The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was the latest in a series of international comparative studies on mathematics and science teaching initiated by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). TIMSS integrated the two domains in a single study, thus providing basic information on system performance in a core area of modern education in the 45 participating countries. The German research group consisted of three partners: the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB), the Institute for Science Education at the University of Kiel (IPN), and the Humboldt University of Berlin (HUB). The national consortium was headed by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.

The goal of TIMSS was to investigate achievement in mathematics and science from a cross-cultural perspective. The international study is based on a cross-sectional sample of three age groups: (I) students from the two adjacent grades with the largest proportion of 9-year-olds, (II) students from the two adjacent grades with the largest proportion of 13-year-olds, and (III) students in the final grade of upper secondary school in the general and vocational education system. In Germany, age groups II and III were investigated. As an enhancement of the international design, the TIMSS-Germany design for age group II was longitudinal. Additionally, an international Videotape Study (TIMSS-Video) comparing mathematics instruction in Germany, Japan, and the United States has been interlinked with the panel study in Germany.

The TIMSS Team

Jürgen Baumert
Olaf Köller
Gundel Schümer
Rainer Watermann

Associated scientists
Wilfried Bos
Marten Clausen
Ingmar Hosenfeld
Rainer Lehmann (HUB)
Kai Schnabel
Knut Schwippert