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. Twenty-six nations participated in the testing of fourth-grade students' knowledge of science subject matter. TIMSS is a fair comparison of mathematics and science performance because students were chosen randomly in order to represent all students in their respective nations. Dr. William Schmidt, professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education, was the study's national director.

The Findings
American students placed in the top tier of nations in science, ranking third among the 26 countries tested. Given the statistical margin of error, only one nation -- South Korea -- outperformed American youths. The U.S. students substantially outperformed those from 19 countries. In science content areas, our fourth graders' performance exceeded the international average in all four of the areas assessed. In three of the areas -- earth science, life science, and environmental issues and the nature of science -- the fourth grade students were significantly outperformed by only one or two nations. In the fourth area -- physical science -- the students did not do as well. Sixteen percent of the U.S. youngsters would be among the top 10 percent of fourth graders tested in science. The test scores revealed that a gender gap exists. TIMSS researchers report that in examining boys' and girls' scores in the various science content areas, U.S. boys significantly outperform U.S. girls in the content areas of earth science and physical science. There was no significant difference between U.S. boys' and girls' scores in life science and in environmental issues and the nature of science. TIMSS researchers believe that a key reason for the strong showing is the cohesiveness of the curriculum at fourth grade, emphasizing a few strategic topics rather than the unfocused approach found at eighth grade.

What It Means to You
Given the outstanding performance of the nation's fourth graders, it is apparent U.S. elementary school science is effectively taught. How does your curriculum cover such areas as earth and life science, or the environment? The one area in which U.S. elementary students did not do quite as well was physics or physical science. How does your curriculum cover this subject area? Is there a difference between the performance of your fourth-grade boys and girls in science? What can be done to make all children be successful in understanding science?

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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