The proposed study will use scale-anchoring techniques to describe three points on the mathematics and science scales of the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for all participatin g countries. It will thus provide concrete descriptions of what mathematics and science students in high performing countries know and can do on tests. It was proposed that scales be described at grade 4 and 8. Grade 12 was excluded from this analysis because of the expense of conducting analysis of that population. The resulting "profiles" of "world class achievement" will provide US teachers and administrators with a benchmark against which to compare their student performance and their school standards.
