Use and Impact of TIMSS
The reliable, valid, and detailed data that TIMSS provides about Moroccan student achievement in mathematics and science has been beneficial to education reform in Morocco. Equally important are the TIMSS data on the educational environment within which students learn these two subjects at the primary and lower secondary levels. Through the international perspective provided by TIMSS, Moroccan educators have gained deeper insights into ways to improve mathematics and science teaching further.
The National Center for Evaluation and Examinations in collaboration with the Regional Academies of Education and Training organized 16 nationwide seminars geared toward implementing the provisions of the National Education Emergency Support Program regarding student assessment. These seminars provided an opportunity to disseminate data on Moroccan student achievement in mathematics and science (as well as reading), and identify the areas and skills needing further attention. Educators, parents, and other stakeholders were called upon to develop improvement plans to help students enhance their competency in mathematics and science.
In light of Morocco’s TIMSS results, the Ministry of National Education has launched the Evaluation of Prerequisites program (L’Evaluation des Prérequis) to nurture a culture of assessment in mathematics and science, and in particular to diagnose key competencies (and resources) students should master within the new science and mathematics curriculum. The Evaluation of Prerequisites program, administered nationwide at the beginning of each school year, enables teachers to identify students’ areas of strength or areas needing improvement during instruction, and to differentiate instruction according to students’ individual learning pace.23 Within the framework of the assessment program, diagnostic tests are administered and scored at the beginning of the school year. Students with similar learning difficulties are grouped together, and specific remedial work programs are designed and implemented for these student groups. One of the major benefits of this program is that when teachers cannot easily resolve students’ difficulties, headmasters, inspectors, pedagogical advisors, and school management councils work together to develop context-specific improvement plans to provide greater extracurricular student support.