104
In case of science performance in TIMSS, the situation is slightly better. Children from the top
two quintiles performed well in 1999 though there is a clear decline in performance across all
wealth groups by 2011. In 2011, over 80%children from top quintiles had attained basic science
proficiency. The largest decline in performance is observed among the lowest quintile group in
terms of attaining the basic proficiency threshold. These trends also hold for level 2 proficiency.
However, in case of advanced science proficiency, there is an across-wealth groups decline. The
biggest fall in attainment occurred among the top wealth quintile, from over 6% in 1999 to less
than 4% in 2011 (Figure 3.2.7). In other words, Malaysian children continued to be poorly
represented in among advanced achievers in TIMSS regardless of the assessment round and
wealth groups.
Figure 3.2.6: Trends in Level-2 Competency in Math and Science in TIMSS by Family Wealth,
1999-2011 (Malaysia)
Source: Authors’s calculation based on WIDE database
0
.2
.4
.6
.8
1
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Country Wealth Index Quintiles, 1999 Country Wealth Index Quintiles, 2011
Maths Science
Graphs by category and year