The most recent data from the TIMMS international assessment show that, in 8th-grade mathematics and science, Azorean students exceeded the national average scores in 2023, an indicator that the Regional Secretary for Education, Sofia Ribeiro, praised. In 8th grade mathematics, the region obtained an average score of 476 points, compared to 475 for the country as a whole. The Azores registered 510 points in science, four more than the country (Portugal).

TIMSS is an international assessment of the performance of 4th and 8th grade students in Mathematics and Science, developed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an independent international association made up of educational research institutions and government research agencies dedicated to improving educational systems.

Still in comparison with the country as a whole, in 2023, thanks to various fluctuations, the Autonomous Region of the Azores came closer to both national average scores in 4th grade: in Mathematics, it is now only three points away, while in 2019 it was 19 points away, and Science was eight points away in 2019 and in 2023 it became seven points away. In the international context, the Azores are above the global average in 4th grade Mathematics, with 11 more points, and Science, with 10 more points.

This is an assessment in which each student answers a test booklet that combines math and science items. The non-public nature of this international study makes it possible to compare results over the various editions of the research and identify trends in the results, with items already tested in previous years of the same research being applied in different contexts. In each cycle, the public is made aware of some items that are no longer part of the tests and that illustrate the questions posed to the students.

In each TIMSS cycle, students from the school years being assessed are selected through a two-stage sampling process: in the first stage, a stratified random sample of schools is set up, the selection of which is proportional to the number of schools per stratum and the size of the schools; in the second stage, classes of students from these schools are randomly selected. The sample thus constituted is representative of the country’s target population.

The TIMMS assessment can be consulted at IAVE TIMSS.

From Azorean Government Press Release

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.