Girls and TIMSS Math

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Girls and TIMSS Math

	Almost half of American 12th grade girls demonstrated by correctly answering questions about math principles that they had been taught and had remembered those principles.
	One fifth of 12th grade boys internationlly and more than half of boys in the highest scoring countries correctly applied those principles to problem solving.
	But zero percent of American 12th grade girls correctly applied those principles to 15 basic TIMSS math questions s12alm95.pdf
	And zero percent of American 12th grade girls correctly applied physics principles to to solving 29 basic TIMSS physics questions s12alm95.pdf
	On four out of nine multiple choice questions, more American girls would have gotten the correct answer if they had just guessed.
	US is DEAD LAST in TIMSS.
	Is Marie Curie a fraud?

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American 12th grade girls demonstrated in TIMSS that they had been taught and remembered basic math principles as well as or better than boys. On 11 of 45 questions in Mathematics Literacy, and on 10 of 67 questions in Advanced Math, more girls than boys got the correct answers.

For example, 68% of girls compared to 66% of boys correctly answered Item K1. If xy = 1 and x is greater than 0, which of the following statements is true?

A. When x is greater than 1, y is negative.

B. When x is greater than 1, y is greater than 1.

C. When x is less than 1, y is less than 1.

D. As x increases, y increases.

E. As x increases, y decreases.

And 40% of girls but only 38% of boys correctly answered Item L3: A radio-active element decomposes according to the formula, y = y o e -kt where y is the mass of the element remaining after t days and y o is the value of y for t =0. Find the value of the constant k for an element whose half-life (i.e. time to decompose half of the material) is 4 days.

A. 14 log e 2

B. log e12

C. log 2 e

D. (log e 2)1/4

E. 2e 4

On the 15 questions which required the application of these principles to problem solving, an average of ZERO percent of American 12th grade girls answered them correctly, compared to an international average of 18% of boys and an average of 57% of boys in the highest scoring countries.

Responsible citizenship requires responsible voting decisions, critical analysis of complex issues, and the ability to assess the probability of events. But only 28.7% of American girls correctly answered a probability and statistics question, Item J13, "Overall Average Test Score". If they had just guessed at the answer to this 4 answer multiple choice question, 25% of them would have answered correctly, which means that at most only 3.7% of them demonstrated any ability in this probability and statistics question. Because the standard error in TIMSS is plus or minus 3%, we can't be sure that more than 0.7% of American 12th grade girls understand probability and statistics.

After subtracting for multiple choice guesses, 29.4% of American boys, 55% of Israeli boys, and an average of 34.5% of boys internationally, answered this question correctly, demonstrating that these were reasonable questions. One of the most important characteristics of a juror in a country where a trial by jury is a right is the ability of that juror to accurately assess the probability of guilt. What an irresponsible event it was, then, to allow on juries so many citizens (women) whose scientifically proven ability to assess probability is almost zero percent. This alone could explain the nation's skyrocketing incarceration and false conviction rates, which both corresponded with skyrocketing crime rates.

TIMSS 12th Grade Advanced Math Score For Principles Applied to Problem Solving	US 12th Grade Girls	Boys' International Average	Multiple choice guesses	US Girls less guesses	International boys less guesses	Highest Scoring Country	Highest boys score
J18 STEPS FOR MATHEMATICAL INDUCTION	0.7	20.2	0	0.7	20	Greece	77
K02 PERMUTATIONS OF BOOKS ON A SHELF	17	30.5	20	-3	11	Australia	56.7
K04 LIMIT OF A FUNCTION	25	29.4	20	5	9	Greece	51.9
K08 CONIC REPRESENTED BY AN EQUATION	24	30.2	25	-1	5	France	82.1
K09 DISTANCE BETWEEN INTERCEPTS ON A PLANE	29	47.3	25	4	22	Australia	39.2
K10 ANGLE INSCRIBED BY FIGURES INSIDE A SEMICIRCLE	9	21.8	25	-16	-3	Cyprus	60.5
K14 LENGTH OF STRING AROUND ROD	1	13.7	0	1	14	Lithuania	27.9
K15 COMPLEX NUMBER SOLUTION OF EQUATION	1	20.6	0	1	21	Israel	50
K18 GEOMETRIC PROOF OF ISOSCELES TRIANGLE	11	34.8	0	11	35	France	49.5
L05 SUM OF INFINITE GEOMETRIC SERIES	22	50.6	20	2	31	Lithuania	69
L06 CRITICAL POINT OF VELOCITY EQUATION	24	34.1	20	4	14	Australia	69.2
L07 GRAPH OF y= f( x)	24	38.3	20	4	18	Sweden	53.5
L10 PROBABILITY OF AT LEAST ONE ALARM OPERATING	15	31.9	20	-5	12	Australia	48.1
L13 ANGLE BETWEEN TWO VECTORS	11	35.1	0	11	35	Greece	54.8
L16 SOLUTION OF REAL VALUES OF A QUADRATIC EQUATION	6	26.2	0	6	26	Lithuania	68.5
L17 EQUATION FOR CIRCLE	6	22.7	0	6	23	Greece	50.7
Average	14.1%	30.5%	12.2%	1.9%*	18.3%		56.8%
*Error per TIMSS is plus or minus 3%

Modified Monday, July 13, 2009