Trends in Maths and Science Study (TIMSS): National Report for England

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is overseen by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). It provides participating countries internationally comparable data on the performance and attitudes of 9 to 10 (year 5) and 13 to 14 year-olds (year 9) in maths and science as well as comparisons of the curriculum and the teaching of these subjects in primary and secondary schools. Fifty-seven countries and seven benchmarking entities participated in TIMSS 20151. England has participated in TIMSS since the study was first carried out in 1995 and in each subsequent four-yearly cycle, meaning that 2015 represents the study’s sixth cycle. The study therefore provides valuable trends in England’s absolute and relative performance over a twenty-year period. In England, testing was conducted with pupils in years 5 and 9 in May and June 2015, with a sample of over 8,800 pupils across 290 schools. England’s year 5 cohort started school in 2009 and sat the new Key Stage 2 tests in the summer of 2016. The year 9 cohort started school in 2005 and will take the new GCSEs in summer 2017, having started secondary school in 2012. This TIMSS National Report for England focuses on comparisons of our pupils’ performance and their experiences of maths and science teaching compared to: high-performing and rapidly improving countries; other English-speaking countries; and similar countries in terms of context and geography. The TIMSS International Report 2015 offers comparisons across all participating countries

Trends in Maths and Science Study (TIMSS): National Report for England

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is overseen by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). It provides participating countries internationally comparable data on the performance and attitudes of 9 to 10 (year 5) and 13 to 14 year-olds (year 9) in maths and science as well as comparisons of the curriculum and the teaching of these subjects in primary and secondary schools. This National Report for England focuses on comparisons of our pupils’ performance and their experiences of maths and science teaching compared to: high-performing and rapidly improving countries; other English-speaking countries; and similar countries in terms of context and geography. It also shows trends in England’s absolute and relative performance over a twenty-year period

Individual shedder status and the origin of touch DNA

Due to improved laboratory techniques, touched surfaces and items are increasingly employed as sources of forensic DNA evidence. This has urged a need to better understand the mechanisms of DNA transfer between individuals. Shedder status (i.e. the propensity to leave DNA behind) has been identified as one major factor regulating DNA transfer. It is known that some individuals tend to shed more DNA than others, but the mechanisms behind shedder status are largely unknown. By comparing the amounts of DNA deposited from active hands (i.e. used "as usual") and inactive hands (i.e. not allowed to touch anything), we show that some of the selfDNA deposited from hands is likely to have accumulated on hands from other parts of the body or previously handled items (active hands: 2.1 +/- 2.7 ng, inactive hands: 0.83 +/- 1.1 ng, paired t-test: p = 0.014, n = 27 pairs of hands). Further investigation showed that individual levels of deposited DNA are highly associated with the level of DNA accumulation on the skin of the face (Pearsons correlation: r = 0.90, p < 0.00001 and Spearmans ranked correlation: rs = 0.56, p = 0.0016, n = 29). We hypothesized that individual differences in sebum secretion levels could influence the amount of DNA accumulation in facial areas, but no such correlation was seen (Pearsons correlation: r = - 0.13, p = 0.66, n = 14). Neither was there any correlation between DNA levels on hands or forehead and the time since hand or face wash. We propose that the amount of self-DNA deposited from hands is highly influenced by the individual levels of accumulated facial DNA, and that cells/DNA is often transferred to hands by touching or rubbing ones face