Home / Data Portal / TIMSS-PIRLS / ZAF-IEA-TPISC-TIMSS-G9-2002-V1
TIMSS-PIRLS

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, South Africa 2002
Grade 9

South Africa, 2002
Get Microdata
Reference ID
zaf-iea-tpisc-timss-g9-2002-v1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25828/rnex-4873
Producer(s)
TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center
Collections
TIMSS and PIRLS
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
May 11, 2026
Last modified
May 11, 2026
Page views
1767
Downloads
2
  • Identification
  • Version
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • Study authorization
  • survey_instrument
  • Data Collection
  • quality_standards
  • Data Access
  • Metadata production
  • citation

    • Identification

    Survey ID number

    zaf-iea-tpisc-timss-g9-2002-v1
    Title

    Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, South Africa 2002
    Subtitle

    Grade 9
    Country
    Name Country code
    South Africa zaf
    Study type

    Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
    Series Information

    Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is an international assessment that monitors trends in student achievement in mathematics and science. Currently more than 70 countries participate in the assessments, which have been conducted at regular intervals since 1995. Information on the study is available from the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College https://timssandpirls.bc.edu
    Other identifiers
    Type Identifier
    DOI https://doi.org/10.25828/rnex-4873
    Abstract

    TIMSS 2002-2003 is the third assessment in the TIMSS series which monitors grade 4 and grade 8 student achievement in mathematics and science and collects data on curricula, schools and teachers. TIMSS 2002-2003 collected data for 48 countries. In South Africa, mathematics and science achievement of Grade 9 students was also assessed. The assessment took place in 2002 as part of the 2002-2003 round of TIMSS (Southern hemisphere countries were assessed in 2002 while Northern hemisphere countries were assessed in 2003).
    Kind of Data

    Sample survey data [ssd]
    Unit of Analysis

    Individuals and institutions

    Version

    Version Description

    v1: Edited anonymised data for distribution under a CC-BY attribution license

    Scope

    Keywords
    Mathematics achievement Science achievement Educational achievement

    Coverage

    Universe

    The survey universe was Grade 9 students in South African schools
    Geographic bounding box
    West East South North
    14.062712 33.090851 -35.101934 -22.105999

    Producers and sponsors

    Primary investigators
    Name Affiliation
    TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center Boston College
    Funding Agency/Sponsor
    Name Abbreviation Role
    International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement IEA Funding agency

    Study authorization

    Authorization Date

    1999, 2024
    Agency
    Agency name Affiliation Abbreviation
    Department of Education Government of South Africa DOE
    Statistics South Africa Government of South Africa StatsSA
    Authorization Statement

    The collection of learner and school data in South Africa is authorised by the Statistics Act of 1999 and the Statistics Amendment Act of 2024, which govern the collection of data by government bodies within the national statistical service

    survey_instrument

    Questionnaires

    TIMSS included six questionnaires:

    a school questionnaire completed by the principal
    a maths curriculum questionnaire
    a maths questionnaire for learners
    a maths questionnaire for teachers
    a science curriculum questionnaire
    a science questionnaire for learners
    a science questionnaire for teachers

    In TIMSS learners completed achievement tests in mathematics and science and completed questionnaires on their home backgrounds and prior experience of and attitudes to mathematics and science. Teachers answered questions on their teaching preparation, teaching styles, professional development and attitudes to mathematics and science. Principals provided information on school characteristics (including resources and technology), parental involvement, grade 9 mathematics and science teaching and teachers, and learner behaviour

    Data Collection

    Dates of Data Collection
    Start End Cycle
    2002-10-21 2002-11-01 Assessments in Southern Hemisphere countries
    Mode of data collection
    • Face-to-face computer-assisted interviews [CAPI]
    Data Collectors
    Name Affiliation Abbreviation Role
    Human Sciences Research Council Government of South Africa HSRC Data collection

    quality_standards

    Other quality statement

    258 schools and 4247 students are included in the data. However, 21 schools in the data file have no student data. It is possible that these are schools in which Grade 9 students were not assessed (that is, only Grade 8 students were assessed, as in the full 48 country sample). Additionally, the TIMSS SA report from the South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) documents that there are 238 schools and 4261 learners in the study, which is incorrect.

    Data Access

    Access conditions

    Creative Commons CC BY Attribution 4.0 International license
    Citation requirements

    TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2002, South Africa, Grade 9. Version 1 [dataset]. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College [producer and distributor], 2003. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/RNEX-4873
    Deposit requirements

    Data users are required to send DataFirst a link to any research publications based on the data

    Metadata production

    Producers
    Name Affiliation Role
    DataFirst University of Cape Town Metadata producer
    Date of Metadata Production

    2026-03-26

    Metadata version

    DDI Document version

    Version 1

    citation

    citation
    loading, please wait...
    Export citation: RIS | BibTeX | Plain text
    Back to Catalog