Using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015 assessment of fourth-grade students in 32 countries, a series of mean comparisons and regression analyses were conducted to determine (1) the gender gap in students' self-concept in mathematics; (2) to what extent student achievement, student gender, and…

Covariational reasoning (or the coordination of two dynamically changing quantities) is central to secondary STEM subjects, but research has yet to fully explore its applicability to elementary and middle-grade levels within various STEM fields. To address this need, we selected a globally referenced STEM assessment--the Trends in International…

Students' socioeconomic status (SES) is not only directly related to mathematics achievement but also indirectly related to mathematics achievement through their unequal opportunity to learn (OTL). Despite a plethora of studies about how mathematics achievement is associated with SES and OTL, few systematic studies have examined the differential…

Canonical coherence occurs when subject matter in school is organized to align with the logical structures of an academic discipline. Even though it is highly desired, this condition is an assumption that must be empirically tested, which was the rationale behind our examination of the coherence of topics from middle-school (grades 7-9) integrated…

This study investigated gender disparities in students' science motivational beliefs, conceptualized as self-concept and intrinsic value, from Grades 4 to 8 in 22 countries. The gender-specific relation between science motivational beliefs and achievement was also scrutinized. Data from the 2011 and 2015 national cohorts of the Trends in…

This case study investigates, at three Swedish schools, primary school students' knowledge of the equal sign. The schools were chosen as representatives of schools whose students have different socioeconomic backgrounds. The data consist of Grade 3 and 6 students' responses to an assessment form based on Matthews et al. ("JRME,"…

This study aims to explore the different appearances of parental interactions based on principal, teacher, and student reports of the 8th grade Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2011 assessments in Israel and how the appearances of parental interactions relate to math achievements. We conducted a multilevel SEM on 147…

The present study examined data from the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study to address cross-cultural differences in 4th grade students' attitudes towards science and how students' sense of school belonging (SSSB) scores were related to attitude towards science. Regression results indicated that SSSB emerged as a…

The purpose of this study was to examine the pattern of the relationships among motivational beliefs and science achievement of 8th grade Taiwanese students, given that the students in Taiwan have high science academic achievement but low motivational beliefs in science learning on a series of international large-scale assessments. Three…

Algebra is the fundamental language of mathematics, and a profound understanding of school algebra is an important prerequisite for further studies in mathematical sciences. The aim of this study is to characterize the algebraic competence of the Norwegian upper secondary school students participating in Trends in International Mathematics and…

We conducted a methodological review of articles using the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) or Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data published by the SSCI-indexed science education journals, such as the "International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education," the "International…

In this study, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007 data were used to build mathematics achievement models of fourth graders in two East Asian school systems: Hong Kong and Singapore. In each school system, eight variables at student level and nine variables at school/class level were incorporated to build an achievement…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the validity of modeling science achievement in terms of 3 social psychological variables (school connectedness, science attitude, and active learning) and 2 self-perception variables (self-confidence and science value). Two models were tested: full mediation and partial mediation. In the…

Using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 data, this study built mathematics achievement models of 8th graders in four countries: the USA, Russia, Singapore and South Africa. These 4 countries represent the full spectrum of mathematics achievement. In addition, they represent 4 continents, and they include 2 countries…

Though it is generally believed that doing homework promotes better learning, no consensus has been achieved concerning its importance and relevance to students' achievement. The historical up-and-down status of public attitudes toward homework indicates that understanding about the role of homework in students' learning is far from comprehensive…