Italy has participated in IEA’s TIMSS since it was first launched in 1995, and with TIMSS 2015 it amassed 20 years of achievement trends in mathematics and science — the longest of any international educational assessment.

For TIMSS National Research Coordinator Laura Palmerio, of the National Institute for the Educational Evaluation of Instruction and Training (INVALSI), these trends provide a wealth of data that can be used to analyze and improve education.

“Two things that always strike people in Italy are the low position of our country in the international ranking, and the huge differences in performance between north and south, as if they were entirely different countries,” she said.

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