Use what you have to get what you need: the appropriateness of TIMSS to appraise and inform policy

Education is a key priority in the country, and outcome one in the presidential delivery agreements. It is therefore important to use reliable data to appraise the well-being of the system to date. Shawn Rogers and Lolita Winnaar explore how the TIMSS design and framework generate data that provides invaluable information on the nature and extent of learner achievement, and measure improvement, quality and outcomes of the education system. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has been undertaken in South Africa in 1995, 1999, 2002 and more recently, in 2011. TIMSS is one of the first studies to provide international and national learner assessment trend data for mathematics and science, and places quality of education in the eye of politicians, policy makers and the public.