PUTRAJAYA – For the first time, Malaysian students have achieved a score of more than 700 points for mathematics and science – considered “advanced” – in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019.
The Education Ministry, in a statement today, said TIMSS 2019 classifies students into four levels of achievement, namely advanced (625 points), high (550), intermediate (475) and low (400).
Apart from the paperTIMSS, the international benchmarking study conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement, the latest edition of TIMSS also introduced the computer-based eTIMSS assessment.
The ministry said 25 paperTIMSS students and 65 eTIMSS students achieved a score of more than 700 points for mathematics, with the highest individual score being 799 points in paperTIMSS and 764 in eTIMSS.
“In terms of percentage, 6% of students obtained the advanced benchmark in paperTIMSS for mathematics and 4% in eTIMSS, an increase of 3% for paperTIMSS and 1% for eTIMSS compared with TIMSS 2015.”
For science, 13 paperTIMSS students and 23 eTIMSS students achieved a score of more than 700 points, with the highest individual score being 778 points in paperTIMSS and 747 in eTIMSS.
“This is the highest individual score in science since Malaysia’s participation in TIMSS in 1999,” said the ministry.
It said 4% of students obtained the advanced benchmark in paperTIMSS for science and 3% in eTIMSS, an increase of 1% for paperTIMSS and unchanged for eTIMMS compared with the 2015 edition of the study.
TIMSS 2019 was held between October 16 and November 1, 2018, involving 9,637 Form Two students nationwide. – Bernama, December 8, 2020
