TIMSS 2011: U.S. Students & Peers Around the World

This report from the National Center for Education Statistics summarizes the performance of U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students on the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), comparing their scores with their peers internationally as well as documenting changes in mathematics and science achievement since 1995. The report also describes additional details about the achievement of students within the United States, by sex, racial/ethnic background, and the poverty level of the schools they attend. It also include state-level results for public school students in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Carolina.

TIMSS is sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an international organization of national research institutions and governmental research agencies. TIMSS has been administered five times: 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011. The United States participated in all five administrations. In 2011, 54 countries and 20 other education systems (including the 9 U.S. states) participated at grade 4 or 8, or both.

The TIMSS 2011 Highlights Report is a product of the National Center for Education Statistics at the Institute of Education Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Education.

Key Findings:

Mathematics Achievement of Fourth- and Eighth-Graders in 2011

4th Grade

Comparisons of the mathematics achievement of 4th-graders in 2011 are made among 57 countries and other education systems.

Performance by Average Scores (Table 2)

• In 2011, the average mathematics score of U.S. 4th-graders (541) was higher than the international TIMSS scale average, which is set at 500.
• At grade 4, the United States was among the top 15 education systems in mathematics (8 education systems had higher averages and 6 were not measurably different) and scored higher, on average, than 42 education systems.
  
  • The 8 education systems with average mathematics scores above the U.S. score were Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong-CHN, Chinese Taipei-CHN, Japan, Northern Ireland-GBR, North Carolina-USA, and Belgium (Flemish)-BEL.

Change in Average Scores Over Time (Figure 1)

• Compared with 1995, the U.S. average mathematics score at grade 4 was 23 score points higher in 2011 (541 v. 518).
• Compared with 2007, the U.S. average mathematics score at grade 4 was 12 score points higher in 2011 (541 v. 529).

Performance on International Benchmarks (Figure 2)

• The percentage of 4th-graders performing at or above the Advanced international mathematics benchmark in 2011 was higher than in the United States in 7 education systems, was not different in 4 education systems, and was lower than in the United States in 45 education systems.

8th Grade

Comparisons of the mathematics achievement of 8th-graders in 2011 are made among 56 countries and other education systems.

Performance by Average Scores (Table 3)

• In 2011, the average mathematics score of U.S. 8th-graders (509) was higher than the international TIMSS scale average, which is set at 500.
• At grade 8, the United States was among the top 24 education systems in mathematics (11 education systems had higher averages and 12 were not measurably different) and scored higher, on average, than 32 education systems.
  
  • The 11 education systems with average mathematics scores above the U.S. score were Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong-CHN, Japan, Massachusetts-USA, Minnesota-USA, the Russian Federation, North Carolina-USA, Quebec-CAN, and Indiana-USA.

Change in Average Scores Over Time (Figure 3)

• Compared with 1995, the U.S. average mathematics score at grade 8 was 17 score points higher in 2011 (509 v. 492).
• There was no measurable difference between the U.S. average mathematics score at grade 8 in 2007 (508) and in 2011 (509).

Performance on International Benchmarks (Figure 4)

• The percentage of 8th-grade students performing at or above the Advanced international mathematics benchmark in 2011 was higher than in the United States in 11 education systems; was not different in 13 education systems; and was lower than in the United States in 31 education systems.

Science Achievement of Fourth- and Eighth-Graders in 2011

4th Grade

Comparisons of the science achievement of 4th-graders in 2011 are made among 57 countries and other education systems.

Performance by Average Scores (Table 4)

• In 2011, the average science score of U.S. 4th-graders (544) was higher than the international TIMSS scale average, which is set at 500.
• At grade 4, the United States was among the top 10 education systems in science (6 education systems had higher averages and 3 were not measurably different) and scored higher, on average, than 47 education systems.
  
  • The 6 education systems with average science scores above the U.S. score were Korea, Singapore, Finland, Japan, the Russian Federation, and Chinese Taipei-CHN.

Change in Average Scores Over Time (Figure 5)

• There was no measurable difference between the U.S. average science score at grade 4 in 1995 (542) and in 2011 (544).
• There was no measurable difference between the U.S. average science score at grade 4 in 2007 (539) and in 2011 (544).

Performance on International Benchmarks (Figure 6)

• The percentage of 4th-graders performing at or above the Advanced international science benchmark in 2011 was higher than in the United States in 3 education systems, was not different in 6 education systems, and was lower than in the United States in 47 education systems.

8th Grade

Comparisons of the science achievement of 8th-graders in 2011 are made among 56 countries and other education systems.

Performance by Average Scores (Table 5)

• In 2011, the average science score of U.S. 8th-graders (525) was higher than the TIMSS scale average, which is set at 500.
• At grade 8, the United States was among the top 23 education systems in science (12 education systems had higher averages and 10 were not measurably different) and scored higher, on average, than 33 education systems.
  
  • The 12 education systems with average science scores above the U.S. score were Singapore, Massachusetts-USA, Chinese Taipei-CHN, Korea, Japan, Minnesota-USA, Finland, Alberta-CAN, Slovenia, the Russian Federation, Colorado-USA, and Hong Kong-CHN.

Change in Average Scores Over Time (Figure 7)

• Compared with 1995, the U.S. average science score at grade 8 was 12 score points higher in 2011 (525 v. 513).
• There was no measurable difference between the U.S. average science score at grade 8 in 2007 (520) and in 2011 (525).

Performance on International Benchmarks (Figure 8)

• The percentage of 8th-grade students performing at or above the Advanced international science benchmark in 2011 was higher than in the United States in 12 education systems, was not different in 10 education systems, and was lower than in the United States in 33 education systems.

Individual State Results


In the United States, besides the national samples of public and private schools drawn to represent the nation at grade 4 and at grade 8, several state public school samples were also drawn so that nine states could benchmark their student performance internationally. individual state results in mathematics and science, are available here. for these states: Florida and North Carolina at grade 4 and 8, and Alabama, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and North Carolina at grade 8.

Key Findings:

4th Grade

* Among the U.S. states that participated in TIMSS at grade 4, North Carolina scored above the TIMSS scale average and the U.S. national average in mathematics, while Florida scored above the TIMSS scale average but was not measurably different from the U.S. national average in mathematics.
* In science, at grade 4, both Florida and North Carolina scored above the TIMSS scale average, but were not measurably different from the U.S. national average.



8th Grade

* Among the nine U.S. states that participated in TIMSS at grade 8, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Indiana scored both above the TIMSS scale average and the U.S. national average in mathematics. Colorado, Connecticut, and Florida scored above the TIMSS scale average, but they were not measurably different from the U.S. national average. California was not measurably different from the TIMSS scale average but scored below the U.S. national average, while Alabama scored both below the TIMSS scale average and the U.S. national average in mathematics.
* In science, at grade 8, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Colorado scored both above the TIMSS scale average and the U.S. national average. Indiana, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Florida scored above the TIMSS scale average, but they were not measurably different from the U.S. national average. California was not measurably different from the TIMSS scale average but scored below the U.S. national average, while Alabama scored both below the TIMSS scale average and the U.S. national average in science.