Examining the Nature of Item Bias on Students’ Performance in National Examinations Council (NECO) Mathematics Senior School Certificate Dichotomously Scored Items in Nigeria

This study examined the nature of item bias on students’ performance in 2017 National Examinations Council (NECO) mathematics senior school certificate dichotomously scored items in Nigeria. The study adopted an ex-post-facto research design. A sample of 256,039 candidates was randomly selected from the population of 1,034,629 students who took the test. Instrument for data collection was 'Student Results' (SR). Data collected were analysed using the R language environment and an independent t-test. Results showed that the 2017 NECO Mathematics test was essentially unidimensional (-0.28 (<.20), ASSI = -0.31 (< 0.25) and RATIO = -0.31 (< 0.36). Results also showed that the nature of bias statistically encountered was a mean difference in scores bias, indicating that 86% (52 items), 79.1% (34 items), and 96% (56 items) were biased against male students, urban and public-school students, respectively. It was concluded that item bias is a notable factor that affected the validity of the NECO 2017 Mathematics test and conclusions drawn from the scores in Nigeria. Hence, it was recommended that before tests are administered for public use, examination bodies should make a careful review of tests through dimensionality assessment at the developmental stage to eliminate any perspectives that could cause test inequity among examinees.

Achieving Teacher Professional Growth Through Professional Experimentation and Changes in Pedagogical Practices

To facilitate the professional learning of teachers and bring about changes in pedagogical practices, it is necessary to understand the process by which teachers grow professionally. Professional growth can be achieved when teachers work together to engage in professional experimentation and see results in terms of salient outcomes for their students. This paper reports on a study of teachers’ pedagogical practices as they introduced adaptations to focus on personalising students’ learning in mathematics. Two cases are presented to demonstrate how teachers in two schools used student mathematics test data to determine students’ strengths and needs, in order to personalise learning experiences. The findings highlight how shared responsibility and purposeful use of student data can lead to positive professional growth for teachers and improved learning outcomes for students.

Pupils’ prior knowledge about technological systems: design and validation of a diagnostic tool for primary school teachers

This study aimed to develop and validate, based on the Evidence Centered Design approach, a generic tool to diagnose primary education pupils’ prior knowledge of technological systems in primary school classrooms. Two technological devices, namely the Buzz Wire device and the Stairs Marble Track, were selected to investigate whether theoretical underpinnings could be backed by empirical evidence. Study 1 indicated that the tool enabled pupils to demonstrate different aspects of their prior knowledge about a technological system by a wide variety of work products. Study 2 indicated that these work products could be reliably ranked from low to high functionality by technology education experts. Their rank order matched the Fischer-scale-based scoring rules, designed in cooperation with experts in skill development. The solution patterns fit the extended non-parametric Rasch model, confirming that the task can reveal differences in pupils’ prior knowledge on a one-dimensional scale. Test–retest reliability was satisfactory. Study 3 indicated that the diagnostic tool was able to capture the range of prior knowledge levels that could be expected of 10 to 12 years old pupils. It also indicated that pupils’ scores on standardised reading comprehension and mathematics test had a low predictive value for the outcomes of the diagnostic tool. Overall, the findings substantiate the claim that pupils’ prior knowledge of technological systems can be diagnosed properly with the developed tool, which may support teachers in decisions for their technology lessons about content, instruction and support.

Starting Tests With Easy Versus Difficult Tasks: Effects on Appraisals and Emotions

Tests in educational contexts often start with easy tasks assuming that this fosters positive experiences—a sense of control, higher valuing of the test, and more positive and less negative emotions. Although intuitive and widespread, this assumption lacks an empirical basis and a theoretical framework. We conducted a field experiment and randomly assigned 208 students to an easy-to-difficult or a difficult-to-easy condition in a mathematics test. Perceived challenge was measured along with control appraisals, value appraisals, and emotions (enjoyment, pride, anxiety, anger, boredom). While students starting with easy tasks felt less challenged than students starting with difficult tasks in Part 1, no differences emerged regarding control and value appraisals and emotions. In Part 2, students who had started with easy tasks proceeded to difficult tasks and reported higher challenge, lower value and control, and less positive and more negative emotions than students who proceeded from difficult to easy tasks. Control and value appraisals mediated these differences between conditions, especially regarding positive emotions. These results cast doubt on the preference for easy-to-difficult over difficult-to-easy task orders, revealing their potential for causing adverse experiences at the end of the test (e.g., reflecting contrast effects).

Analysis of mathematics test items quality for high school

This study aims to determine the quality of the mathematics test items at high school in terms of validity, reliability, differentiation, difficulty level, and distractor effectiveness. This study is an evaluation type of research with a quantitative approach. The subjects in this study were 44 class XII students of SMKN 3 Kuningan and 39 class XII students of SMAN 1 Jalaksana. The results show that the majority (96.67%) of the items are declared valid in content by the experts. The test has very high reliability (0.90). The items have the ideal difficulty level. Most of the questions (70%) have medium difficulty, a few questions (6.67%) are very easy, and a few questions (20%) are difficult, and (3.3%) are very difficult. Most of the items (83.33%) have good discriminating power, and only a few questions (16.67%) have poor discriminating power. Most (90%) of the questions have a well-functioning answer choice, and only a few questions (10%) have the answer choice not functioning properly. Overall, this study can be concluded that the Mathematics Test Questions at SMKN 3 Kuningan are of good quality.

ANALYZING MATHEMATICAL LITERACY ABILITIES IN TERMS OF COGNITIVE STYLE OF SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY AT SD INPRES NIPA-NIPA

This study aimed to describe the Mathematical literacy skills of Grade VI students of SD Inpres Nipa-Nipa, in terms of reflective and impulsive cognitive styles, based on the six levels of Mathematical literacy. This research was a descriptive study with a qualitative approach. The subjects of this study were two grade IV students, one student with a reflective style and another student with an impulsive style. The data collection began by giving a cognitive style test and an initial Mathematics test. Then, a Mathematical literacy test was also administered to determine the level of students’ literacy. After that, an interview was conducted to obtain more accurate data. The results showed that (1) the reflective student took a long time and was very circumspect in answering the Mathematical literacy test questions, so that the results were more accurate. The reflective student was able to answer the questions with clear procedures sequentially and was able to interpret and use representations based on information of the questions, so that it could take the right strategy to answer the question. These results revealed that the students were at the third level of mathematical literacy ability, (2) the impulsive student needed shorter time and was less careful in answering a Mathematical literacy test so that the results were less accurate. The results showed that the impulsive student could answer the question with an identified context and the relevant information with a clear question was available. In addition, the impulsive student could identify information obtained from the question and when he was given a stimulus. Thus, the impulsive student possessed the first-level of Mathematical literacy skills.

The Relationship Between Sources of Mathematics Self-Efficacy and Mathematics Test and Course Achievement in High School Seniors

In school settings, sources of self-efficacy have the potential to directly and indirectly influence performance. The problem of this study is the direct relationship between sources of self-efficacy and achievement. In connection with this problem, the impact of sources of mathematics self-efficacy on high school senior students’ mathematics test and course achievement was investigated. The study consisted of 257 12th-grade high school students. The findings of the study showed that mathematics course and test performance increased, whereas the scores for mastery experience, social persuasions, vicarious experience, and physiological state increased, too. According to the results of the regression analysis on mathematics course achievement, the mastery experience significantly predicted mathematics course performance. It also explained 56% of the total variance in mathematics achievement. On the contrary, mastery experience, social persuasions, and physiological state significantly predicted mathematics test achievement, as well as explained 27% of the total variance in mathematics test achievement. In conclusion, sources of mathematics self-efficacy have effects on both mathematics test and course achievement.