The Final Year of Secondary School

Full results are available in the complete International Report. For information on ordering or downloading this report, go to the Achievement Results page. For Press Release information, go to the TIMSS News page. The TIMSS HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FINAL YEAR OF SECONDARY SCHOOL document is available in PDF format. Click on the Adobe PDF icon below to receive this document.

Adobe PDF Icon TIMSS Highlights from the Final Year of Secondary School

The following are the main results in HTML format:

Mathematics and Science Literacy

The Netherlands and Sweden were the top-performing countries in mathematics and science literacy. Iceland, Norway, Switzerland Denmark, Canada, New Zealand, and Austria also performed above the international average of the 21 countries.

Countries performing below the international average were: Hungary, the Russian Federation, Italy, the United States, Lithuania, Cyprus, and South Africa.

Mathematics and Science Literacy
Country Mean Achievement
Netherlands 559
Sweden 555
Iceland 541
Norway 536
Switzerland 531
Denmark 528
Canada 526
New Zealand 525
Austria 519
Australia 525
Slovenia 514
France 505
Germany 496
Czech Republic 476
Hungary 477
Russian Federation 476
Italy 475
United States 471
Lithuania 465
Cyprus 447
South Africa 352
International Average 500
Countries not shown in bold did not satisfy one or more guidelines for sample participation rates or classroom sampling procedures.
Countries in blue boxes scored significantly higher than the International Average
Countries in white boxes did not score significantly different from the International Average
Countries in pink boxes scored significantly lower than the International Average
SOURCE: IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995-96.

When the results were looked at separately for mathematics and science, the top-performers in mathematics literacy were the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland. The top-performers in science literacy were Sweden, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Norway.

Countries that had higher achievement in mathematics literacy than in science literacy were Denmark, France, Hungary, Lithuania, and Switzerland. Those with higher achievement in science literacy were Canada, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States.

Males had significantly higher average achievement than females in mathematics and science literacy in all countries except South Africa. This also was true for science literacy. In mathematics literacy, there were no significant gender differences in performance in Hungary, the United States, and South Africa.

Mathematics Literacy
 
Science Literacy
Country Mean
Achievement
Country Mean
Achievement
Netherlands 560 Sweden 559
Sweden 552 Netherlands 558
Denmark 547 Iceland 549
Switzerland 540 Norway 544
Iceland 534 Canada 532
Norway 528 New Zealand 529
France 523 Switzerland 523
New Zealand 522 Austria 520
Canada 519 Australia 527
Austria 518 Slovenia 517
Australia 522 Denmark 509
Slovenia 512 Germany 497
Germany 495 Czech Republic 487
Czech Republic 466 France 487
Hungary 483 Russian Federation 481
Italy 476 United States 480
Russian Federation 471 Italy 475
Lithuania 469 Hungary 471
United States 461 Lithuania 461
Cyprus 446 Cyprus 448
South Africa 356 South Africa 349
International Average 500 International Average 500
Countries not shown in bold did not satisfy one or more guidelines for sample participation rates or classroom sampling procedures.
Countries in blue boxes scored significantly higher than the International Average
Countries in white boxes did not score significantly different from the International Average
Countries in pink boxes scored significantly lower than the International Average
SOURCE: IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995-96.


Advanced Mathematics

Led by France, the countries performing above the international average in advanced mathematics also included the Russian Federation, Switzerland, Denmark, Cyprus, and Lithuania.

The countries performing below the international average were the Czech Republic, Germany, the United States, and Austria.

Significant gender differences favoring males were found in all countries except Greece, Cyprus, Australia, Italy, and Slovenia. In some countries, many more males than females have taken advanced mathematics courses, but this varied across countries.

Classroom indicators associated with high achievement included frequently solving equations, doing reasoning tasks, and using calculators.

Advanced Mathematics
Country
Mean Achievement
France 557
Russian Federation 542
Switzerland 533
Denmark 522
Cyprus 518
Lithuania 516
Australia 525
Greece 513
Sweden 512
Canada 509
Slovenia 475
Italy 474
Czech Republic 469
Germany 465
United States 442
Austria 436
International Average 501
Countries not shown in bold did not satisfy one or more guidelines for sample participation rates or classroom sampling procedures.
Countries in blue boxes scored significantly higher than the International Average
Countries in white boxes did not score significantly different from the International Average
Countries in pink boxes scored significantly lower than the International Average
SOURCE: IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995-96.


PHYSICS

Norway and Sweden had average physics achievement similar to each other, and significantly higher than other participating countries. The Russian Federation and Denmark also performed above the international average.

Six countries performed below the international average. The United States had significantly lower achievement than every country except Austria.

Males had significantly higher achievement than females in physics. Although the proportions of males and females having taken physics were about equal in Canada, Latvia (LSS), the Russian Federation, Switzerland, and the United States, in several countries, males outnumbered females by two or three to one.

Most final-year students having taken advanced mathematics or physics plan to attend university. Popular choices for future study include engineering, business, and health sciences.

Physics
Country Mean Achievement
Norway 581
Sweden 573
Russian Federation 545
Denmark 534
Slovenia 523
Germany 522
Australia 518
Cyprus 494
Latvia (LSS)* 488
Greece 486
Switzerland 488
Canada 485
France 466
Czech Republic 451
Austria 435
United States 423
International Average 501
Countries not shown in bold did not satisfy one or more guidelines for sample participation rates or classroom sampling procedures.

*Because population coverage falls below 65%, Latvia is annotated LSS for Latvian Speaking Schools only.

Countries in blue boxes scored significantly higher than the International Average
Countries in white boxes did not score significantly different from the International Average
Countries in pink boxes scored significantly lower than the International Average
SOURCE: IEA Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1995-96.


 

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