About TIMSS 2011

TIMSS 2011 is the fifth in IEA’s series of international assessments of student achievement dedicated to improving teaching and learning in mathematics and science. First conducted in 1995, TIMSS reports every four years on the achievement of fourth and eighth grade students. A number of countries participating in TIMSS 2011 will have trend data across assessments from 1995 to 2011.

A globally cooperative enterprise, TIMSS conducts comprehensive state-of the-art assessments of student achievement supported with extensive data about country, school, and classroom learning environments. Fifty countries participated in TIMSS 2007, and more than 60 are expected to take part in TIMSS 2011. There is enormous diversity among the TIMSS countries—in terms of economic development, geographical location, and population size. Fundamental to IEA’s vision is the notion that the diversity of educational philosophies, models, and approaches that characterize the world’s education systems constitute a natural laboratory in which each country can learn from the experiences of others. TIMSS participants share the conviction that comparing education systems in terms of their organization, curricula, and instructional practices in relation to their corresponding student achievement provides information crucial for effective education policy-making.

For information about enrolling in TIMSS 2011, please contact Dr. Barbara Malak-Minkiewicz, manager of member relations, at IEA’s Secretariat.