Achievement at the Top 10% Benchmark
Exhibit
2.1 describes performance at the Top 10% Benchmark. Students reaching
this benchmark have demonstrated nearly full mastery of the content
of the TIMSS 1999 science test, demonstrating a grasp of some complex
and abstract concepts, the ability to apply knowledge to solve problems,
and an understanding of the fundamentals of scientific investigation.
They typically demonstrated success on the knowledge and skills represented
by this benchmark, as well as those demonstrated at the three lower
benchmarks.
Students performing at the Top 10% Benchmark could communicate scientific
information, such as their understanding of plant growth. As illustrated
by Example Item 1 in Exhibit
2.2, students could explain why a nail placed in the trunk of
a tree remained at the same level from the ground while the tree increased
in height. Internationally on average, 41 percent of the eighth-grade
students correctly explained that trees grow in height from the tips
of their stems or branches. In Belgium (Flemish), the comparison country
with most success on this item, nearly two-thirds of the students
gave a correct response. Among the Benchmarking participants, eighth
graders in the Naperville School District did as well as their counterparts
in Belgium, with 63 percent answering correctly. In Michigan, Oregon,
and Montgomery County, also, the percentage of students answering
correctly was significantly greater than the international average.
Generally, students in the United States – in the country as
a whole and in the Benchmarking jurisdictions – performed at
about the international average on this item. Miami-Dade was the only
Benchmarking participant where the students performed significantly
below the international average.
Students at the Top 10% Benchmark typically were able to apply basic
physical principles to solve quantitative problems and support their
answers in writing. In Example Item 2 (see Exhibit
2.3), given data on fuel consumption and work accomplished for
two machines, students were asked to explain which machine is more
efficient. To answer correctly, students needed to interpret data
in the table, compute the appropriate ratio, and explain their results.
Internationally on average, 31 percent of the students identified
machine B and gave an explanation comparing the volumes of water the
two machines pumped with the same amount of gasoline. Only in the
Netherlands, Korea, and Belgium (Flemish) did a majority of the students
give a fully correct response. Among Benchmarking participants, students
in Naperville and the Michigan Invitational Group performed significantly
above the international average, and students in Maryland, North and
South Carolina, Chicago, Miami-Dade, and Rochester performed below
it.
Students at the Top 10% Benchmark also demonstrated an understanding
of gravitational force (see in Example Item 3 in Exhibit
2.4). On average across countries, 36 percent of students recognized
that gravity acts on a rocket while it is on the launch pad, while
it ascends under power, and while it parachutes back to earth. This
was quite a difficult question internationally, with only three of
the comparison countries performing significantly above the international
average (the Czech Republic, Singapore, and Chinese Taipei), and four
performing below it (Korea, Belgium (Flemish), Italy, and Hong Kong).
Nearly one-third of students across countries selected option A, indicating
their misconception that gravity acts on the rocket only when it is
falling back to earth. Students in the United States and in many of
the Benchmarking entities performed relatively well on this question,
with 15 entities having above-average performance. Only the public
school systems of Miami-Dade and Chicago had below-average performance.
At the Top 10% Benchmark, students typically demonstrated knowledge
of most of the chemical concepts covered by the TIMSS 1999 science
test, including the structure of matter as well as chemical and physical
changes. As shown in Example Item 4 in Exhibit
2.5, students could apply knowledge of the process of filtration
and of the difference between solutions and mixtures to identify a
separable mixture. While 39 percent of students internationally correctly
identified the heterogeneous mixture of pepper and water, a nearly
equal number exhibited the misconception that a solution could be
separated by filtration (option D or E). The Czech Republic had the
highest performance, with 64 percent of its students responding correctly.
Performance of the United States and the Benchmarking jurisdictions
on this item generally was around the international average. Only
in Naperville, the First in the World Consortium, and the Academy
School District was performance significantly above the international
average, and only in the Rochester City School District was it significantly
below.
Students at the Top 10% Benchmark demonstrated some detailed knowledge
of environmental and resource issues not seen at the lower benchmarks.
Example Item 5 in Exhibit
2.6 shows that students recognized rising ocean levels as a predicted
result of global warming. Internationally on average, only one-third
of the eighth-grade students responded correctly. In contrast, more
than half the students in Japan, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and Singapore
did so. Among Benchmarking participants, Naperville alone had above-average
performance. Six of the participants had performance significantly
below the international average: Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Project
smart, Rochester, North Carolina, and Jersey City. Many students incorrectly
identified the thinning ozone layer (option D) as a result of global
warming.
