~  Singapore once again leads in the 4-yearly TIMSS worldwide study of educational achievement.

~  The term ‘Singapore Maths’ has now become internationally recognized as a uniquely successful approach to teaching Maths, Science & English.

TIMSS 2007 (Trends in International Maths & Science)

by International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)

Report released 9 Dec 2008 (See the full report at: http://timss.bc.edu/TIMSS2007/intl_reports.html)

TIMSS is the world's largest and most influential global assessment of student achievement in Maths & Science, including some 425,000 students in the 4^th & 8^th grades from 59 participating countries.

The 4-yearly TIMSS assessments, carried out since 1995, are coordinated by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) International Study Center located at Boston College, United States.   (See below for more details on TIMSS)

Summary of Findings:

·    Singapore students continue to rank top worldwide in both Maths & Science in the 4^th & 8^th grades

·    Maths 4th grade: Singapore in the top performing group along with Hong Kong & Korea

·    Maths 8th grade: Singapore in the top performing group along with Taiwan & Korea

·    Science 4th grade: Singapore was the top performer, followed by Taiwan

·    Science 8th grade: Singapore was the top performer, followed by Taiwan

·    Substantial gap between the top Asian countries and the next group of four non-Asian countries including England (average 6^th rank), Hungary (average 9^th rank), Russia (average 7^th rank) and the USA (average 10^th rank).

·    Australia ranked 14^th on average, with New Zealand lower.

In the ‘Advanced International Benchmark’ representing fluency in the most complex topics and reasoning skills:

·    Maths 4th grade: Singapore (41%) & Hong Kong (40%) were top, with the largest percentage of students above the benchmark (worldwide median: 5%)

·    Maths 8th grade: Singapore, Taiwan & Korea had 40% to 45% of students achieving at the benchmark (median: 2%)

·    Science 4th grade: Singapore and Taiwan had 36% & 19% of students at or above the benchmark (median: 7%)

·    Science 8th grade: Singapore and Taiwan had 32% & 25% of students at or above the benchmark (median: 3%)

ABOUT TIMSS

The TIMSS project tracks worldwide achievement in Maths & Science at the 4^th & 8^th Grades over time. TIMSS 2007 is the 4th in the international Maths & Science assessments conducted every four years. Trend data has been collected and evaluated in 1995, 1999, 2003 and now in 2007.

TIMSS is funded by the participating countries with support from the World Bank, the US Department of Education through the National Center for Education Statistics, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The 59 participating countries include: Australia, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Denmark, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden & United States.

Each country sampled approximately 4,000 students in 150 schools.

View the Full Report, with tables and analyses ranking all participating countries at: http://timss.bc.edu/TIMSS2007/intl_reports.html