The Content Proximity Project was designed to improve the content validity of the MAP® Growth™ assessments while retaining the ability for the test to adapt off-grade and meet students wherever they are in their learning. Two main features of the project were the development of an enhanced item selection algorithm, and a spring pilot study…

Although there is an abundance of research on the association of school poverty (or socioeconomic status) and test score level, there is very little rigorous longitudinal evidence on the cumulative effects of exposure to differing school contexts. Drawing from methods used first in epidemiology and then in neighborhood effects research, we use…

The potential benefits of cognitive skills in enhancing mathematics ability have been claimed by numerous researchers. Since mathematics requires a complete understanding and grasp of abstract concepts, it is essential to explore how learning with metacognitive skills affects mathematics learning. Thus, the study investigates the students'…

The goal of this study was to determine how the 3 Tier Multiple Choice Diagnostic Test developed in primary students' scientific understanding. This research and development includes fundamental studies, model development, and model testing. 161 fourth-graders served as research subjects. Tests, surveys, and observations are all used to collect…

As educational systems move from onsite to online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers face the difficulty of designing online examination formats which minimize opportunities for dishonesty. In this paper, we expose our design of such a format: a protected Microsoft Excel spreadsheet containing short-answer questions, which was implemented in a…

Context: Students with special educational needs in the area of learning (SEN-L) attend vocational trainings to be provided with qualifications for the labor market. Competences in arithmetic operations and comparing quantities such as weights and lengths are indispensable for obtaining a vocational qualification. Therefore, the study investigates…

The present study explores the validity of inferences that may be drawn from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) learner achievement data by measuring the South African curriculum-TIMSS alignment for the Grade 8 science assessments from 2007 to 2019. The Singapore curriculum--TIMSS alignment indices are a fair…

In low-income countries, there exists a common concern about the effect of hunger and food insecurity on educational outcomes. However, income inequalities, economic slowdown, conflict, and climate change have raised those concerns globally. Yet, little is known about how widespread the problem of hunger in schools is worldwide. This study…

The overall aim of this study was to examine the different self-reported students' socioeconomic status (SES) measures in the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in comparison to national SES measures obtained from Swedish official registers. A further aim was to determine if the same conclusions could be drawn if different student…

Using national longitudinal data of students during their 9th and 11th grades, we address popular concerns over screen time activities distracting students' academic pursuits. We examine gender differences in the types of screen time use, expecting the skill-based activity of video gaming to be more common among boys and the socially oriented…

The measurement instruments are part of assessment the teacher uses in assessing the learner's learning process and outcomes. So, it is very necessary to prepare teacher students for their future as teachers. The objectives of this research were 1) to develop guidelines on construction of mathematical skill and process instruments, 2) to develop…

STACK is an online testing system that can automatically assess mathematical formulae. When working with STACK on a smartphone, inputting mathematical formulae is time-consuming; therefore, to solve this problem a mathematical formula input interface for smartphones has been developed based on the flick operation. However, since the time of…

It is essential for items in assessments of mathematics' teacher knowledge to evoke the desired response processes -- to be interpreted and responded to by teachers as intended by item developers. In this study, we sought to unpack evidence that middle school mathematics teachers were not consistently interacting as intended with constructed…

It is essential for items in assessments of mathematics' teacher knowledge to evoke the desired response processes -- to be interpreted and responded to by teachers as intended by item developers. In this study, we sought to unpack evidence that middle school mathematics teachers were not consistently interacting as intended with constructed…

In this study, we illustrated an application of the confirmatory mixture IRT model for multidimensional tests. We aimed to examine the differences in student performance by domains with a confirmatory mixture IRT modeling approach. A three-dimensional and three-class model was analyzed by assuming content domains as dimensions and cognitive…