$11.5M Awarded to Boston College for TIMSS 2011

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass., July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College, under the direction of BC Lynch School of Education Profs. Ina V.S. Mullis and Michael O. Martin, has been awarded more than $11.5 million to conduct TIMSS 2011, the latest in a continuing series of international assessments of student achievement in math and science.

The award comes largely from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), headquartered in the Netherlands, and in part from the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Conducted every four years since its inception in 1995, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, known as TIMSS, is the largest global assessment of student achievement in the world, and one of the most influential. It was the first to provide data about trends in math and science achievement over time. More than 60 countries are expected to participate in TIMSS 2011, the fifth installment of the TIMSS series, which involves collecting information on fourth and eighth grade student achievement in mathematics and science.

"In an ever more globalized world, international comparative studies of educational achievement are increasingly important to the improvement of teaching and learning. The breadth of the TIMSS sample offers countless opportunities for nations and states to compare the math and science achievement of their children with others, while its data help countries identify strengths and weaknesses in achievement, monitor trends over time, and identify factors associated with high student achievement," said Boston College Lynch School of Education Dean Rev. Joseph O'Keefe, SJ. "We are grateful to the IEA and NCES for providing the resources that allow this work to go forward."

The $11.5 million TIMSS contract complements the $5.5 million awarded to the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center in March 2008 to conduct PIRLS 2011. PIRLS (the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) measures trends in fourth grade reading literacy achievement, and is conducted on a five-year cycle. More than 50 countries are participating in PIRLS 2011. Because TIMSS and PIRLS coincide in 2011, countries participating in both studies will have one comprehensive assessment of fourth grade reading, mathematics and science achievement.

For more information: visit timss.bc.edu, call 617-552-1600, or email timssandpirls@bc.edu.

SOURCE Boston College

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