Achieve Calls 2007 TIMSS Results Encouraging in Mathematics; Points to Need for International Benchmarking

NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT:

Sandy Boyd, (202) 419-1542, Achieve
sboyd@achieve.org

WASHINGTON (December 9, 2008) – Achieve, an organization created by the nation's governors and business leaders committed to ensuring that all students graduate from high school prepared for college and careers, pointed to today's 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) results as further evidence of the need for state standards to reflect international benchmarking.

The report, which provides the latest snapshot of how American fourth- and eighth-grade students rank against their international counterparts on mathematics and science education assessments, shows that U.S. students improved in mathematics while performance in science was flat or lower, indicating that there is much work to be done to improve student achievement in science.

"Today's TIMSS results demonstrate that the long-standing focus on standards-based reform in the states, particularly in mathematics, is beginning to pay off. The results show that when states provide teachers with clear and rigorous standards and teachers have the tools and professional development they need, then students will perform well," said Mike Cohen, President of Achieve.

Cohen did caution that while some of the U.S. results are encouraging, they are relative. More developing countries participated in TIMSS this year than in previous test administrations. Therefore, while this year's mathematics results are heartening, there is still much work to be done and improvements to be made.

Cohen also pointed to the results as evidence of the importance of setting state education standards against international benchmarks. Achieve is currently conducting a study to learn what high-performing countries expect of their students and how that knowledge can help states improve their own standards.

This year's TIMSS results also included scores from two individual states - Massachusetts and Minnesota. Both states proved themselves to be competitive internationally - with scores that rank them among the best in the world. Both Massachusetts and Minnesota have set high standards - with Minnesota's internationally benchmarked.

"In a competitive world, it is no longer enough for states to know how they are doing relative only to other states," continued Cohen. "Instead, states want and need to know how they compare against the highest-performing countries - and this year, we saw that students in Massachusetts and Minnesota held their own against their international peers. Massachusetts and Minnesota should be commended for showing that when states set high standards and use them to drive improvements throughout the system, there will be positive results."

Earlier this year, Achieve announced that it would be working with the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to provide states a roadmap for benchmarking their K-12 education systems to those of top-performing nations.

For a copy of the report, visit http://nces.ed.gov/timss/. To learn more about Achieve, visit www.achieve.org.

Created by the nation's governors and business leaders, Achieve, is a bipartisan, non-profit organization that helps states raise academic standards, improve assessments and strengthen accountability to prepare all young people for postsecondary success. At the 2005 National Education Summit, Achieve launched the American Diploma Project (ADP) Network, a coalition that has grown to 34 states, educating nearly 85 percent of public school students in the United States. The ADP Network is committed to aligning high school expectations with the demands of college, career and life.