Assessing Student Performance Through the Lens of TIMSS

When Minnesota participated in TIMSS1995, its students emerged among the top in the world in science. Its performance in mathematics, however, was mediocre; comparable to the U.S. The difference in student performance in science and mathematics was attributed to the focused nature of the science curriculum, which was lacking in the mathematics curriculum. Twelve years later, Minnesota students markedly outperformed the U.S. in mathematics at both fourth and eighth grades. This presentation will provide insight into the policy and classroom changes that contributed to improvement in student performance. Primary among the changes over those years was the development of state standards. Yet, while almost all of the states have state standards, Minnesota’s gain in grade 4 math for example, was three times that of the US as a whole. Analysis of the TIMSS testing results, along with the teacher, student and administrative surveys accompanying the TIMSS study, have revealed the following key characteristics of successful standards: (1) standards must be coherent (well aligned grade to grade and with the curriculum); (3) standards must be focused (fewer topics with greater depth/time spent on each topic); (3) standards must be rigorous (at a level of difficulty equivalent to the international leaders). In addition to these characteristics it was of immense help to benchmark Minnesota’s standards with the international community. Having quality “world class” standards however, does not guarantee the successful delivery of those standards in the classroom. Teachers need the staff development and resources to translate those standards into classroom practice and student achievement. SciMathMN, the Minnesota non-profit organization responsible for the initial TIMSS participation in 1995, also took on the task of developing “Standards Frameworks” in both math and science to assist teachers in delivering standards-based lessons in the classroom. It appears that those frameworks contributed to the success of students, and SciMathMN is seeking support in updating those frameworks to align with the revised MN standards. Minnesota’s work is far from done and the TIMSS analysis has revealed areas to focus on as we move forward. While Minnesota’s students on average perform well on the international comparison, some students are being left behind. The TIMSS analysis shows great disparity between students in poverty and those more affluent and the difference in performance correlates with the rigor offered those students. Additional insights and implications for policy and practice will be discussed in this presentation. MN TIMSS information is available on the SciMathMN website (www.scimathmn.org).