Table 1. Average mathematics scores of fourth- and eighth-grade students, by country: 2007
| Grade four | Grade eight | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Average score | Country | Average score |
| TIMSS scale average | 500 | TIMSS scale average | 500 |
| Hong Kong SAR1 | 607 | Chinese Taipei | 598 |
| Singapore | 599 | Korea, Rep. of | 597 |
| Chinese Taipei | 576 | Singapore | 593 |
| Japan | 568 | Hong Kong SAR1, 4 | 572 |
| Kazakhstan2 | 549 | Japan | 570 |
| Russian Federation | 544 | Hungary | 517 |
| England | 541 | England4 | 513 |
| Latvia2 | 537 | Russian Federation | 512 |
| Netherlands3 | 535 | United States4, 5 | 508 |
| Lithuania2 | 530 | Lithuania2 | 506 |
| United States4, 5 | 529 | Czech Republic | 504 |
| Germany | 525 | Slovenia | 501 |
| Denmark4 | 523 | Armenia | 499 |
| Australia | 516 | Australia | 496 |
| Hungary | 510 | Sweden | 491 |
| Italy | 507 | Malta | 488 |
| Austria | 505 | Scotland4 | 487 |
| Sweden | 503 | Serbia2, 5 | 486 |
| Slovenia | 502 | Italy | 480 |
| Armenia | 500 | Malaysia | 474 |
| Slovak Republic | 496 | Norway | 469 |
| Scotland4 | 494 | Cyprus | 465 |
| New Zealand | 492 | Bulgaria | 464 |
| Czech Republic | 486 | Israel7 | 463 |
| Norway | 473 | Ukraine | 462 |
| Ukraine | 469 | Romania | 461 |
| Georgia2 | 438 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 456 |
| Iran, Islamic Rep. of | 402 | Lebanon | 449 |
| Algeria | 378 | Thailand | 441 |
| Colombia | 355 | Turkey | 432 |
| Morocco | 341 | Jordan | 427 |
| El Salvador | 330 | Tunisia | 420 |
| Tunisia | 327 | Georgia2 | 410 |
| Kuwait6 | 316 | Iran, Islamic Rep. of | 403 |
| Qatar | 296 | Bahrain | 398 |
| Yemen | 224 | Indonesia | 397 |
| Syrian Arab Republic | 395 | ||
| Egypt | 391 | ||
| Algeria | 387 | ||
| Colombia | 380 | ||
| Oman | 372 | ||
| Palestinian Nat'l Auth. | 367 | ||
| Botswana | 364 | ||
| Kuwait6 | 354 | ||
| El Salvador | 340 | ||
| Saudi Arabia | 329 | ||
| Ghana | 309 | ||
| Qatar | 307 | ||
Average score is higher than the U.S. average score (p < .05)
Average score is not measurably different from the U.S. average score (p < .05)
Average score is lower than the U.S. average score (p < .05)1 Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China.
2 National Target Population does not include all of the International Target Population defined by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
3 Nearly satisfied guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
4 Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after substitute schools were included.
5 National Defined Population covers 90 percent to 95 percent of National Target Population.
6 Kuwait tested the same cohort of students as other countries, but later in 2007, at the beginning of the next school year.
7 National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of National Target Population (but at least 77 percent).
NOTE: Countries are ordered by 2007 average score. The tests for significance take into account the standard error for the reported difference. Thus, a small difference between the United States and one country may be significant while a large difference between the United States and another country may not be significant. The standard errors of the estimates are shown in tables E-1 and E-2 available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009001.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2007.
