Description:
This data set contains learner responses to the learner background questionnaire as well as learner mathematics scores.
The data set has 166 variables and 10 932 learners.
Of the 300 sampled schools, 297 was realised, providing a response rate of 99%.
Abstract:
TIMSS is a cross-national assessment of mathematics and science knowledge of fourth and eighth grades and includes approximately 57 countries. It is conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) every four years since 1995. South Africa took part at the grade 5 level for the first time in 2015 with fieldwork conducted in October 2014.
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) conducted the study in 297 schools and assessed 10932 learners across South Africa. To prevent a cluster of scores at the lower end of the scale and to ensure sufficient variance in the data for robust analyses, TIMSS was administered to grade 5 learners in South Africa. As part of the TIMSS study, mathematics tests and background questionnaires were administered to an intact randomly selected grade 5 class within a sampled school. In addition to the learners background, questionnaires were administered to 298 mathematics teachers, 297 principals and 10493 parents or guardians.
The data collected is used by countries to calculate learner scores in mathematics and science as well as the contextual factors associated with academic success. One of the main aims of the study is to measure the health of the education systems for a particular country.
More specifically, at the grade 4 level the databases, which is internationally comparable, include the following for each participating country:
Students' responses to each of the mathematics items administered in the study
Overall student achievement scores in mathematics
Students' responses to the student questionnaires
Parent or guardian responses to the home questionnaires
Mathematics teachersâ responses to the teacher questionnaires
Principals' responses to the school questionnaires
Self-completion
The Department of Basic Education Master list of schools served as the Universe.
Department of Basic Education Master list of schools database served as the sampling frame
It included only schools that offered grade 5;
Schools with population size smaller than 10 was excluded;
Special schools were excluded.
The TIMSS sampling design is a two-stage stratified cluster design:
Selecting a random sample of schools from all eligible schools; and
Randomly selecting a mathematics and science intact class within each of the sampled schools;
The sample was explicitly stratified by Province, Language of Learning and Teaching (English, Afrikaans, Dual medium) and school type which was Public and Independent; and
Implicitly stratified by quintile (school poverty index).
