The Study
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tested the math and science knowledge of some 500,000 students from 41 countries at five different grade levels during the 1995 school year. One of the groups tested was fourth grade students in which 26 nations participated. The study sought to not only compare achievement among nations, but also provide insight into how schools differ from one another in terms of curriculum. TIMSS is a fair comparison of mathematics and science achievement because students were chosen randomly in order to represent all students in their respective nations.

The Findings
Results of the achievement testing reveal that U.S. fourth graders scored above the international average in mathematics, but overall they placed only in the middle tier of nations. American students ranked 12^th, scoring behind such nations as Singapore, which topped the list, South Korea and Japan. American youngsters outperformed countries such as England and Norway. TIMSS researchers graded U.S. student performance as a B- or C+. In mathematics content areas, U.S. fourth graders exceeded the international average in five of the six areas assessed. The five areas were: whole numbers; fractions and proportionality; data representation, analysis and probability; geometry; and patterns, relations and functions. The one area that showed American students below the international average was measurement, estimation and number sense. Interestingly, TIMSS found that if an international talent search were to select the top 10 percent of all fourth-grade students in the 26 countries, nine percent of U.S. fourth-graders would be included. Additionally, TIMSS found no significant gender gap in U.S. fourth grade math achievement.

What It Means to You
The fourth grade achievement scores in mathematics indicate that there is much that U.S. education is doing well. But it is also clear that more could be done to help U.S. students score in the top tier of nations. How would students in your district fare? Is your math curriculum at the fourth grade level focused on what most other nations tested target: whole number arithmetic, fractions, and units of measurement? What can be done to enhance students' understanding of measurement, estimation and number sense?

More Information
You can get more information on the achievement results and other TIMSS reports by calling (517) 353-7755 or by email at request@ustimss.msu.edu. You can also access TIMSS information from its Web site at http://ustimss.msu.edu/.

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