In Grade 4 mathematics, the majority of students in Alberta had been taught all the topics in the number and data display subdomains. However, four topics in the measurement and geometry subdomain had not yet been taught or had just been introduced to more than half of the students: solving problems involving mass, volume, and time; finding and estimating perimeter, area, and volume; parallel and perpendicular lines; and comparing and drawing angles (Appendix B.3.33). In Grade 4 science, most topics in the life science subdomain had been taught to the majority of students, with the exception of major body structures and their functions in humans,
other animals, and plants; and characteristics of plants and animals that are inherited. In the physical science subdomain, half of the topics had not been taught or had just been introduced to more than 60 percent of students. In addition, four topics in the Earth science subdomain had not been taught or had just been introduced to more than half of students (Appendix B.3.34).
Summary
The TIMSS 2019 questionnaires provide valuable information on school, teacher, and classroom
characteristics and the relationship between these important educational contexts and student achievement in mathematics and science. In addition, the questionnaires closely examined the use of technology in education, as schools, school boards/districts, and governments invest further in information and communications technology in classrooms.
Socioeconomic status continues to be a predictor of academic success. Students attending schools with relatively more affluent students had higher achievement than those attending schools with relatively more disadvantaged students in both mathematics and science. The pattern has been consistently reported in the academic literature as well in in other large‑scale assessment projects, such as PISA, PCAP, and PIRLS.
Across countries, approximately 60 percent of students were in schools in which more than 90 percent of students spoke the language of the test. In Canada, only 43 percent of students were in schools characterized by such language homogeneity which speaks to the multilingual and multicultural character of this country.
However, the proportion of students in schools with less than 50 percent of students with the language of the test as their home language was similar at the Canada and international levels (approximately 20 percent). The relationship between language composition of the school and achievement was not linear and there were few significant differences at the provincial level.
In Canada, approximately half of students attended schools considered to be very safe and orderly by their teachers, which is about 10 percent lower than the international average. Although science achievement was higher for students who attended schools in which teachers reported minimal discipline issues, no significant relationship was found for mathematics achievement.
Adequate school resources, including supplies, computers, buildings, and libraries, are considered to be integral to student development and school management. In Canada, approximately 60 percent of students attend schools in which principals reported that instruction was affected somewhat or a lot by shortages of resources (57 percent for mathematics and 67 percent for science). Although only 11 percent of students have access to a science laboratory at the Grade 4 level, compared to 36 percent internationally, the relationship to achievement is significant in Canada overall. Further, 20 percent of students are in schools in which teachers have assistance during science experiments; however, no significant relationship to achievement was found.
As students progress through public education, they learn increasingly challenging and sophisticated curriculum, and they also learn how to learn. An important aspect of success is students’ readiness to learn and engage critically during lessons. However, the teachers of three‑quarters of Canadian students and two‑
thirds of students internationally, reported that their teaching was limited some or a lot by students not being ready for instruction, and this was related to lower achievement in both mathematics and science. When asked about the clarity of instructions in their lessons, approximately three‑quarters of students in Canada and across countries reported that their mathematics and science lessons were taught with high instructional clarity which had a significant positive relationship with achievement.
TIMSS 2019 surveyed the availability of digital resources in schools. At the Grade 4 level, students generally have access to a computer that is shared in their class or computers that are shared within the school. The proportion of students whose teachers reported that each student has a computer is similar at the Canada and international levels (13 percent); however, a higher proportion of students have access to shared computers in Canada compared to other countries. In Canada overall, about half of Grade 4 students had access to computers for mathematics lessons, while nearly two‑thirds had access to digital devices during science classes, which is higher than the international averages (39 percent and 45 percent, respectively). However, the
majority of students have teachers who do not assess students in mathematics or science using a digital device at the Grade 4 level. More than 60 percent of students attended a school in Canada with an online learning management system and close to 90 percent of students had access to digital learning resources in their school.
CONCLUSION
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is an international assessment that measures trends in mathematics and science achievement at the equivalent of the Grade 4 and Grade 8/
Secondary II levels. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has organized this study every four years since 1995. In 2019, over 330,000 students from around the world took part in the Grade 4 assessment, and over 250,000 students took part in the Grade 8 assessment. In Canada, 13,653 students from five provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador) participated at the Grade 4 level in 2019.
TIMSS provides comparative information on the abilities of students at the elementary level. TIMSS data allow researchers and other stakeholders to compare countries and provinces with respect to the knowledge and skills of fourth grade students; the data also provide information that permits change in performance to be monitored over time.
Overall results
TIMSS Grade 4 mathematics has been proposed by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics as an indicator for mathematics at the end of primary school with the TIMSS low international benchmark of 400 TIMSS points as the global minimum proficiency level. In Canada, 92 percent of students reached this proficiency level in mathematics while six percent of students reached the highest level of proficiency (advanced
international benchmark). Canadian Grade 4 students achieved a mean score of 512 in mathematics, which is above the international centrepoint of 500 but substantially below the highest performing country, Singapore, which had an average score of 625.
In science, the low international benchmark was reached by 95 percent of Canadian students, while seven percent of students reached the advanced international benchmark. Thirty‑two countries, including Canada and all Canadian provinces had higher achievement than the TIMSS centrepoint of 500, which is the point of reference that remains constant from one TIMSS assessment to the next.