University of Oslo Workshops June 29-30 Conference July 1-3 ...

Track A TIMSS - Session 3
Explaining trends in mathematics/science achievement
1 July
16:00-18:00
Room: AK 2136
Chair: Kok Leong Boey
Discussant: Jan van Damme
Trends in Factors Affecting Eight Graders Mathematics Performance by
Gender in Iran (TIMSS, 1999, 2003 & 2007)
Ali Reza Kiamanesh, Islamic Azad University, Science Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Mohsenpour, University of Tehran, Iran
In the present study, the changes observed in the mathematics achievement of Iranian
eighth graders across three consecutive TIMSS studies were investigated by gender. The
data obtained from Iranian eighth graders in TIMSS 1999, 2003 and 2007 were analyzed.
A number of 5301 (2096 girls and 3205 boys), 4942 (2059 girl and 2883 boys), and 3881
(1786 girls and 2195 boys) Iranian students participated in TIMSS 1999, 2003 and 2007,
respectively.
Using the data from the Student Questionnaire and factor analysis, four factors were
extracted for each of the studies. Due to the fact that the items in the Student Questionnaire
in the three different studies were not the same, the indicators for some of these factors in
the three different studies were not identical. The factors were identified as attitudes
towards math, socio-economic status, mathematics self-concept, and school climate. The
criterion variable was defined using five mathematics plausible values. The key
methodologies used in this study were the effect sizes and the Linear Structural Model.
Diverse fit statistics were used to assess the goodness of fit, and the model fit was
acceptable for all the models. The data from each study were analyzed for boys and girls,
separately. Trends in influential factors for the boy and girl participants in these three
studies and the direct and indirect effects of the factors on mathematics achievement were
also analyzed and discussed.
Key words: trend, mathematics achievement, eighth graders, factors
Trends in Differentiation of Student Achievement and Learning Conditions in
the Czech Compulsory Education. Findings from TIMSS.
Jana Straková, Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Institute for
Information on Education, Czech Republic
Many studies show that one of the most important factors related to delivering equity in
education is the design of education system, its differentiation, and the age at the time of
the first selection. In a system in which early self-selection is constrained by the choice
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