ses - TEST TIMSS 2023

Home socioeconomic status has a strong relationship with fourth grade students’ achievement in mathematics and science. Higher socioeconomic status is associated with greater achievement.

The TIMSS 2023 Home Socioeconomic Status scale is based on parents’ reports about the number of books and children’s books in the home, as well as parental education level and occupation. Based on these reports, students were classified as “higher,” “middle,” or “lower,” socioeconomic status. On average internationally, 30% of students were classified as having “higher” home socioeconomic status, 48% were classified as having “middle” home socioeconomic status, and 22% were classified as having “lower” home socioeconomic status. These percentages varied widely across countries. There are relatively large achievement differences across the three groups for both mathematics and science. In mathematics, students with “higher” socioeconomic status had an average achievement of 541, students with “middle” socioeconomic status had an average achievement of 498, and students with “lower” socioeconomic status had an average achievement of 457. There is a similar pattern in science achievement: students with “higher” socioeconomic status had an average achievement of 534, students with “middle” socioeconomic status had an average achievement of 487, and students with “lower” socioeconomic status had an average achievement of 441.

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Higher Socioeconomic Status

Middle Socioeconomic Status

Lower Economic Status

About The Scale

Students were scored according to their parents’ reports regarding the frequency they or someone in the home engaged their children in the eighteen activities on the Early Literacy and Numeracy Activities scale. Cut scores divide the scale into three categories. Students who Often engaged in early literacy and numeracy activities before primary school had a score at or above the cut score corresponding to their parents reporting they “often” did fifteen of the eighteen activities, “sometimes” did one activity, and “never or almost never” did the other two, on average. Students who Never or Almost Never engaged in early literacy and numeracy activities before primary school had a score at or below the cut score corresponding to their parents reporting they “sometimes” did fifteen of the eighteen activities and “often” did the other three, on average. All other students Sometimes engaged in early literacy and numeracy activities.

Before your child began primary/elementary school, how often did you or someone else in your home do the following activities with him/her?
	Often	Sometimes	Never or almost never
1) Read books
2) Tell stories
3) Sing songs
4) Play with alphabet toys (e.g., blocks with letters of the alphabet)
5) Talk about things you had done
6) Talk about what you had read
7) Play word games
8) Write letters or words
9) Read about signs and labels
10) Say counting rhymes or sing counting songs
11) Play with number toys (e.g., blocks with numbers)
12) Count different things
13) Play games involving shapes (e.g., shape sorting toys, puzzles)
14) Play with building blocks or construction toys
15) Play board or card games
16) Write numbers
17) Draw shapes
18) Measure or weigh things (e.g., when cooking)
	Often	Sometimes	Never or Almost Never

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TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center
188 Beacon St., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
Tel +1-617-552-1600
Fax +1-617-552-1203

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About The Scale