TIMSS has been measuring student achievement in mathematics and science worldwide every four years since 1995. In TIMSS-2023, 58 countries participated in the assessment for grade 4. Since 2003, the Netherlands has shown small fluctuations in the mathematics achievement of fourth-grade students, but no consistent downwards or upwards trend. Only in 1995 students performed evidently better in mathematics. In science (life science, physical science, and earth science), the trend between 1995 and 2015 is slightly more erratic, but after that, the average achievement scores have remained the same. Of the West-European countries, England shows in 2023 the highest achievement in mathematics. This country shows an upward trend in both subjects in the last 28 years. The Flemish performance has decreased significantly over the past eight years. Singapore has been the highest-scoring country in TIMSS for years. This time, South Africa is the lowest performing country.
COVID-19
Despite the expected negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to school closures and home education, Dutch fourth-grade students performed just as well in 2023 as they did in 2019. According to the Dutch report ’Peil.Rekenen-Wiskunde Einde (speciaal) basisonderwijs en speciaal onderwijs’ of the National Inspectorate of Education, also released today, the mathematics performance of sixth-grade students has also remained the same compared to 2019. The results of other TIMSS countries do not suggest a (lasting) effect of the pandemic on student achievement either.Small differences between student in performance
The Netherlands stands out in TIMSS due to the relatively small differences in achievement between students in both mathematics and science. There are only a few students who do not reach the TIMSS lowest benchmark for achievement; only 2% for mathematics and 5% for science. On the other hand, only 8% of fourth-grade students perform at the most advanced level in mathematics, while only 4% excel in science. This does not mean that there are no differences between groups of students in the Netherlands. In all TIMSS measurements to date, boys have outperformed girls in mathematics. In 2023, this difference has even slightly increased. While no gender differences in achievement had been observed since TIMSS-2011, a small gender gap in science has re-emerged in 2023, disadvantaging girls. The achievement of students who speak little or no Dutch at home is also lower compared to students who (almost) always speak Dutch at home.Little instruction time spend on science
From an international perspective, fourth-grade students in the Netherlands perform better in mathematics than in science. In 2023, 11 of the 58 TIMSS countries achieved a higher average test score for mathematics than the Netherlands. For science, students of 21 countries outperformed the Dutch students. In grade 4, 18% of the total instructional time is devoted to mathematics, while only 3% is spent on science. The latter is below most of the countries participating in TIMSS. Dutch students rarely conduct scientific experiments, even though they have indicated that they enjoy them. Many schools expressed a need for science equipment and materials for conducting experiments as well as teachers that are specialized in science instruction.Environmental awareness
In the new TIMSS subject ’Environmental awareness’, Dutch performance ranks in the middle range of countries participating in TIMSS. The environmental knowledge of English, Danish, and Swedish students is larger than that of Dutch students. Compared to neighbouring countries, teachers in the Netherlands are least convinced that teaching about sustainability and nature conservation should be a priority at school. The workload of teachers may play a role in this. Just like in 2015 and 2019, the workload is high according to the teachers. Teachers especially find that they cannot devote sufficient attention to individual students. Despite their workload, teachers but also school principals and students are most positive about their school compared to neighbouring countries.About TIMSS
In the Netherlands, 3555 grade 4 students of 123 primary schools participated in TIMSS-2023. TIMSS-2023 in the Netherlands is conducted by a consortium of University of Twente, KBA Nijmegen and Stichting Cito. The Dutch part of In the Netherlands, TIMSS was administered at the same time and at the same schools as ’Peil.Rekenen-Wiskunde Einde (speciaal) basisonderwijs en speciaal onderwijs’ commissioned by the National Inspectorate of Education.The National Research Coordinator of TIMSS is Martina Meelissen of the department of Cognition, Data and Education (CoDE) of the Faculty BMS of the University of Twente. . The Dutch report can be found at: https://timss-en-peil.nl. The international results are available at https://timss.bc.edu/timss2023. The Dutch report of Peil.Rekenen-Wiskunde einde (speciaal) basisonderwijs en speciaal onderwijs can be found at: https://www.onderwijsinspectie.nl/documenten/themarapporten/2024/12/04/peil.rekenen-wiskunde-einde-bo-sbo-so-2022-2023
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