PREFACE The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (lEA) and the gov ernments of the participating countries, is a comparative study of education in mathematics and the sciences conducted in approximately 50 educational systems on five continents. The goal of TIMSS is to measure student achievement in mathematics and science in participating coun tries and to assess some of the curricular and classroom factors that influence student learning in these subjects. The study will provide educators and policy makers with an unparalleled and multidimensional perspective on mathematics and science curricula; their implementation; the nature of student performance in mathematics and science; and the social, economic, and edu cational context in which these occur. TIMSS focuses on student learning and achievement in mathematics and science at three different age levels, or populations. * Population 1 is defined as all students enrolled in the two adjacent grades that contain the largest proportion of 9-year-old students; * Population 2 is defined as all students enrolled in the two adjacent grades that contain the largest proportion of 13-year-old students; and * Population 3 is defined as all students in their final year of secondary education, includ ing students in vocational education programs. In addition, Population 3 has two "specialist" subpopulations: students taking advanced courses in mathematics (mathematics specialists), and students taking advanced courses in physics (science specialists).

How are curriculum policies translated into opportunities to learn in the classroom?

According to the Book presents findings from the largest cross-national study of textbooks carried out to date - the curriculum analysis of the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This study included a detailed, page-by-page, inventory of the mathematics and science content, pedagogy, and other characteristics collected from hundreds of textbooks in over forty countries.

Drawing on these data, the authors investigate the rhetorical and pedagogical features of textbooks to understand how they promote and constrain educational opportunities. They investigate how textbooks are constructed and how they structure diverse elements into prescriptions for teaching practice.

The authors break new ground in understanding textbooks in terms of different educational opportunities that they make possible. The book examines policy implications from these new understandings. In particular, conclusions are offered regarding the role of textbooks in curriculum-driven educational reform, in light of their role as promoters of qualitatively distinct educational opportunities.

Schooling matters. The authors' professional pursuits for over twenty-five years have been focused on measuring one key aspect of schooling: the curriculum - what students are expected to study and what they spend their time studying. This documents their conviction that schools and schooling play a vital and defining role in what students know and are able to do with respect to mathematics and science. This research examines seventeen international studies of mathematics and science to provide a nuanced comparative education study. Whilst including multiple measures of students' family and home backgrounds, these studies measure the substance of the curriculum students study which has been shown to have a strong relationship with student performance. Such studies have demonstrated the interrelatedness of student background and curriculum. Student background influences their opportunities to learn and their achievements, yet their schooling can have even greater significance.

How are curriculum policies translated into opportunities to learn in the classroom?

According to the Book presents findings from the largest cross-national study of textbooks carried out to date - the curriculum analysis of the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This study included a detailed, page-by-page, inventory of the mathematics and science content, pedagogy, and other characteristics collected from hundreds of textbooks in over forty countries.

Drawing on these data, the authors investigate the rhetorical and pedagogical features of textbooks to understand how they promote and constrain educational opportunities. They investigate how textbooks are constructed and how they structure diverse elements into prescriptions for teaching practice.

The authors break new ground in understanding textbooks in terms of different educational opportunities that they make possible. The book examines policy implications from these new understandings. In particular, conclusions are offered regarding the role of textbooks in curriculum-driven educational reform, in light of their role as promoters of qualitatively distinct educational opportunities.

PREFACE The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (lEA) and the gov ernments of the participating countries, is a comparative study of education in mathematics and the sciences conducted in approximately 50 educational systems on five continents. The goal of TIMSS is to measure student achievement in mathematics and science in participating coun tries and to assess some of the curricular and classroom factors that influence student learning in these subjects. The study will provide educators and policy makers with an unparalleled and multidimensional perspective on mathematics and science curricula; their implementation; the nature of student performance in mathematics and science; and the social, economic, and edu cational context in which these occur. TIMSS focuses on student learning and achievement in mathematics and science at three different age levels, or populations. * Population 1 is defined as all students enrolled in the two adjacent grades that contain the largest proportion of 9-year-old students; * Population 2 is defined as all students enrolled in the two adjacent grades that contain the largest proportion of 13-year-old students; and * Population 3 is defined as all students in their final year of secondary education, includ ing students in vocational education programs. In addition, Population 3 has two "specialist" subpopulations: students taking advanced courses in mathematics (mathematics specialists), and students taking advanced courses in physics (science specialists).

Schooling matters. The authors' professional pursuits for over twenty-five years have been focused on measuring one key aspect of schooling: the curriculum - what students are expected to study and what they spend their time studying. This documents their conviction that schools and schooling play a vital and defining role in what students know and are able to do with respect to mathematics and science. This research examines seventeen international studies of mathematics and science to provide a nuanced comparative education study. Whilst including multiple measures of students' family and home backgrounds, these studies measure the substance of the curriculum students study which has been shown to have a strong relationship with student performance. Such studies have demonstrated the interrelatedness of student background and curriculum. Student background influences their opportunities to learn and their achievements, yet their schooling can have even greater significance.