User Guide for the TIMSS International Database.pdf - TIMSS and ...

I N S T R U M E N T S C H A P T E R 2
The two dimensions of the TIMSS frameworks used in developing the TIMSS tests were
subject-matter content and performance expectations. During test development, each item was
coded as to the content and performance expectations with which it is associated. The TIMSS
item classification system permits an item to draw on multiple content areas and to involve
more than one performance expectation, so that an item may have several content and
performance codes. However, in constructing the tests, only the principal code was used for
each of the two dimensions. For example, an item may be coded for content as “uncertainty
and probability” (principal code) and “proportionality problem” (secondary code). When
that item was selected for the test, only the principal code was considered.
Because of limitations in resources for data collection, a number of the detailed categories in
the frameworks were combined into a few mathematics and science content “reporting
categories.” In the analysis, each item in the TIMSS test was included in one reporting
category based on its principal content code. Table 2.1 presents the reporting categories for
the mathematics and science content areas used in the international reports. The classification
of items into each mathematics and science reporting category are shown in Tables 7.7
through 7.10 in Chapter 7.
Table 2.1
Mathematics and Science Content Area Reporting Categories
Population 1
Population 2
2.3 The TIMSS Items
Mathematics Science
Whole numbers
Fractions and proportionality
Measurement, estimation, and
number sense
Data representation, analysis, and
probability
Geometry
Patterns, relations, and functions
Fractions and number sense
Geometry
Algebra
Data representation, analysis, and
probability
Measurement
Proportionality
Earth science
Life science
Physical science
Environmental issues and the
nature of science
Earth science
Life science
Physics
Chemistry
Environmental issues and the
nature of science
The task of putting together the achievement item pools for the different TIMSS student
populations was immense, and took more than three years to complete. Developing the
TIMSS achievement tests necessitated building international consensus among NRCs, their
national committees, mathematics and science experts, and measurement specialists. All NRCs
worked to ensure that the items used in the tests were appropriate for their students and
reflected their countries’ curriculum.
T I M S S D A T A B A S E U S E R G U I D E 2 - 3