and investigates how these variables relate to student achievement. Do students in rural schools have the same educational opportunity as students in urban schools? In this study a multilevel model is used which takes into account the classroom level variance in student achievement as well as individual variance and school level variance.     

History,Philosophy and Sociology of Science in Science Education: Results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study

Throughout the history of enhancing the publicscientific literacy, researchers have postulated thatsince every citizen is expected to have informalopinions on the relationships among government,education, and issues of scientific research anddevelopment, it is imperative that appreciation of thepast complexities of science and society and thenature of scientific knowledge be a part of theeducation of both scientists and non-scientists. HPSSinclusion has been found to be an effective way toreach the goal of enhancing science literacy for allcitizens. Although reports stated that HPSS inclusionis not a new educational practice in other part of theworld, nevertheless, no large scale study has everbeen attempted to report the HPSS educationalconditions around the world. This study utilizes therich data collected by TIMSS to unveil the currentconditions of HPSS in the science education of aboutforty TIMSS countries. Based on the analysis results,recommendations to science educators of the world areprovided.     

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS): A brief introduction

Summary TIMSS promises to be the educational study of the 1990s, yielding valuable data not only for curriculum developers, mathematics and science educators, and educational researchers, but also for policy-makers, and those charged with the responsibility of resource allocation. In a complex undertaking such as TIMSS the challenges are many, but the potential of such international efforts are of an equal scale.     

International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Science Assessment in Developing Countries

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has been active now for more than 30 years. In that time the IEA has planned and co-ordinated several international surveys of pupil performance, particularly in mathematics, science and language. Pupil test data have in every case been supplemented with information regarding pupil, school, curriculum and system features, gathered through questionnaire enquiries and other means. Despite the relatively high costs of participation, and the complex logistics associated with pupil testing on the scale required, a number of developing countries have collaborated in one or other of the surveys, most particularly in those in mathematics and science. Some of the motivations for survey participation are equally relevant for both developed and developing countries, principal among them the desire to evaluate national educational system effectiveness through international comparison. A particular motivation driving some developing countries into this form of international collaboration is the opportunity it offers for skills transfer in the general areas of curriculum development and test construction. The paper overviews the IEA's three international science surveys, notes levels of developing country involvement in these, highlights some selected survey findings, and reflects on the potential value of survey participation to developing countries in particular.     

第三届国际数学及科学研究结果对华人地区数学课程改革的启示

第三届国际数学及科学研究是一项由国际教育成就评价协会主办,有四十多个国家和地区参加的长期追踪研究,这项研究由纸笔测试和录像研究两部分组成.这项研究对华人地区课程改革的启示有:虽然华人地区数学教育遭受各种批评,但从研究结果看,华人地区的数学教育并不差;我们应该仔细讨论TIMSS测试本身,分析它是否符合我们的数学教育目标;虽然华人学生相对负面的数学学习态度似乎没有影响学生的数学成绩,但是负面态度本身应该引起我们的关注.     

Major survey design issues for the IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study

He has been involved in international comparative studies of education since 1971. His current research is focused on integrating frameworks for the assessment of learning, ability and performance. He recently completed (with T. N. Postlethwaite) a volume reporting findings of the second science study of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).     

What does Kuwait want to learn from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)?

His particular academic interests are in mathematics teaching and curriculum development. Author of a series of mathematics textbooks with teachers' guides.     

国际数学成就比较和教材评价

从学生的数学成绩、数学认知水平、数学学习态度检测数学教学大纲的贯彻情况是一种行之有效的方法.调查对象分布在我国10个城市,60所中小学,7 777名四年级和九年级学生.我国小学和初中学生在数学成绩、数学认知水平、数学学习态度方面与国外(地区)学生相比,其情况如下:在所测的学生中,学生的水平与期望的水平有差距,不同地区的学生在数学成绩和学习态度上有较明显差异,学生学习数学的信心随年龄增长而降低.研究表明,增加一些数学与科学相结合的综合课程对学生提高认识数学的社会价值和提升正面态度是有帮助的.建立有我国特色的国家数学教育的教、学、评价机制有助于贯彻新标准.     

The Utility of Third International Mathematics and Science Study Scales in Predicting Students' State Examination Performance

To examine the predictive utility of three scales provided in the released database of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (international plausible values, standardized percent correct score, and national Rasch score), information was obtained on the performance in state examinations in mathematics and science in 1996 (2,969 Grade 8 students) and in 1997 (2,898 Grade 7 students) of students in the Republic of Ireland who had participated in TIMSS in 1995. Performance on TIMSS was related to later performance in the state examinations using normal and nonparametric maximum likelihood (NPML) random effects models. In every case, standardized percent correct scores were found to be the best predictors of later performance, followed by national Rasch scores, and lastly, by international plausible values. The estimates for normal mixing distributions are close to those estimated by the NPML approach, lending support to the validity of estimates.     

Stability of Country Rankings Across Item Formats in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study

Multiple‐choice, short‐answer, and extended‐response item formats were used in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study to assess student achievement in mathematics and science at Grades 7 and 8 in more than 40 countries around the world. Data pertaining to science indicate that the standings of some countries relative to others change when performance is measured via the different item formats. The question addressed in the present article is the following: Can the instability of ranks in this case be attributed principally to item format, or are other important factors at work? It is argued that the findings provide further evidence that comparing student achievement across countries is a very complex undertaking indeed.     

第三次国际数学和科学研究的科学探究能力评价体系及其启示

本文主要介绍第三次国际数学和科学研究的科学探究能力评价体系,并讨论其对我国科学探究能力评价的借鉴意义。     

Describing Performance Standards: Validity of the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress Achievement Level Descriptors as Characterizations of Mathematics Performance

In this article, I examined the proposed role of "authentic" assessment as a policy tool of educational reform from two broad, closely related perspectives-technological and histo1,ical. I argue that one needs to first view testing as a technology. Next, when evaluating proposed policies to create a national examination system, one should examine their feasibility by considering the history of technological developments in testing and the reasons for those developments. Too often we have overlooked the lessons of history in formulating high-stakes testing, policies. In evaluating such testing policies, we need to look back while looking forward. When examined from the technological and historical angle, the practicality of current proposals for the large-scale use of performance measures for certifying an individual's successful completion of a give^ level of education, or for making decisions about an individual's entrance to college or the workplace, is certainly questionable.     

Attitudinal and motivational variables related to mathematics achievement in Jordan: findings from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of student-related variables on achievement in mathematics. The sample consisted of 3736 13-year-old Jordanian 8th-graders who participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The participants completed a student questionnaire and participated in the mathematics test. Of the matrix of affective variables reported to lead to the variation in mathematics achievement were educational aspiration, attitude, success attribution, confidence in ability and perception of importance of mathematics. A structural equation model was used to estimate and test the hypothesized relationships of the factors with achievement in mathematics. Results from this study indicate that four attitudinal and motivational variables had strong positive total and direct effects; and two variables had negative total and direct effects on mathematics achievement. Recommendations for future research were suggested.     

国际学生学业成就评价项目比较研究——以TIMSS-A2008和PISA2006为例

随着素质教育的实施和新一轮基础教育课程改革的推进,我们的目光被引向并聚焦在现有的中小学学生学业成就评价制度上.本研究通过对TIMSS、PISA两项国际学生学业成就评价项目的比较研究,指出:在评价标准问题上,应重视从生活能力角度来确定评价范畴,且根据时代特点及时改进评价;在评价价值取向上,应关注全局性、全球性、全人类性;在评价内容问题上,应考虑根基性、时代性、主体性;在评价方法的选取上,应注重质性评价与情境中的量化评价相结合;在评价主体问题上,评价主体的资格或专业归属问题将影响评价的实施.     

校外学习时间和数学素养对财经素养的影响:来自PISA的结果

使用来自上海市155个学校的1197名中学生参加PISA2012年数学素养测试的数据,探讨校外学习时间和数学素养对财经素养的影响作用,建构并验证一个中介效应模型。研究结果显示,学生的校外学习时间正向影响其财经素养水平,这一影响作用是通过学生的数学素养而达到的,即数学素养在校外学习时间与财经素养之间起完全中介效应。     

Effect of the Science Learning Environment on Science Achievement: A Comparison of 12 Countries from the IEA Second International Science Study

ABSTRACT

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Second International Science Study (SISS) was conducted in 1984, resulting in a vast amount of educational data collected from 23 countries and educational systems. This research study reports on the analyses of 12 of those countries using multilevel modeling, investigating the relationships between the students’ reported perceptions of the science learning environment and their science achievement when controlling for student background variables. The three science learning environment scales which were collected in the SISS and analysed here were Student Participation, Teacher Directed Learning and Practical Work. Additionally, this research reports on the effect of these science learning environment scales on gender and socioeconomic differences in science achievement.