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Digest of Education Statistics
2003 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Issue of the Digest

Table 406. Eighth-grade students' perceptions about mathematics and hours spent on leisure activities, by country: 1999 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                        |    Students reporting that mathematics is not one of their strenghths |                Average hours spent each day\1\
                        |_______________________________________________________________________|____________________________________________________________
        Country         |Strongly disagree|    Disagree      |     Agree      | Strongly agree  | Watching|Playing or|  Doing  | Playing | Reading | Playing
                        |_________________|__________________|________________|_________________| TV or   | talking  | jobs at | sports  |  for    | computer
                        |       |  Mean   |        |  Mean   |       |  Mean  |       |  Mean   | videos  |  with    |  home   |         |enjoyment|  games
                        |Percent|  score  |Percent |  score  |Percent|  score |Percent|  score  |         | friends  |         |         |         |
________________________|_______|_________|________|_________|_______|________|_______|_________|_________|__________|_________|_________|_________|_________
           1            |  2    |   3     |  4     |   5     |  6    |   7    |  8    |   9     |   10    |    11    |   12    |   13    |  14     |15
________________________|_______|_________|________|_________|_______|________|_______|_________|_________|__________|_________|_________|_________|_________
Australia ..............|18(1.1)|573 (5.8)|36 (1.0)|546 (5.3)|28(0.9)|499(5.2)|17(0.8)|478 (5.4)|2.3(0.05)| 1.5(0.03)|0.9(0.03)|1.6(0.03)|0.6(0.02)|0.8(0.05)
Belgium (Flemish) ......|17(0.8)|598 (5.4)|30 (0.9)|581 (4.8)|31(1.0)|540(4.5)|21(0.9)|526 (4.0)|2.1(0.04)| 1.8(0.05)|1.0(0.04)|1.8(0.07)|0.6(0.02)|0.9(0.04)
Bulgaria ...............|18(1.9)|560(10.6)|26 (1.2)|541 (6.3)|30(1.4)|494(4.9)|25(1.5)|476 (5.1)|2.8(0.05)| 2.6(0.06)|1.9(0.04)|1.5(0.05)|1.0(0.03)|0.8(0.05)
Canada .................|26(1.2)|577 (3.2)|31 (0.7)|542 (3.0)|26(1.0)|502(4.7)|17(0.8)|485 (3.4)|2.2(0.03)| 2.1(0.04)|1.1(0.03)|1.9(0.03)|0.7(0.04)|0.8(0.03)
Chile ..................|15(0.6)|444 (8.7)|27 (0.7)|408 (4.7)|35(0.7)|382(4.7)|23(0.7)|367 (5.5)|2.7(0.05)| 1.9(0.04)|1.5(0.03)|2.0(0.03)|0.7(0.02)|0.6(0.05)
                        |       |         |        |         |       |        |       |         |         |          |         |         |         |
Chinese Taipei .........|16(0.6)|646 (6.1)|28 (0.7)|623 (4.3)|34(0.7)|564(4.5)|23(0.7)|533 (3.9)|2.0(0.04)| 1.3(0.03)|1.0(0.02)|1.2(0.02)|0.9(0.02)|0.9(0.04)
Cyprus .................|23(1.0)|525 (4.3)|34 (0.8)|492 (2.8)|27(0.9)|445(2.9)|16(0.6)|438 (4.3)|2.2(0.04)| 1.8(0.04)|0.9(0.03)|1.4(0.04)|0.7(0.02)|1.0(0.04)
Czech Republic .........|12(0.9)|567 (6.9)|35 (1.2)|541 (5.0)|36(1.1)|500(4.7)|16(0.9)|486 (5.8)|2.3(0.05)| 3.0(0.07)|1.2(0.03)|2.0(0.05)|1.0(0.04)|0.9(0.05)
England ................|19(0.9)|539 (6.9)|40 (1.2)|512 (4.5)|28(1.2)|471(4.8)|13(0.8)|458 (6.3)|2.6(0.05)| 2.5(0.08)|0.8(0.02)|1.6(0.04)|0.6(0.02)|1.2(0.05)
Finland ................|17(0.8)|570 (4.4)|34 (1.0)|543 (3.8)|31(1.1)|498(2.6)|18(1.0)|474 (3.7)|2.5(0.04)| 3.2(0.07)|0.9(0.02)|1.6(0.04)|0.8(0.02)|1.1(0.04)
                        |       |         |        |         |       |        |       |         |         |          |         |         |         |
Hong Kong, SAR\2\ ......|11(0.5)|619 (5.5)|31 (0.8)|606 (3.9)|39(0.7)|573(4.4)|20(0.8)|549 (5.0)|2.4(0.04)| 1.3(0.04)|0.6(0.01)|1.0(0.03)|0.8(0.02)|1.0(0.04)
Hungary ................|15(0.7)|598 (5.7)|34 (1.1)|552 (4.7)|40(1.1)|503(3.7)|11(0.7)|493 (5.9)|2.7(0.05)| 2.0(0.05)|1.6(0.04)|1.5(0.04)|0.8(0.02)|1.0(0.05)
Indonesia ..............| 6(0.4)|411(10.6)|31 (0.8)|418 (5.2)|53(1.0)|404(4.6)|10(0.5)|359(10.7)|1.7(0.05)| 1.1(0.02)|1.9(0.03)|1.0(0.02)|0.9(0.02)|0.2(0.05)
Iran, Islamic Republic .|26(1.0)|459 (4.6)|35 (0.7)|426 (3.3)|25(0.9)|404(4.5)|14(0.6)|397 (5.2)|1.8(0.04)| 1.3(0.04)|1.7(0.04)|1.3(0.06)|0.9(0.02)|0.3(0.04)
Israel .................|29(1.0)|508 (4.2)|32 (0.8)|483 (4.5)|25(0.8)|438(4.0)|14(0.7)|418 (6.3)|3.1(0.05)| 2.4(0.04)|1.3(0.05)|1.8(0.05)|1.0(0.03)|1.5(0.05)
                        |       |         |        |         |       |        |       |         |         |          |         |         |         |
Italy ..................|22(0.9)|529 (5.6)|32 (0.9)|495 (3.6)|27(0.8)|456(4.9)|18(0.9)|435 (5.0)|1.8(0.03)| 2.7(0.05)|1.1(0.03)|1.7(0.03)|0.7(0.02)|1.0(0.03)
Japan ..................|12(0.5)|602 (4.9)|29 (0.7)|598 (2.7)|38(0.6)|576(2.7)|21(0.7)|545 (3.3)|3.1(0.05)| 1.8(0.04)|0.5(0.02)|1.1(0.03)|0.8(0.02)|0.9(0.05)
Jordan\3\ ..............|27(1.1)|491 (5.4)|29 (0.9)|446 (4.3)|26(0.9)|401(4.3)|17(0.8)|386 (4.8)|1.7(0.04)| 1.1(0.04)|1.3(0.05)|1.4(0.05)|1.4(0.04)|0.8(0.04)
Korea, Republic of .....|10(0.5)|648 (3.9)|33 (0.7)|621 (3.0)|41(0.8)|564(2.7)|15(0.5)|536 (3.6)|2.9(0.04)| 1.3(0.03)|0.6(0.01)|0.6(0.02)|0.6(0.01)|0.8(0.04)
Latvia (Latvian-        |       |         |        |         |       |        |       |         |         |          |         |         |         |
 speaking schools) .....|10(0.7)|572 (6.2)|28 (1.1)|534 (4.9)|41(1.0)|487(3.8)|20(0.9)|470 (4.3)|2.8(0.05)| 2.6(0.06)|1.7(0.03)|1.3(0.03)|0.9(0.03)|0.7(0.05)
                        |       |         |        |         |       |        |       |         |         |          |         |         |         |
Lithuania ..............|11(0.8)|536 (7.0)|35 (1.4)|508 (5.1)|42(1.4)|461(3.9)|12(0.9)|436 (6.6)|2.4(0.05)| 2.4(0.06)|1.6(0.05)|1.0(0.03)|0.7(0.02)|0.6(0.05)
Macedonia, Republic of .|13(0.6)|501 (7.2)|27 (0.9)|474 (5.3)|37(1.0)|441(5.4)|24(1.1)|423 (4.9)|2.2(0.05)| 1.8(0.05)|1.9(0.04)|1.8(0.05)|1.2(0.04)|0.7(0.05)
Malaysia ...............|23(0.9)|544 (5.4)|45 (0.9)|525 (4.6)|27(1.0)|497(5.1)| 5(0.3)|481 (6.6)|1.9(0.05)| 1.2(0.03)|1.8(0.03)|1.1(0.02)|1.1(0.02)|0.5(0.05)
Moldova ................|17(1.0)|506 (6.0)|44 (1.2)|477 (4.6)|29(1.0)|455(5.5)|10(0.7)|440 (6.9)|2.6(0.07)| 1.9(0.06)|3.2(0.09)|1.4(0.04)|1.5(0.04)|1.0(0.07)
Morocco\4\ .............|18(0.7)|378 (6.1)|32 (1.2)|350 (5.9)|28(0.9)|324(4.2)|22(0.7)|320 (6.0)|1.1(0.03)| 0.9(0.03)|1.5(0.03)|1.5(0.04)|1.4(0.05)|0.7(0.03)
                        |       |         |        |         |       |        |       |         |         |          |         |         |         |
Netherlands ............|16(0.8)|570 (7.4)|28 (1.4)|557 (7.9)|36(1.5)|529(8.2)|20(1.0)|515 (9.2)|2.4(0.10)| 2.6(0.09)|0.8(0.04)|1.8(0.06)|0.7(0.04)|0.9(0.10)
New Zealand ............|16(0.8)|548 (6.7)|36 (1.1)|518 (5.4)|32(0.9)|466(4.7)|15(0.8)|436 (5.1)|2.5(0.05)| 1.6(0.04)|1.0(0.03)|1.5(0.04)|0.7(0.02)|0.9(0.05)
Philippines ............|14(0.5)|374 (9.6)|37 (1.1)|368 (6.9)|31(0.8)|337(5.7)|17(0.8)|309 (6.1)|1.7(0.04)| 1.2(0.03)|2.4(0.05)|1.6(0.04)|1.6(0.04)|0.7(0.04)
Romania ................|11(0.7)|517 (6.2)|26 (1.1)|498 (6.5)|44(1.3)|466(6.3)|19(1.0)|450 (7.1)|2.2(0.06)| 1.6(0.05)|2.0(0.06)|1.2(0.04)|1.0(0.03)|0.6(0.06)
Russian Federation .....|21(0.9)|580 (5.8)|40 (0.9)|538 (5.6)|30(1.2)|501(7.3)| 9(0.6)|471(10.0)|2.6(0.05)| 3.0(0.05)|1.5(0.03)|1.3(0.03)|1.2(0.03)|0.7(0.05)
                        |       |         |        |         |       |        |       |         |         |          |         |         |         |
Singapore ..............|16(0.7)|631 (7.3)|37 (0.7)|614 (6.1)|33(0.8)|593(6.4)|13(0.6)|575 (6.9)|2.4(0.04)| 1.5(0.04)|0.9(0.02)|1.5(0.04)|1.0(0.02)|1.1(0.04)
Slovak Republic ........|12(0.7)|586 (7.8)|34 (1.1)|554 (4.4)|40(1.2)|516(3.9)|14(0.8)|498 (5.6)|2.5(0.06)| 2.7(0.06)|1.6(0.05)|1.9(0.04)|0.7(0.02)|0.6(0.06)
Slovenia ...............|24(0.8)|583 (4.4)|40 (1.2)|542 (3.4)|24(0.9)|490(3.8)|12(0.8)|471 (5.7)|2.3(0.05)| 1.8(0.04)|1.2(0.03)|1.6(0.04)|0.7(0.02)|0.9(0.05)
South Africa ...........|18(0.6)|313 (8.5)|26 (1.0)|295(12.4)|31(0.8)|264(6.8)|26(0.9)|247 (5.2)|2.0(0.07)| 1.5(0.04)|2.0(0.04)|2.0(0.05)|1.8(0.05)|0.8(0.07)
Thailand ...............| 7(0.4)|515 (8.5)|34 (0.9)|490 (5.2)|46(0.9)|454(5.3)|13(0.5)|435 (7.5)|2.1(0.05)| 1.6(0.04)|1.6(0.02)|1.5(0.03)|1.0(0.02)|0.4(0.05)
                        |       |         |        |         |       |        |       |         |         |          |         |         |         |
Tunisia ................|25(0.8)|476 (3.7)|31 (0.8)|452 (3.7)|25(0.7)|432(5.0)|19(0.6)|428 (3.5)|2.0(0.04)| 1.3(0.03)|1.7(0.04)|1.9(0.04)|1.4(0.03)|0.9(0.04)
Turkey\5\ ..............|13(0.5)|468 (5.9)|36 (0.8)|446 (4.8)|36(0.8)|425(3.8)|15(0.6)|397 (6.4)|1.6(0.04)| 1.5(0.03)|1.1(0.04)|1.4(0.03)|1.2(0.03)|0.4(0.04)
United States ..........|26(0.8)|547 (4.6)|33 (0.6)|517 (4.5)|24(0.6)|478(4.4)|18(0.7)|455 (4.3)|2.5(0.06)| 2.4(0.05)|1.1(0.03)|1.9(0.03)|0.6(0.02)|0.9(0.06)
________________________|_______|_________|________|_________|_______|________|_______|_________|_________|__________|_________|_________|_________|_________

\1\Average hours based on: No time = 0; less than 1 hour = .5; 1-2 hours = 1.5; 3-5 hours = 4; more than 5 hours = 7.
\2\SAR=Special Administrative Region.
\3\Student response data on reading for enjoyment available for 70 to 84 percent of students, with missing data having not been explicitly accounted for in the analysis.
\4\Student response data available for 70 to 84 percent of students, with missing data having not been explicitly accounted for in the analysis.
\5\Student response data for playing computer games available for 70 to 84 percent of students, with missing data having not been explicitly accounted for in the analysis.

NOTE: Data are for 8th-grade or equivalent in most countries. Possible scores range from 1 to 1,000. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Standard errors appear in parentheses.

SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, Third International Mathematics and Science Study, 1999, TIMSS 1999 International Mathematics Report, by Ina V.S. Mullis et al. Copyright © 2000 International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). (This table was prepared May 2001.)


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