On November 20th, l996, a report on the initial findings from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), entitled Pursuing Excellence was released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education. TIMSS provides a summary of findings on teaching, learning, curriculum, and achievement of U.S. eighth-graders in mathematics and science in international context.

According to Commissioner Forgione of NCES, TIMSS is the world's largest, most comprehensive and rigorous international comparison of teaching, learning and achievement ever made. More than a half a million students in 41 countries were tested in mathematics and science at five different grade levels. In addition to tests and questionnaires, it included a curriculum analysis, videotaped observations of mathematics classrooms, and case studies of policy issues.

Overall, the findings indicate that the achievement of U.S. eighth graders is above the 41-country average in science and below average in mathematics. Among the conclusions drawn from the study's initial findings based on the data on eighth graders are the following:

• Teaching excellence rather than time in school and homework requires the greater educational reform effort.
• Students would benefit most from a deeper concentration on fewer mathematics and science topics than are typically taught in the U.S.
• Science and mathematics curricula should emphasize advanced subject matter and thinking skills more than learning many facts.
• Not only should the science and mathematics curricula be more selective, but connections between ideas within topics and subjects should be better taught.
• Policy makers and educators should have higher expectations for what our students can learn, comparable to those in other economically advanced countries.
• The U.S. is making insufficient progress to reach the National Education Goals to be first in the world in these subjects by the end of the century.
• No single factor can be considered to influence student performance in isolation from other factors. There are no single answers to complex questions.

Full text and graphics from the TIMSS reports are available at: http://www.ed.gov/NCES/timss.