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Canadian students perform well in international Math and Science test

Canadian Grade four students have performed well in a major international test of mathematics and science skill, according to survey results released today.

The second phase of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was written by Grade four students in 26 countries. The result of phase one, which tested Grade eight students, were released last November.

The latest results show that Canadian Grade four students average 64 per cent in science, five percentage points higher than the international mean. In mathematics, the Canadian score was 60 per cent, one percentage higher than the international mean.

Comparing overall achievement in science between Canada and other participating nations, five countries scored higher, seven attained similar results and 13 had lower averages. In mathematics, eight scored significantly higher, seven did as well and 10 did significantly more poorly.

"The results are good news for Canada, and represent an important step forward in our understanding of how students are taught and learn these two critical subjects," said David Robitaille, international co- ordinator of TIMSS and head of the Faculty of Education's Department of Curriculum Studies at the University of British Columbia.

"Not all countries performed as well in Grade four as they did in Grade eight. Canadian students, however, performed quite well and at about the same level in both grades," he said.

Robitaille added that while the release of the test results for Grade four and eight is a significant landmark for TIMSS, its work is far from over.

"The more significant analyses, looking for links between curriculum and teaching practices on the one hand and student achievement on the other, are still to come, and efforts are under way to raise the money needed to carry out those analyses," he said.

TIMSS - the world's largest survey of teaching and learning of school mathematics and science skills - is based at UBC. Test results were released in St. John's today in conjunction with the Learned Societies conference.

The TIMSS survey marks the first time in an international study that Canada was represented by a national sample of schools, including public, private, separate, English and French-speaking. Five provinces - British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland - selected samples large enough to make interprovincial comparisons possible.

There was no significant difference in achievement between Canadian boys and girls in either subject, paralleling results for Grade eight.

TIMSS, launched in 1991, compares mathematics and science curricula and teaching methods of school systems, as well as achievement scores and attitudes of students toward the subjects.

TIMSS was conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement (IEA), an association of universities, research institutes and ministries of education which conducts cooperative international research studies in education.

Funding for Canadian participation and international coordination of the study was also provided by Human Resources Development Canada, Industry Canada and the B.C. Ministry of Education, Skills and Training.

Contact: Prof. David Robitaille, Faculty of Education, (604) 230- 4545 or Gavin Wilson, Public Affairs Office, (604) 822-2130, Carl Cooper, Department of Education (709) 729-5040.

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Newfoundland Participation

As part of Newfoundland's effort to focus on performance and accountability for achievement of students, the province decided to participate in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) which was conducted in the spring of 1995. The tests were designed to measure performance of nine-year-olds (Population 1), 13- year-olds (Population 2), and graduating students - Grade 12 (Population 3). Newfoundland participated as a full population (as did New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia) in the testing of Populations 1 and 2, meaning that reliable results could be attained at the provincial level for these students. For Population 3, the province participated only as part of the Canadian Sample, which meant the results could not be analyzed at the provincial level.

This involvement in international assessment is a tangible effort to show the province's commitment to world class standards in education. It is Newfoundland's first time participating in assessments in Mathematics and Science for nine-year-olds but the second time participating at the 13-year-old level. The last assessment was done through the International Assessment of Educational Progress (IAEP) in 1991.

WHO DID THE TESTING? The study was conducted by IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), a renowned international testing body which has conducted assessments in mathematics, science, and language literacy for many years. The Canadian component was coordinated by the Educational Measurement Research Group at the University of British Columbia under the leadership of Dr. David Robitaille.

DOES THE TEST REPRESENT OUR CURRICULUM? The curriculum framework for the TIMSS was clearly outlined in a document "Curriculum Framework for Mathematics and Science." An analysis of that framework by our curriculum consultants for mathematics and science resulted in a positive endorsement for the structure and focus of the assessment. However, the actual item match was somewhat low, with a match to the curriculum of 75 per cent for Mathematics and 44 per cent for Science. Other provinces mentioned above had curriculum matches ranging from 79 to 98 per cent in Mathematics, and from 69 to 100 per cent in Science.

HOW DO OUR RESULTS COMPARE TO OTHERS? Results for nine - and 13- year-olds are available. Nine year old students are normally at the grade four level and 13 year old students are in approximately Grade 8 in most provinces.

Newfoundland's results were not significantly different from the those for Canada as a whole for both nine- and 13-year-olds in both Mathematics and Science. In absolute terms, in Mathematics, nine-year- old Newfoundlanders scored as well as students from New Brunswick, better than students from Ontario, but not as well as students from British Columbia and Alberta. In Science, nine-year-olds scored the same as Ontario, better than New Brunswick but not as well as British Columbia and Alberta. For 13-year-olds, results were similar to those for nine year olds.