America’s Top-Performing Students in Mathematics and Science: A Trend Analysis With International Comparisons

• In Event: Roundtable Session 112
  In Roundtable Session: The Second Decade of the 21st Century: Moving Forward in the Millennium

Abstract

International assessments such as TIMSS offer a unique opportunity to benchmark our students' performance to the performance of students in other countries. This study investigates 1) how the mathematics and science achievement of the top 10 percent of U.S. students compares to that of their international peers and 2) how performance of the top 10 percent has changed over the last decade [1995 to 2007]. It also identifies the demographic characteristics of students included in the top 10 percent and examines whether these characteristics have changed over time. The results show that U.S. top-performers have consistently lower performance scores than their international peers and that these scores do not significantly improve over time.

Authors

• Ariana L. Harner, American Institutes for Research

• Anindita Sen, American Institutes for Research