The Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) is a worldwide assessment of pupils in years 5 and 9 in England, that has been conducted every four years since 1995.
These assessments of maths and science knowledge, and a background questionnaire, enable countries to compare their pupils’ knowledge of maths and science concepts internationally; and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and curricula.
Timss is run by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an international cooperative of 69 national research institutions and governmental research agencies, founded in 1967, with bases in the US, Amsterdam and Hamburg.
The results from the most recent assessment, TIMSS 2015, the sixth cycle, were published on 29 November. View the full results here.
Timss provides internationally comparable data to help inform policy on teaching and organisation of maths and science and an opportunity to compare countries facing similar challenges to learn about different policy approaches.
Schools and governments may use the assessments to monitor the progress of pupils in maths and science at ages 10 and 14.
Key findings from 2015
The same five East Asian systems were all in the top six places for science. Russia came fourth in science for 10-year-olds and seventh for 14-year-olds; while Slovenia’s 14-year-olds came fifth.
Singapore topped all four of the rankings’ tables. Meanwhile, England’s students managed to improve their scores in both the maths and science tables, but in terms of rankings England has slipped slightly in maths (10th in primary maths and to 11th in secondary), stayed steady in primary science at 15th place and moved up one place in secondary science to 8th.
You can view the results of this year’s tests here.
Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow TES on Twitter and like TES on Facebook
