Mathematics

• 91% of fourth-grade students internationally reached at least the Low International Benchmark (400 points on the TIMSS scale) in mathematics, an indication that they demonstrated skills such as adding and subtracting up to three-digit numbers and applying basic properties of geometric shapes.
• 81% percent of eighth-grade students internationally reached at least this standard, demonstrating knowledge of integers, basic shapes, and visual representations, including finding the lengths of sides in polygons and reading information from graphs.
• Substantial percentages of students internationally also reached higher international benchmarks of mathematics achievement in both grades.

Science

• Similar percentages of fourth- and eighth-grade students reached at least the Low International Benchmarks in science.
  • 90% of fourth-grade students reached at least this standard, having demonstrated knowledge of some science facts, such as basic information about plants and animals and properties of matter in everyday situations.
  • 80% of eighth-grade students reached at least the Low International Benchmark, showing that they can apply knowledge of some science facts, including demonstrating understanding of ecosystems using simple models and distinguishing between physical and chemical changes.
  • Substantial percentages of students internationally also reached higher international benchmarks of science achievement in both grades.

Trend 

Grade 4

• For the 49 countries with comparable fourth-grade data in TIMSS 2019,
  • 14 showed an increase in average mathematics achievement in TIMSS 2023,
  • 13 indicated a decrease, and 22 had no change.
• Trend results are similar for these countries in science,
  • where 15 showed an increase in average achievement,
  • 13 exhibited a decrease, and
  • 21 had no change.

Grade 8

• For the 34 countries with comparable eighth-grade data in TIMSS 2019,
  • only three showed an increase in average mathematics achievement,
  • 14 displayed a decrease, and
  • 17 had no change.
• The results are similar in science, where again,
  • only three countries showed an increase in average achievement,
  • 15 indicated a decrease, and
  • 16 had no change.

Context of education

• There is a clear-cut relationship between home resources, and mathematics and science achievement for fourth- and eighth-grade students internationally. Students with higher socioeconomic status or rich home resources have substantially higher achievement, on average, than students with lower home socioeconomic status or fewer resources.
• Frequent absenteeism is associated with lower mathematics and science achievement for fourth- and eighth-grade students internationally, but many students report relatively infrequent absences from school.
  • On average, a little more than half of fourth-grade students (55 percent) and nearly half of eighth-grade students (46 percent) reported that they are “never or almost never” absent from school.
  • Just over 10 percent of students, on average, in both grades reported being absent “at least once a week,” and these students have substantially lower average achievement in both subjects.
• Fourth- and eighth-grade students possessing more positive attitudes toward mathematics and science experience higher achievement in those subjects.
  • Confidence has a strong relationship with achievement in mathematics and science for students in both grades.
  • The association is likely to be reciprocal, i.e., students who perform well in these subjects become more confident, and then continue to perform well.