TIMSS test in UAE

In the midst of developing educational policy plans and developing education, countries around the world participate in the TIMSS tests cycle. TIMSS Which is held every four years. In which the United Arab Emirates participates under the supervision of the Ministry of Education within the country; in order to benefit from the results of international tests in the methodology of developing educational curricula in the branches of science and mathematics.

What is the TIMSS test? TIMSS :

It is a set of tests conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Known as ( IEA) ) in cooperation with the bodies concerned with education affairs within the participating countries. It is considered a study series in mathematics and science studies, as it studies global trends in academic achievement in science and mathematics. Trends of the International Mathematics and Science Studies It is abbreviated as TIMSS tests. TIMSS . And it was done. TIMSS Advanced For the first time in 1995 AD, then it was conducted periodically every four years.

Target group in TIMSS test TIMSS :

TIMSS test targets TIMSS Fourth and eighth grade students are tested for their academic achievement in science and mathematics, while the advanced TIMSS test is designed TIMSS Advanced To assess the level of academic achievement in advanced mathematics and advanced physics for final-year secondary school students.

Students are selected from different and varied educational environments and systems from public and private schools through questionnaires that determine, in addition to the above, the economic, social, geographical and demographic environment of the participating students and their parents.

The purpose of conducting the TIMSS test TIMSS :

• Measuring the level of performance in both mathematics and science among students.
• Comparing student outcomes from one country to another to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different education systems.
• Collect and analyze data to identify factors that influence student achievement such as teaching methods, school environment, teacher training, and curriculum.
• Improving curricula and developing educational materials
• Encourage positive competition between countries and schools. 
• Preparing students to face the scientific and technological challenges of the future.
• Develop students' critical thinking and problem solving skills.
• Promoting transparency and accountability in education systems.

Information about TIMSS test TIMSS :

The TIMSS test design is characterized by: TIMSS With more in-depth analyses of the factors that influence the quality of teaching and learning in the context of comparison between countries and between current and past results of the same participating country Because

• It is based on a random group of students in a specific educational stage without regard to age differences between them.
• Research the extent to which curricula are taught using appropriate methods and techniques and the required modifications.
• Researching the cultural, demographic, environmental and geographical backgrounds of students’ parents through a questionnaire designed for them.
• Examining the extent of science and mathematics teachers’ inclinations towards the subject being taught and their ability to apply successful teaching and learning methods through a questionnaire designed for them. These questionnaires in turn determine the extent of variables, difficulties and challenges present in attempts to apply certain teaching methods.

• Teaching students how to use evidence to achieve the goal by training teachers to develop objective questions that focus on the goal.

• TIMSS test TIMSS The question is presented as a problem, diagram or picture, which requires the student to examine the questions, which is a primarily required psychomotor skill.

• The TIMSS test is characterized by TIMSS The questions in it are not impossible questions, nor do they deal with the initial levels of knowledge that include memorization and recall; as the question aims to stimulate the student’s thinking, and provide him with skills that positively affect his informational and mental structure in general.

• The questions in the TIMSS test deal with more than one skill from the higher levels of knowledge that push the teacher to

• Renewing and deepening his information and constantly keeping pace with updating references that would change the quantity, type and method of presenting and presenting the lesson and innovating in the assessment questions in school books and in the level of theoretical and practical exam questions .

Which in turn helps to build a strong bridge of mutual trust between the teacher and the learner, as the learner is assured that his teacher is giving him an effective benefit, and is dealing with his ideas with respect and seriously, and is not forcing him into a specific pattern of expressive or motor performance, which means providing greater opportunities for the emergence of talented students.

TIMSS test specifications .

The TIMSS test consists of: TIMSS From a question paper that contains approximately 70% multiple-choice questions and approximately 30% short-form questions that depend on reasoning and the use of evidence to reach results.

The test is timed to 90 minutes divided into two test papers, one in science and the other in mathematics. The points achieved by the student are not considered passing or failing grades, but only a measure of the student’s academic achievement in science and mathematics to employ the results in the most complete manner that achieves the required education advancement policy.

The influential role of TIMSS in developing education.

The historical investigation into the development of tests began in 1964 AD and they developed to their current form, bearing the name TIMSS, for the first time in 1995 AD. Then, it was decided that they would be held periodically every 4 years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Known as ( IEA) ) Headquartered in the Netherlands.

The sample is selected by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement From schools or students based on criteria determined by them, and then the schools are contacted to determine the dates of the tests and the mechanism for implementing them with the help of the supervising authority within the country, which we have represented in the UAE Ministry of Education.

The participating country benefits from the TIMSS test in several ways .

• Internally, the level of academic achievement within each sample school is determined individually.
• It determines the level of academic achievement of students within the country in general from the academic category being tested.
• You get a unique opportunity to compare your progress on your own by comparing the results of the current course with previous courses of the same type; thus measuring the effectiveness of the methods and approaches to developing education in it.
• It determines the extent and difference in scientific progress between participating countries, which differ politically and economically, through the point assessment and ranking that each country obtains.

TIMSS test in the United Arab Emirates.

The United Arab Emirates had the honour of being the largest participating country in the TIMSS tournament. TIMSS 2011, where about 700 schools and 48,168 students from public and private schools across the country participated. While in the TIMSS test cycle TIMSS 2019 was the last time the UAE had shown remarkable progress in its performance at the TIMSS. TIMSS 2015, where it advanced by 29 points in mathematics and 22 points in science for fourth graders.

While eighth graders made an 8-point improvement in math, their performance in science dropped by 4 points compared to their performance in the TIMSS round. TIMSS 2015.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the TIMSS test is a means of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the educational system (teacher, curriculum, and educational environment). Hence, the importance of conducting the TIMSS test to determine the level of student performance in both mathematics and science, as well as making a comparison between the students’ results and the educational environment.