69ý

Assessment

International Comparison

By Sean Cavanagh — August 08, 2006 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

High-stakes tests and graduation exams. The SAT. The ACT. NAEP, also known as “the nation’s report card.”

For one state, those tests just aren’t enough.

Next year, Minnesota will assess its students on a grander scale—through the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS. The heavily scrutinized exam offers nation-by-nation comparisons of students’ ability in those subjects.

Created in 1995, the TIMSS exams have tested students every four years from about 50 countries in 4th and 8th grades and once at the high school level. While the vast majority of participants are nations, many U.S. states and individual school districts have taken part over the years, typically with the goal of seeing how well their students perform when thrown into the pool of international talent. That pool includes such consistent high performers as Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

In 1999, for instance, 13 states and 14 school districts participated.

But Minnesota, which last took part in 1995, is the only U.S. state to sign up for 2007 so far, though others may do so soon, said Ina V.S. Mullis, the co-director of the TIMSS and PIRLS Study Center, at Boston College. (PIRLS is the Progress in International 69ý Literacy Study, another nation-by-nation exam.) Other non-nations will take the test, such as several Canadian provinces and the Basque region of Spain.

One hurdle to state participation is the cost: It takes about $600,000 to cover various expenses for administering and managing the test, Ms. Mullis said.

Minnesota’s corporate community was a strong backer of TIMSS participation, raising about $150,000 to go with $500,000 in state funding. Charlie Weaver, the executive director of the Minnesota Business Partnership, said business leaders see TIMSS as a way to gauge whether recent state academic changes have worked—and to galvanize the public to demand more of its schools.

“Minnesota parents are pretty sanguine,” said Mr. Weaver, whose Minneapolis organization represents companies with 1,000 or more employees. “The perception is, ‘You know, our neighborhood schools are great.’… Hopefully, [taking the TIMSS] will provide a wake-up call.”

A version of this article appeared in the August 09, 2006 edition of Education Week

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Assessment Massachusetts Voters Poised to Ditch High School Exit Exam
The support for nixing the testing requirement could foreshadow public opinion on state standardized testing in general.
3 min read
Tight cropped photograph of a bubble sheet test with  a pencil.
E+
Assessment This School Didn't Like Traditional Grades. So It Created Its Own System
Principals at this middle school said the transition to the new system took patience and time.
6 min read
Close-up of a teacher's hands grading papers in the classroom.
E+/Getty
Assessment Opinion 'Academic Rigor Is in Decline.' A College Professor Reflects on AP Scores
The College Board’s new tack on AP scoring means fewer students are prepared for college.
4 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Assessment Opinion 69ý Shouldn't Have to Pass a State Test to Graduate High School
There are better ways than high-stakes tests to think about whether students are prepared for their next step, writes a former high school teacher.
Alex Green
4 min read
Reaching hands from The Creation of Adam of Michelangelo illustration representing the creation or origins of of high stakes testing.
Frances Coch/iStock + Education Week