Comparing Mathematics Content in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 Assessments Technical rept

摘要

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collects information on student performance in key subject areas through the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), as well as through participation in international studies of student achievement. Information from these studies is used to inform policymakers, educators, researchers, and the public about the knowledge and skills of U.S. students and how these compare with students in other countries. This technical report describes a study that was undertaken to compare the content of three mathematics assessments conducted in 2003: the NAEP fourth- and eighth-grade assessments; the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which also assessed mathematics at the fourth- and eighth-grade levels; and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assessed the mathematical literacy of 15-year-old students. Its aim is to provide information useful for interpreting and comparing the results from the three assessments, based on an in-depth look at the content of the respective frameworks and assessment items. The content comparisons between NAEP, TIMSS, and PISA reveal some key differences in the mathematics topics covered, grade-level correspondence, and the characteristics of the item pools on other dimensions. All of these factors together may result in differences in student performance, and it is useful to consider these differences when interpreting the results from the three assessments. In addition, the PISA assessment, with its focus on problem solving and the application of mathematics in real-world situations, provides additional information on student performance that is complementary to that obtained from NAEP and TIMSS.