Nora El-Bilawi and Roger Baskin Comparative Studies of US Education Through the Lens of TIMSS, PISA, and PIRLS Nora El-Bilawi and Roger Baskin

Introduction The purpose of this presentation is to share three research articles that focus on the comparison of the educational system of the United States with other nations. Each article focuses attention on international measures of comparison—TIMSS, PISA, and PIRLS. Following our presentation, we welcome any questions you may have about the articles.

A Snapshot of Each Test Name Governing Body How Often Administered Years of Administration Content Area Tested TIMMS International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Every 4 years 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007 Math and science 4th and 8th grades PIRLS Every 5 years 2001 and 2006 Reading 4th grade PISA Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Every 3 years 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009 Reading, math, and science 15 year olds A Snapshot of Each Test

List of Critiqued Articles House, D. (2004). Self-beliefs and reading achievement of elementary-school students in Hong Kong and the United States: Results from the PIRLS 2001 assessment. Child Study Journal, 33 (4), pp. 195-212. Schnepf, S. (2007). Immigrants’ educational disadvantage: An examination across ten countries and three surveys. Journal of Population Economics, 20 (3), pp. 527-545. Ucar, S. (2009). A comparative analysis of Earth science education in elementary schools in Turkey and in the USA. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 11 (11), pp. 170-182.

Evaluation Questions What is the report about? How does the study fit into what is already known? How was the study done? What was found? What do the results mean?

Looking Forward Is the education system in the United States doing well compared to other nations?