TIMSS 2011: Mathematics and Science Achievement in England
11 December 2012
Download the Executive Summary
TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is a worldwide research project, taking place every four years and providing data about trends in mathematics and science achievement over time. It assesses the knowledge and skills of pupils aged 9-10 (otherwise known as fourth grade) and 13-14 (eighth grade). It also enables researchers to collect extensive background information about the quantity, quality, and content of teaching, which can be used to make comparisons between participating countries. Findings from the survey are used to inform education policy and to improve teaching and learning in mathematics and science for pupils around the world.
TIMSS 2011 involved pupils in 63 countries around the world (60 participating at one or both of the target grades and three administering to older pupils). Fourth grade results were reported for 57 of those 60 participants and eighth grade for 56 of them. Of the 60 participants, 39 had results reported for both grades. Two UK nations participated in TIMSS 2011. In Northern Ireland, 136 primary schools participated. In England, 125 primary schools and 118 secondary schools participated. NFER would like to thank these schools, their teachers and pupils for representing their country and helping to make TIMSS 2011 a success. The appendix to the national reports for Northern Ireland and England provide more information about the samples.
The national report for England
Download the Full Report (7.6 Mb)
- Preliminary pages
- Chapter 1: Attainment in TIMSS 2011 (0.4 Mb)
Attainment in 2011 and trends in performance over time - Chapter 2: Distribution of attainment in TIMSS 2011 (0.7 Mb)
Performance in mathematics and science at the TIMSS 'benchmark' levels, in 2011 and over time - Chapter 3: Attainment by gender and language context (0.4 Mb)
Attainment by gender in 2011 and over time, and the language context of the pupils taking the assessment - Chapter 4: Pupils' engagement (2.2 Mb)
Pupils' engagement in their mathematics and science lessons, teachers' approaches to engaging pupils, and pupils' attitudes towards and confidence in learning the subjects - Chapter 5: Attainment by content and cognitive domain (0.3 Mb)
Performance in specific areas of the mathematics and science curriculum, and in the areas of Knowing, Applying and Reasoning: attainment in each domain overall and by gender - Chapter 6: The curriculum and teaching (1.5 Mb)
Teaching hours and the curriculum in mathematics and science; emphasis on investigation in science lessons; availability and use of computers in mathematics and science lessons - Chapter 7: The school teaching environment (2.1 Mb)
Teacher training; teachers' preparedness to teach particular topics; collaboration to improve teaching; teachers' career satisfaction; the teaching environment (including emphasis on academic success, and orderliness and discipline within schools); and pupils' experience of bullying behaviours - Chapter 8: School resources (0.8 Mb)
Teachers' working conditions and resourcing in schools, including the extent of computer provision and impact on achievement - Chapter 9: The home environment (0.4 Mb)
Educational resources in pupils' homes and pupils' use of social networking sites; the impact on teaching of pupils lacking prerequisite skills, basic nutrition or adequate sleep - Appendix A: Overview of TIMSS 2011 (2.2 Mb)
Participating countries and jurisdictions; the sampling strategy and targets; and England's samples - Appendix B: Trend performance of England and selected countries (2.2 Mb)
Trends in performance for TIMSS participants performing similarly to or better than England in 2011 - Appendix C: Example mathematics and science items (2.2 Mb)
Example test items, with the percentage answering correctly in England, the international average, and the highest percentage internationally - References (0.1 Mb)
References, including the international TIMSS reports and related documents