Download TIMSS 2019 Assessment Design (pdf)
Less Difficult TIMSS Mathematics at Fourth Grade
As described in the introduction to this volume, countries participating in TIMSS 2019 at the fourth grade can choose to administer an assessment with some less difficult blocks than the regular TIMSS fourth grade mathematics assessment. Participants availing of this option administer the fourth grade science assessment as usual, so that student booklets contain a combination of less difficult mathematics items and regular science items. As shown in Exhibit 4.3, the item block design for the less difficult mathematics has the same number of item blocks as the regular mathematics assessment, so that the same block to booklet assignment can be used for both less difficult and regular fourth grade assessments (i.e., the booklet design shown in Exhibit 4.2).
An essential aspect of the less difficult mathematics assessment is that the student achievement results are reported on the same TIMSS achievement scale as the regular mathematics assessment, so that results are comparable regardless of the version of the assessment the students have taken.To support the link between the two versions, the less difficult mathematics assessment includes four blocks of items that also are included in the regular assessment— blocks MN02, MN06, MN08, and MN10 in Exhibit 4.3.These correspond to blocks MP02, MP03, MP08, and MP13 in the regular assessment.The less difficult assessment capitalizes on its origins in the TIMSS 2015 Numeracy assessment by including eight blocks of items from that assessment— blocks MN01, MN03, MN05, MN06, MN07, MN09, MN11, and MN13 in Exhibit 4.3.Block MN06 was in both the fourth grade TIMSS and the TIMSS Numeracy assessments in 2015.
Exhibit 4.3: TIMSS 2019 Fourth Grade Less Difficult Mathematics—Item Blocks
| MN01 | Trend Block N09 from TIMSS Numeracy 2015 |
| MN02 | Block MP02 in TIMSS 2019 – New items for TIMSS 2019 |
| MN03 | Trend Block N10 from TIMSS Numeracy 2015 |
| MN04 | New less difficult items for TIMSS 2019 |
| MN05 | Trend Block N05 from TIMSS Numeracy 2015 |
| MN06 | Block MP03 in TIMSS 2019 – TIMSS and TIMSS Numeracy Trend Block M08/N08 from TIMSS 2015 |
| MN07 | Trend Block N07 from TIMSS Numeracy 2015 |
| MN08 | Block MP08 in TIMSS 2019 – New items for TIMSS 2019 |
| MN09 | Trend Block N06 from TIMSS Numeracy 2015 |
| MN10 | Block M13 in TIMSS 2019 – TIMSS Trend Block M14 from TIMSS 2015 |
| MN11 | Trend Block N02 from TIMSS Numeracy 2015 |
| MN12 | New less difficult items for TIMSS 2019 |
| MN13 | Trend Block N03 from TIMSS Numeracy 2015 |
| MN14 | New less difficult items for TIMSS 2019 |
Both the regular and less difficult mathematics items will follow the same development guidelines described in the Question Types and Scoring Procedures section with respect to the use of multiple choice and constructed response items.