New Zealand

Use and Impact of TIMSS

Since 1995, the wealth of achievement and contextual data collected in TIMSS has become a fundamental pillar informing science and mathematics education in New Zealand. While much of the focus of political and media attention on TIMSS results has been on international league tables and where New Zealand ranks in the world in terms of achievement, New Zealand’s science and mathematics communities, academic and research groups, as well as policy think-tanks have widely, and increasingly, used TIMSS data and reports to inform teaching and learning. The focus of these reports and policy are wide-ranging and inform different facets of mathematics and science education. Such work has uptake not only within the education sector, but also the wider public sphere.

The impact of TIMSS has been significant from the very first release of the middle primary results that highlighted areas of concern in mathematics and science education. The publication of these findings coincided with the introduction of new national curriculum statements. Difficulties that teachers reported with implementing the curriculum statements, combined with the TIMSS results, were the impetus for the establishment of the Mathematics and Science Taskforce in August 1997.⁶⁴ The Taskforce’s recommendations led to a number of initiatives, such as developing mathematics and science resources for students and teachers, particularly in primary schools, research seminars to identify key issues in science and mathematics education, assessment tools for mathematics, and professional development programs focused on numeracy.

From 1995 onward, TIMSS also has become an important part of monitoring and research within the New Zealand education system. New Zealand has participated in all cycles of TIMSS with the exception of the eighth grade component of TIMSS 2007 (omitted due to funding and operational constraints). This participation provides indicators of current and past achievement and enables the examination of equity and quality in New Zealand’s educational provision. For example, TIMSS has contributed to a greater understanding of achievement and inequitable outcomes for two groups of New Zealand’s student population: Māori and Pasifika students.^65,66

In order to provide evidence of what works best for a range of diverse learners, the Ministry’s Iterative Best Evidence Synthesis Programme (BES) was developed, with the first BES report released in 2003.⁶⁷ BES evaluates and synthesizes a wide range of New Zealand and international research, including TIMSS results. TIMSS research has been used in BES reports to inform educational policy and teacher practice, and to suggest educational development approaches to optimize outcomes for learners.⁶⁸

Prior to the release of TIMSS 2007, much of the dialogue around the TIMSS results focused on mathematics achievement. However, the TIMSS 2007 results, along with those from New Zealand’s National Education Monitoring Project,^q also brought attention to science education. The Royal Society of New Zealand, the New Zealand Association of Primary Science Educators, the Education Review Office (ERO), and most recently, the government have taken action to try to address concerns raised by these two studies. In particular, ERO has undertaken research that exemplifies good practices in primary science teaching.⁶⁹ As a result of ERO’s experiences in preparing this report, the quality of science teaching in upper primary schools was a focus area for ERO reviews during 2011.⁷⁰ In 2009, New Zealand established the chief science advisor role reporting to the prime minister. One of this position’s responsibilities is to “promote public understanding of, and engagement with, science, particularly with young people.”⁷¹ TIMSS data have been used extensively to “evaluate the state and future direction of school science education at both primary and secondary levels as a means of looking ahead towards science education in the 21st century.”⁷²

The strategic direction set by the Ministry also has been influenced by TIMSS and PIRLS data, which are used to set aspirational goals for future achievement. In the most recent Ministry of Education’s Statement of Intent 2014–2018, which identifies the strategic direction for the agency, the second priority is as follows: “use information more effectively to lift achievement.”⁷³ TIMSS will be one of the measures used to determine progress toward this outcome. More specific to mathematics, the ministry-led initiative Lifting Mathematics Achievement uses TIMSS contextual data to identify five priorities to lift achievement over the next five years.

Considerable movement has occurred in setting the strategic direction in science education since 2011. The “Science in Society” initiative aims to encourage and enable better engagement with science and technology over the next 10 years. “A Nation of Curious Minds,” the blueprint from the Science in Society initiative, drew heavily on TIMSS data when developing the framework, and TIMSS will be used as a key indicator when monitoring and evaluating the initiative’s success.⁷⁴

Despite the breadth of use, TIMSS still is underutilized in New Zealand. The challenge for education circles is to move past the “bad news” narrative created by league tables over the past few cycles to one that better recognizes and uses the wealth of trend data collected in TIMSS. Such information provides invaluable insights into issues within mathematics and science education that can lead to improvements in student learning in New Zealand.