Journal article
Reliability and validity of a mathematics performance assessment
International journal of educational research, Vol.21(3), pp.247-266
1994
DOI: 10.1016/S0883-0355(06)80018-2
Abstract
This study evaluated the reliability and validity of a performance assessment designed to measure students' thinking and reasoning skills in mathematics. The QUASAR Cognitive Assessment Instrument (QCA1) was administered to over 1.700 sixth and seventh grade students of various ethnic backgrounds in six schools that are participating in the QUASAR project. The consistency of students' responses across tasks and the validity for inferences drawn from the scores on the assessment to the more broadly-defined construct domain were examined. The intertask consistency and the dimensionality of the assessment was assessed through the use of polychoric correlations and confirmatory factor analysis, and the generalizability of the derived scores was examined through the use of generalizability theory. The results from the confirmatory factor analysis indicate that a one-factor model fits the data for each of the four QCAI forms. The major findings from the generalizability studies (person x task and person x rater x task) indicate that, for each of the four forms, the person x task variance component accounts for the largest percentage of the total variability and the percentage of variance accounted for by the variance components that include the rater effect is negligible. The variance components that-include the rater effect were negligible. The generalizability and dependability coefficients for the person x task decision studies (
n
t, = 9) range from .71-.84. These results indicate that the use of nine tasks may not be adequate for generalizing to the larger domain of mathematics for individual student level scores. The QUASAR project, however, is interested in assessing mathematics achievement at the program level not the student level; therefore, these coefficients are not alarmingly low.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Reliability and validity of a mathematics performance assessment
- Creators
- Suzanne Lane - University of PittsburghClement A. Stone - University of PittsburghRobert D. Ankenmann - University of PittsburghMei Liu - University of Pittsburgh
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- International journal of educational research, Vol.21(3), pp.247-266
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- DOI
- 10.1016/S0883-0355(06)80018-2
- ISSN
- 0883-0355
- eISSN
- 1873-538X
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 1994
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
- Record Identifier
- 9984371265102771
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