Students were tested in mathematics and science and extensive information about the teaching and learning of mathematics and science was collected from students, teachers, and school principals. Technical reports and the complete international database also have been published. Their mathematics and science teachers complete questionnaires about their academic preparation, instructional practices, and views on current issues in mathematics and science education.
School principals provide information about school characteristics and resources.
They are an organizing structure within which the elements of school mathematics and science can be described, categorized, and discussed. The tests are based on a matrix design whereby blocks of items were distributed across multiple test booklets and the booklets were distributed across students in a country. Each student completed only one test booklet. For example, at the seventh and eighth grades there were 8 test booklets including nearly five hours of testing material, yet each student responded to only one 90-minute booklet. As in the 1995 administration, each eighth grader responds to one 90-minute test booklet that includes mathematics and science material, and items in a variety of formats.