Indiana’s TIMSS 2011 Performance: Outperforming Much of the World in Math and Science, But Issues Remain for Gender Achievement and High Performers

Abstract

K-12 education stakeholders at all levels in the U.S. are monitoring how the nation's students are preparing to succeed in an ever-changing and increasingly global economic landscape. Within Indiana they want to know how well Hoosier students are competing with students in other states, but also with students in other countries. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a regularly administered, large-scale international education assessment. In 2011 Indiana participated in the latest round of 8th grade TIMSS assessments. "Indiana’s TIMSS 2011 Performance: Outperforming Much of the World in Math and Science, But Issues Remain for Gender Achievement and High Performers" examines the most recent TIMSS results for Indiana students in order to compare Hoosier 8th graders with their global peers, looking at averages for the Top 10 performing countries, the U.S., and the world. The brief presents the results in terms of system-level populations. Disaggregated results by gender and system-level comparisons across TIMSS benchmarks are also presented and discussed. The brief concludes with an examination of achievement trends in Indiana and internationally from 1999 to 2011, including what these results mean in the context of current education reforms in the state.