Abstract
This study aims to figure out the characteristics of the changes in international achievement of Japanese lower secondary school students in biology over time, from the perspective of the revision of the Course of Study, or the Japanese national curriculum. It measured the statistical changes in common items between TIMSS 2007 and TIMSS2011 assessments taken by eighth graders. Specifically, the item parameter drift was analyzed using item response models. During the analysis, this study seriously took the sampling design of TIMSS assessment into account. The common items were classified according to the topic areas and this classification was considered in association with the result of the above statistical analysis.
The results show that the topic area of “Cells and Their Functions” seem to be more favorable for the eighth graders of 2010–2011 school years than for those of the 2006–2007 school years. On the other hand, the topic area of “Ecosystems” seem less favorable for the former than for the latter. These characteristics of the changes in the achievement of the Japanese students over time are discussed in the light of the changes in the curricular emphasis on the relevant subject matter. It is suggested that the favorable result of “Cells and Their Functions” is related to the change in the corresponding science curriculum, whose content was shifted to an earlier grade with the strengthened connection.
