More good data from the TIMMS project comparing US performance in math and science with students from other nations. The latest findings were gleaned from videotapes of math teachers from seven countries while presenting their math lessons. All six of the other countries studied Japan, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Australia had outperformed the United States on the TIMSS assessment.

By videotaping lessons, researchers from LessonLab, an educational research company under contract with the Department of Education, were able to get the qualitative research that can be so elusive to social scientists. The study concludes that American teachers spend less time than their higher-achieving counterparts on conceptual foundations of math.

They re more focused on getting the answers, and less focused on giving students the opportunities to really engage in serious mathematical work, said James Stigler, chief executive officer for LessonLab.