Questionnaires
By gathering information about students’ educational experiences together with their mathematics and science achievement on the TIMSS assessment, it is possible to identify factors or combinations of factors related to high achievement. As in previous assessments, TIMSS in 2003 administered a broad array of questionnaires to collect data on the educational context for student achievement. For TIMSS 2003, a concerted effort was made to streamline and upgrade the questionnaires. The TIMSS 2003 contextual framework (Mullis, et al., 2003) articulated the goals of the questionnaire data collection and laid the foundation for the questionnaire development work.
Across the two grades and two subjects, TIMSS 2003 involved 11 questionnaires. National Research Coordinators completed four questionnaires. With the assistance of their curriculum experts, they provided detailed information on the organization, emphasis, and content coverage of the mathematics and science curriculum at fourth and eighth grades. The fourth- and eighth-grade students who were tested answered questions pertaining to their attitudes towards mathematics and science, their academic self-concept, classroom activities, home background, and out-of-school activities. The mathematics and science teachers of sampled students responded to questions about teaching emphasis on the topics in the curriculum frameworks, instructional practices, professional training and education, and their views on mathematics and science.
Separate questionnaires for mathematics and science teachers were administered at the eighth grade, while to refl ect the fact that most younger students are taught all subjects by the same teacher, a single questionnaire was used
at the fourth grade. The principals or heads of schools at the fourth and eighth grades responded to questions about school staffi ng and resources, school safety, mathematics and science course offerings, and teacher support.