New Questions Raised About the Validity of TIMSS Comparisons

By Debra Viadero

The latest international study of math and science achievement is "misleading and seriously flawed," according to a critique published this month in Science .

The article by Iris C. Rotberg, a research professor of educational leadership at George Washington University in Washington, in the journal's May 15 issue picks apart results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. The findings drew wide attention earlier this year after they showed that American high school seniors ranked near the bottom among the 21 nations that participated. ( "U.S. Seniors Near Bottom in World Test," March 4, 1998.)

But Ms. Rotberg, a longtime critic of comparative international studies, said the results from TIMSS are "misinterpretable" because the countries involved differed in too many ways. Some adhered more closely to testing guidelines than others, she said. Others tested greater proportions of students within the end-of-school age group. Some countries had higher proportions of poor students, and others routinely track their best math and science...