The authors wish to thank the students, teachers, and school officials who participated in TIMSS 2003. Their time and effort have provided invaluable data to the nation. The authors also wish to thank all of those who contributed to the design, writing, production, and review of this report for their thoughtful critique, insightful suggestions, and creativity. In particular, the authors acknowledge the contributions of Arnold Goldstein, Eugene Owen, Val Plisko, Taslima Rahman, Elois Scott, and Marilyn Seastrom of the National Center for Education Statistics; Deven Carlson, Fraser Ireland, Angie KewalRamani, Mike Planty, and Robert Stillwell of the Education Statistics Services Institute; Stephen Roey of Westat; Tom Loveless of the Brookings Institution; and the members of the TIMSS 2003 Expert Panel: Rolf Blank, Council of Chief State School Officers; Betsy Brand, American Youth Policy Forum; Nancy Bunt, Alleghany (PA) Intermediate Unit, Math and Science Collaborative; Rodger Bybee, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study; Joan Ferrini-Mundy, Michigan State University; Ramesh Gangolli, University of Washington; Patricia Harvey, St. Paul Public Schools; Kati Haycock, the Education Trust; and Jack Jennings, Center on Education Policy. In addition, the authors acknowledge Brian Henigin and Michael Stock of Westat for the design and layout of the report.

U.S. participation in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 was made possible by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). NCES is responsible for the analyses presented in this report.