Abstract:
This paper reviews Ghana’s performance in the TIMSS 2011 survey in comparison with other African and some high
performing countries which participated in the TIMSS assessment. Students’ achievement in the science content
areas assessed were summarized and teacher preparation constructs of teachers of the students who took part in the
assessment explored with the aim of finding any possible linkage between teacher preparation and students
achievement. Two set of reviews were done. First, results on the eighth grade (JHS 2) science content achievement in
biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science for Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia were compared. The second review
compared how Ghana prepares her teachers to Finland and Singapore who were among the first five performing
countries on the TIMSS 2011 assessment. Some mismatch was identified in terms of teacher preparation and
students’ achievement in the case of Ghana. Ghanaian teachers scored relatively high on most of the constructs that
were measured by the TIMSS report under teacher preparation but these were not reflected in the students’
achievement. In view of this, it is recommended that other indicators such as classroom instruction, resources for
teaching science, and school climate are investigated with the aim of finding any other underlying factors that could
account for the mismatch between Ghanaian students’ achievement on the TIMSS science assessment and teachers’
preparation.
