Use and Impact of TIMSS
Ontario benefits from participating in national and international assessments, which provide external measures of student achievement, in addition to the provincial assessment program run by the Education Quality and Accountability Office. These assessments contribute to Ontario’s renewed vision for education that focuses on four goals: achieving excellence, ensuring equity, promoting well-being, and enhancing public confidence in public education.
TIMSS results, along with other evidence, inform Ministry of Education decisions on curriculum implementation supports and professional development in mathematics for teachers and administrators. The Ministry also sponsors research on specific topics, strategies, and resource use in mathematics. This research, along with other data from teachers, schools, and school boards, is used to identify and target the development of resources, as well as focus professional development sessions. Because there is no provincial testing in science and technology in the fourth grade, TIMSS results provide the only measures of student achievement at this level. TIMSS results, along with results from the national Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP), provide external measures of student achievement in eighth grade science and technology.