The demand for diagnostic feedback has triggered extensive research on cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs), such as the deterministic input, noisy output "and" gate (DINA) model. This study explored two Q-matrix specifications with the DINA model in a statewide large-scale mathematics assessment. The first Q-matrix was developed based on…

Researchers design diagnostic assessments to measure students' knowledge structures and processing skills to provide information about their cognitive attribute. The purpose of this study is to determine the instrument's validity and score reliability, as well as to investigate the use of classical test theory to identify item characteristics. The…

The relationship between mathematics and spatial reasoning is well established and extensively researched. Certain mathematics content could be deemed explicitly spatial, for example within geometry. However, the link to spatial reasoning extends into other areas of mathematics, such as representations of the number line and reading and…

When researchers code behavior that is undetectable or falls outside of the validated ordinal scale, the resultant outcomes often suffer from informative missingness. Incorrect analysis of such data can lead to biased arguments around efficacy and effectiveness in the context of experimental and intervention research. Here, we detail a new…

Item response theory (IRT) is a popular method to infer student abilities and item difficulties from observed test responses. However, IRT struggles with two challenges: How to map items to skills if multiple skills are present? And how to infer the ability of new students that have not been part of the training data? Inspired by recent advances…

In the frame of national Italian standardized assessments in mathematics, a didactic phenomenon has been observed concerning students' behaviour when answering an item: students are inclined towards not accepting an output which is not clearly recognizable with something distinct from the starting inputs. The observed effect seems to originate…

In low-stakes assessments, some students may not reach the end of the test and leave some items unanswered due to various reasons (e.g., lack of test-taking motivation, poor time management, and test speededness). Not-reached items are often treated as incorrect or not-administered in the scoring process. However, when the proportion of…

Multiplicative reasoning is a key concept in elementary school mathematics. Item statistics reported by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment provide the best current indicator for how well elementary students across the U.S. understand this, and other concepts. However, beyond expert reviews and statistical analysis,…

Mathematics and spatial reasoning are inextricably linked. While this is increasingly recognised, a clearer understanding of how spatial reasoning improves your mathematics performance is needed. We sought to explore the role of spatial reasoning strategy use across a range of mathematics assessment tasks with Grade 7 and 9 students. Interviews…

This study linked ninth-grade student background data and school-reported high school transcript data from the national High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) to student item responses on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment to examine the relationships between high school coursework and…

As computer-based tests become more common, there is a growing wealth of metadata related to examinees' response processes, which include solution strategies, concentration, and operating speed. One common type of metadata is item response time. While response times have been used extensively to improve estimates of achievement, little work…

Assessment is one of the vital steps in the teaching and learning process. The reported action research examines the effectiveness of an assessment process and inspects the validity of exam questions used for the assessment purpose. The instructors of a college-level mathematics course studied questions used in the final exams during the academic…

Item response theory (IRT) has so many advantages than its precedent Classical Test Theory (CTT) such as non-changing item parameters, ability parameter estimations free from the items. However, in order to get these advantages, some assumptions should be met and they are; unidimensionality, normality and local independence. However, it is not…

The present study examined the ability of content domain (algebra, geometry, rational number, probability) to classify mathematics misconceptions. The study was conducted with 1,133 students in 53 algebra and geometry classes taught by 17 teachers from three high schools and one middle school across three school districts in a Midwestern state.…

Item discrimination index, which indicates the ability of the item to distinguish whether or not the individuals have acquired the qualities that are evaluated, is basically a validity measure and it is estimated by examining the fit between item score and the test score. Based on the definition of item discrimination index, classroom observation…