Use and Impact of TIMSS
Flanders participated in TIMSS several times between 1995 and 2011, at the eighth grade in the earlier cycles and at the fourth grade in the later cycles. It is worth noting that in Flanders, TIMSS data collections are not carried out by the government ministry (as they are in many countries) but are subcontracted to research centers. In mathematics, Flemish students consistently performed well with relatively little difference between the weakest and strongest students. In 2011, there was a significant difference between boys’ and girls’ performance in mathematics, while this was not the case in 2003. One possible explanation of Flanders’ good results in TIMSS mathematics in the past is that no children in special education participated. In 2015, certain groups of children in special education are participating—i.e., students educated in Type 1 (minor mental handicap), Type 3 (serious behavioral or emotional problems), and Type 8 (severe learning disabilities) programs.
Nearly all Flemish children (99 percent) attain the TIMSS Low International Benchmark in mathematics. In 2011, Flanders had one of the highest levels of achievement in fourth grade mathematics. In scientific knowledge and skills, Flemish students have not exhibited the same strength. Flemish students in fourth grade achieved an average score of 509 in TIMSS Science in 2011, just above the international average. The trend in fourth grade science between 2003 and 2011 was slightly negative, as was the trend in eighth grade science between 1999 and 2003. It is worth mentioning that between 2003 and 2011 both the socioeconomic status (SES) gap and the language minority gap narrowed in mathematics achievement, while the same gaps widened in science achievement (see Bellens et al., 2013).10
While TIMSS has not had a large impact within the Flemish Community, probably because the overall results in past cycles were relatively good, the attention drawn to science and technology in recent years was influenced in part by the TIMSS results. Perhaps the most important impact of TIMSS in past cycles was that people from other regions and countries learned that the educational system in Flanders is rather effective.