This study investigated the association between students' perception of the learning environment and three aspects of their mathematics attitude: "mathematics academic self-concept", "enjoyment of mathematics" and "perceived value of mathematics". The focus was on the association of students' mathematics attitude with…

Discusses criticisms of international educational studies and describes ways in which such studies can be used advantageously for diagnosis, identification of "what works," and monitoring and accountability. Presents examples of these categories of use. (SLD)

Highlights the findings of the performance assessment component of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), discussing implications for future assessments and issues for further analysis and research. The TIMSS has demonstrated the feasibility of large scale performance assessments, but what the numbers really mean remains to…

Focuses on the performance assessment of the practical component in science education, discussing changes over the years in the rationale and methodology of large-scale performance assessment. Illustrates these changes by comparing the Second International Science Study (1984) with the Third International Science and Mathematics Study. Contains 77…

Describes patterns of achievement in mathematics and science for elementary and secondary students who participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Discusses the low achievement of Cyprus students and the responses of the public and the educational system. (SLD)

Studied the match between the Ontario (Canada) eighth grade curriculum for 1997 and the item pool of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and analyzed the matching process itself. Findings show that the 1997 curriculum is a better match to the TIMSS item pool, achieving the better match by enlarging the curriculum and…

This special issue focuses on findings from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) from Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It consists of five contributions covering a variety of topics and research methodologies. Some articles are primarily descriptive; others focus on relational analyses. (SLD)

Studied the different enrollment rates of the sexes at four types of German secondary schools to attempt to explain the finding from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) of no significant differences in mathematics achievement between males and females. Sex differences disappear because more girls benefit from the higher…

Explores mathematics results for seventh and eighth graders in South Africa on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test. Discusses reasons for South African students' relatively low performance by analyzing student background factors. Suggests research needs to study mathematics performance factors in more detail. (SLD)

Studied the mathematics achievement of boys and girls in four Asian nations that participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (Singapore, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong). Findings support the interactionist model of D. Gerry (1996) in which biologically secondary mathematical abilities are posited to emerge only with…

Discusses the national option mathematics test developed by Dutch educators because of doubts that the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) mathematics test was appropriate for Dutch students. Discusses test results that indicate that the TIMSS was, in fact, appropriate for use in the Netherlands. (SLD)

Presents a number of analyses based on the results of the Third International Science and Mathematics Study (TIMSS) in Switzerland. Results show that it's possible to reflect the complicated structure of Swiss secondary education in a sampling design and that there's little growth in mathematics literacy in Swiss upper secondary school students.…

Describes the problems inherent in scoring performance assessment on a large scale, focusing on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and scoring for Israeli students. In spite of the weaknesses in the scoring approach, the effort seems to have empowered teachers. (SLD)

This theme issue deals with internal and external factors that influence student achievement in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Internal factors are those related to the test material; external factors include socioeconomic level and educational background, school climate, language background, and students' attitudes…

Analyzes results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for Australia and discusses variations found across the country. Considers curriculum issues related to TIMSS results and notes that the importance of student attitudes toward mathematics is reinforced by TIMSS findings. (SLD)