An ethnomethodological analysis of students’ understanding of the concept of trigonometry in a high-stakes examination in South Africa

[English]: In South Africa, National Senior Certificate (NSC) mathematics examination is a capping external examination taken at the culmination of twelve years of schooling. The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze the responses of examinees in the examinations in the concept of trigonometry. While the study mainly used an ethnomethodological approach, a documentary analytical approach was also adopted. Documentary analysis was necessitated by the private nature of the NSC examination, as we only had access to the written work of the examinees. The major findings were: (1) that the strategies and tactics used by examinees are highly driven by the context of the high-stakes examination; (2) that examinees’ ways of working exhibit the general structure of the practice that is commonly found in mathematical discourse practices. Further studies are required to deepen the understanding of the thinking processes of examinees by conducting focus group interviews, where the examinees are afforded opportunities to explain their workings in school-based assessments. [Bahasa]: Di Afrika Selatan, ujian matematika National Senior Certificate (NSC) adalah ujian tambahan yang diambil pada akhir dari dua belas tahun sekolah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melakukan investigasi dan analisis tanggapan siswa peserta ujian matematika NSC terkait konsep trigonometri. Selain pendekatan etnometodologi yang secara umum dipakai dalam penelitian ini, pendekatan analitis dokumenter yang juga diadopsi terkait karakteristik ujian NSC, dalam hal inipeneliti hanya memiliki akses pada jawaban tertulis peserta ujian. Temuan utama penelitian adalah: (1) bahwa strategi dan taktik yang digunakan oleh peserta ujian sangat didorong oleh konteks ujian berisiko tinggi; (2) bahwa cara kerja peserta ujian menunjukkan struktur umum praktik yang biasa ditemukan dalam praktis diskursus matematika. Penelitian lebih lanjut diperlukan untuk memperdalam pemahaman tentang proses berpikir peserta ujian dengan melakukan wawancara kelompok terfokus, dimana peserta ujian diberikan kesempatan untuk menjelaskan cara kerja mereka dalam penilaian berbasis sekolah.

An Analysis of the Online Final Examination Items for Ninth-graders in the Mathematics Course Using the Rasch Measurement Model

The National Examination in Indonesia has been abolished since 2020. Hence, the Indonesian junior high schools makes its final examination items for the 9th-grade, and from the results, the school determines students' graduation. The final examination has an important role and significant value in making decisions about students' graduation. Therefore, this study is aimed to analyze the Online Final Examination items in one of the public junior high schools in Bandung. The sample was 234 students in grade 9 using their mathematics examination tests, comprising 20 multiple-choice items with 4 options, while the data processing used Winsteps software with the Rasch modeling technique. Subsequently, the Rasch model results showed an acceptable person separation statistic of 1.54 and sufficient person reliability at 0.74. The item separation statistics was in a good category at 4.59, while the item reliability at 0.95 was excellent. Although four online final examination items were in the fit category, 16 were good and capable of dividing students according to their abilities. The result also provided very detailed data about the quality of the items and the ability of each grade 9 student. Since each test item is included in the fit category, this study contributes information on preparing and analyzing the Online Final Examination to teachers..

Estimating Measurement Errors and Score Dependability of NECO 2019 Mathematics Examination

This study estimated measurement error and score dependability in examinations using the Generalizability Theory. Scores obtained by the students (object of measurements) in examinations are affected by multiple sources of error (facets), and these scores are used in taking relative and absolute decisions about the students. There is, therefore, needed to estimate measurement error and score dependability to find the extent of the contributions of the facets to error in examination scores. Three research questions and one hypothesis were used to guide the study. The study population comprised 5,085 SS3 students of the 34 Government-owned senior secondary schools in Yenagoa LGA of Bayelsa State 2019/2020 academic session. 10 schools were selected using simple random sampling technic and the 1,525 SS3 students of the selected schools formed the sample. section A of the 2018 NECO Mathematics main paper and 2018 NECO Mathematics Marking Scheme were used to collect the data. EduG version 6.0-e based on ANOVA and Generalizability theory was used to answer the three research questions. A 95% confidence interval was computed using the standard error variance components to test the hypothesis. The findings of the study revealed that some hidden sources of error were at play in the study. the students’ facets (σ2S) made the highest contribution to measurement error in examination scores followed by the residual (σ2SIM). Also, the Students’ facet was significantly different (p< 0.05) in its contributions to measurement error, while the other facets and their interactions were not significantly different in their contribution to measurement error. Hence, Ho1 was not accepted for the students’ facet but accepted for other facets. An increase in the level of markers from 1 to 4 with level of items 5 yielded an outcome of 0.84 to 0.91 respectively, a generalizability coefficient of 0.94 high enough to rank order students according to their relative abilities in examinations was obtained when the level of markers was at 2 with an increment in level of items to 10. An index of dependability of 0.93 that is high enough to maximize reliability was obtained when we have level of markers at 2 and the items at 10.

Learner performance in the 2009 to 2014 final Grade 12 mathematics examination: A quantile regression approach

The South African education system bears evidence of fluctuations in the final Grade 12 mathematics marks occurring across different learner profiles. This study reflected on the National Senior Certificate (NSC) mathematics results from the Western Cape Education Department for the years 2009 to 2014, the period just after the introduction of the NSC in 2008 and including the updated NSC introduced in 2014. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the learners’ performance by socio-economic school quintile and education district for the period of 2009 to 2014, for learners in the Western Cape. Instead of the ordinary regression model, we adopted the quantile regression approach to examine the effect of school (national) quintile (NQ) type and education district at different quantiles of learner performance in the mathematics examination. The results showed that there is a significant school quintile type and education district effect on learner performance in NSC mathematics examinations for learners in the Western Cape. In some years, there were no significant performance differences between learners from NQ2 and NQ4 schools in the different quantiles. Similarly, learner performance differences for NQ3 and NQ4 schools were not significant. As we moved from 2009 to 2014, the performance difference between the lower school quintiles and the upper school quintiles narrowed, although the performance differences remained significant. These differences were smallest in 2013. This is a good sign, as it indicates that government efforts and policies, designed to narrow the historical social disparities manifested in the schools, have been somewhat successful. The identification and scrutinising of school quintile type and education district where the gap is wider will assist the government to review policies and interventions to accelerate the transformation.

Differential Test let Functioning (DTLF) in Senior School Certificate Mathematics Examination Using Multilevel Measurement Modelling

The study determined the parameter estimate of the Senior School Certificate Mathematics items of June/July 2017 NECO examinations and testlet effect under Multilevel Measurement Modeling with the aim of providing information on the psychometric properties and quality of the items. The research design was an ex-post facto, The examinees response were the multiple – choice items of the National Examinations Council Mathematics paper two for June/July 2017 which consisted the data for the study group. The targeted population consisted of 26,086 senior secondary three examinees who registered for Mathematics Senior School Certificate (NECO) in June/July 2017 in Osun State. A total of 318 private schools and 179 public schools registered for the paper. The results revealed the following items to be good which implied that such items functioned well, these were: items 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60 whereas items that were considered to be bad included 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 13, 16, 19, 24, 25, 30, 38, 39, 41, 49, 53, 55 and 56. Furthermore, investigating an average bundle of item statistics under the measurement framework indicated that the Item Discrimination Means value and Standard Deviation under IRT approach were 1.26 and 0.60 respectively while the Mean value difference was 1.26. Although, item difficulty Mean value and the Standard Deviation were 0.26 and 4.26, respectively, whereas the Mean value difference was 0.26. Similarly, the guessing Mean value and the Standard Deviation were 0.15 and 0.19, respectively, whereas the Mean value difference stood at 0.15. The study concluded that any standardized examination, especially from an examining body in charge of certificate examination, if issues like differential testlet effect is not taking into consideration, it could harm the validity of the items and also alter the ability estimates of the examinees The validity of the test would be strengthened when issues like differential testlet effect is adequately taken care of.

Differentiation of Mathematics Examination at Two Levels for Higher Secondary CBSE Students in India: Study on Students’ Satisfaction and Subject Related Perception

The Central Board of Secondary Examination announced that Class 10 students will have two levels of mathematics papers from 2020.The name suggested for the two examinations will be Maths- Standard which will be same kind of existing level of examination, and Maths - Basic, the standard that has been designed easier as compared Standard level. No proposed change in syllabus has been suggested, class room deliverables and internal assessment for both the levels of examination would remain the same. The standard level has been designed for the students who desire to pursue with mathematics at higher levels, while the basic level would be for the students who want to drop Mathematics after class ten and pursue other streams of Subjects. This study aims to find the satisfaction level of students with this format adopted for Mathematics and their attitude towards other subjects. The students were found to quite satisfy with the regulating so as teachers and parents. The satisfaction level was found to be quite high among all stake holders as this was found to be facilitating students in their interest areas for pursuing higher studies rather them making them burdened and stressed during Higher Secondary struggling with Mathematics. Not only this, the regulation also gave a greater clarity among students, if they were interested to pursue their higher studies with this or related subjects.

PELATIHAN AKUNTANSI DAN MATEMATIKA EKONOMI BAGI SISWA SISWI PANTI ASUHAN ASIH LESTARI

Based on an invitation from the manager of the Asih Lestari Orphanage to provide accounting and economic mathematics training in order to fulfill the Tridharma of Higher Education activities through Community Engagement (PKM), this accounting training activity was held. This PKM activity was carried out in the Asih Lestari Orphanage area Jl. Gardu No.1, Salembaran Jati, Kosambi Barat - Dadap, Tangerang, Banten 15213, West Java in February 2019. In this training the Accounting Training and Economic Mathematics Training Module was distributed along with the answer questions. The topics discussed in this PKM related to accounting training are service companies and trading companies, while those related to economic mathematics training are linear functions and quadratic functions, application functions in economics, logarithmic functions, simple function differentials, and matrices. During the training there were questions and answers and discussions. The specific target of PKM is to prepare students for the Asih Lestari Orphanage in the face of the State Economics and Mathematics Examination. This PKM has been going well, as evidenced by the graduation of the orphanage students, and even one orphanage child received a scholarship at Udayana (Bali). PKM activities in the future are expected to continue to be carried out on an ongoing basis by providing the necessary topics as stated by students in the previous PKM questionnaire. Other topics such as entrepreneurship, e-commerce, tax introduction, and the introduction of financial mapping can also be carried out to equip independent students of the Asih Lestari Orphanage in the futureABSTRAK:Berdasarkan undangan dari pengelola Panti Asuhan Asih Lestari untuk memberikan pelatihan akuntansi dan matematika ekonomi dalam rangka memenuhi kegiatan Tridharma Perguruan Tinggi melalui Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat (PKM) maka kegiatan pelatihan akuntansi ini diselenggarakan. Kegiatan PKM ini dilaksanakan di area Panti Asuhan Asih Lestari Jl. Gardu No.1, Salembaran Jati, Kosambi Barat – Dadap, Tangerang, Banten 15213, Jawa Barat pada bulan Febuari 2019. Dalam pelatihan ini dibagikan Modul Pelatihan Akuntansi dan Pelatihan Matematika Ekonomi beserta soal jawabnya. Topik yang dibahas dalam PKM ini yang terkait dengan pelatihan akuntansi adalah perusahaan jasa dan perusahaan dagang, sementara yang terkait dengan pelatihan matematika ekonomi adalah fungsi linear dan fungsi kuadrat, aplikasi fungsi dalam ekonomi, fungsi logaritma, differensial fungsi sederhana, dan matriks. Saat pelatihan disertai sessi tanya jawab dan diskusi. Target khusus PKM ini adalah mempersiapkan siswa/siswi Panti Asuhan Asih Lestari dalam menghadapi Ujian Negara Ekonomi dan Matematika. PKM ini telah berlangsung dengan baik terbukti dengan lulusnya siswa-siswi panti bahkan ada satu anak panti asuhan yang diterima beasiswa di Udayana (Bali). Kegiatan PKM di masa depan diharapkan untuk terus dapat dilakukan secara berkesinambungan dengan pembekalan topik yang dibutuhkan seperti yang telah dikemukakan siswa dalam angket PKM sebelumnya. Topik lain seperti kewirausahaan, e-commerce, pengenalan pajak, dan pengenalan pemetaan keuangan juga dapat dilakukan untuk pembekalan kemandirian siswa-siswi Panti Asuhan Asih Lestari di masa depan.

Analisis Deskriptif Soal Ujian Nasional dan Cambridge Checkpoint Pelajaran Matematika Tingkat Sekolah Menengah Pertama Tahun Ajaran 2014/2015 Berdasarkan Tipe Penyajian Soal dan Ruang Lingkup Materi

National Examination and Cambridge Checkpoint are the instrument for evaluating the standard competence ofstudent which organized in Secondary Level. National Examination’s questions based on the National Curriculum ofIndonesia but Cambridge Checkpoint’s questions taken based on Cambridge Curriculum. The aims of this researchis analyzing the type of each question and distribution of each strands in the National Mathematics Examination 2015and Mathematics of Cambridge Checkpoint for Secondary Level 2015. This type of research is a descriptive studywith a qualitative approach. National Mathematics Examination 2015 has one paper only but Mathematics ofCambridge Checkpoint for Secondary Level 2015 has 2 papers for the test. It can be concluded that all question’stype of the National Mathematics Examination for Secondary Level 2015 are multiple choice questions. OnMathematics of Cambridge Checkpoint for Secondary Level 2015, there are various types of questions which consistof 11,43% short-answer question; 68,57% analysis question; 8,57% completing question; and 11,43% match questionfor paper 1, but 22,22% short-answer question; 58,33% analysis question; 11,11% completing question; 2,78% matchquestion; 2,78% multiple choice question; and 2,78% yes/no question for paper 2. Based on strands analyzing result,It can be determined that National Mathematics Examination for Secondary Level 2015 contain of 22,25% number;27,5 algebra; 40% geometry and measurement; 10% statistic and probability. On Mathematics of CambridgeCheckpoint for Secondary Level 2015, It can be explained that 45,72% number; 20% algebra; 17,14% geometry andmeasurement; and 17,14% statistic and probability for paper 1, and 33,33% number; 19,45% algebra; 25% geometryand measurement; and 22,22% statistic and probability for paper 2.

Visual impairment, spectacle wear and academic performance among junior high school students in western China

In September 2013, 2248 students from 36 junior high schools in Shaanxi Province underwent assessment of visual acuity (VA), completed a questionnaire about their spectacle use and were administered a standardized mathematics examination. Among 2,248 students (mean age 13.6 years, 52% male), visual impairment was present in 699 (31%, 95% Confidence Interval 29-33%). Spectacle wear was observed in 360 of 966 children needing glasses (37%). Ownership of spectacles among children needing glasses was associated with poorer uncorrected vision in the better-seeing eye (P <0.001) and paternal educational (p=0.001), but not age, sex, boarding at school, both parents having out-migrated for work or maternal education. Spectacle ownership among children with visual impairment was associated with better test performance (P=0.035). Therefore, visual impairment and non-wear of spectacle were common. Wearing spectacles was associated with better academic performance in this cross-sectional analysis, consistent with recent trial results among younger children.

Sensitivity Of Differential Item Functioning Detection Methods On National Mathematics Examination In North Sumatera Province, Indonesia

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in sensitivity of three methods: IRT-Likelihood Ratio (IRT-LR), Mantel-Haenszel (MH) and Logistics Regression (LR), in detecting gender differential item functioning (DIF) on National Mathematics Examination (Ujian Nasional: UN) for 2014/2015 academic year in North Sumatera Province of Indonesia. DIF item shows the unfairness. It advantages the test takers of certain groups and disadvantages other group test takers, in the case they have the same ability. The presence of DIF was reviewed in grouping by gender: men as reference groups (R) and women as focus groups (F). This study used the experimental method, 3x1 design, with one factor (i.e. method) with three treatments, in the form of 3 different DIF detection methods. There are 5 types of UN Mathematics Year 2015 packages (codes: 1107, 2207, 3307, 4407 and 5507). The 2207 package code was taken as the sample data, consisting of 5000 participants (3067 women, 1933 men; for 40 UN items). Item selection was carried out based on the classical test theory (CTT) on 40 UN items, producing 32 items that fulfilled, and item response theory selection (IRT) produced 18 items that fulfilled. With program R 3.333 and IRTLRDIF 2.0, it was found 5 items were detected as DIF by the IRT-Likelihood Ratio-method (IRTLR), 4 items were detected as DIF by the Logistic Regression method (LR), and 3 items were detected as DIF by the MantelHaenszel method (MH). To test the sensitivity of the three methods, it is not enough with just one time DIF detection, but formed six groups of data analysis: (4400,40),(4400,32), (4400,18), (3000,40), (3000,32), (3000,18), and generate 40 random data sets (without repetitions) in each group, and conduct detecting DIF on the items in each data set. Although the data lacks model fit, the 3 parameter logistic model (3PL) is chosen as the most suitable model. With the Tukey's HSD post hoc test, the IRT-LR method is known to be more sensitive than the MH and LR methods in the group (4400,40) and (3000,40). The IRT-LR method is not longer more sensitive than LR in the group (4400,32) and (3000,32), but still more sensitive than MH. In the groups (4400,18) and (3000,18) the IRT-LR method is more sensitive than LR, but not significantly more sensitive than MH. The LR method is consistently tested to be more sensitive than the MH method in the entire analysis groups.