1 / 6

CBMS Panel on Assessment October 5, 2009

CBMS Panel on Assessment October 5, 2009. Wilfried Schmid Department of Mathematics Harvard University. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMP). Was asked to make recommendations, based on the best available scientific evidence, on K-12 mathematics education

whitley
Download Presentation

CBMS Panel on Assessment October 5, 2009

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. CBMS Panel on AssessmentOctober 5, 2009 Wilfried Schmid Department of Mathematics Harvard University

  2. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMP) • Was asked to make recommendations, based on the best available scientific evidence, on K-12 mathematics education • Broad-based membership: mathematics educators, mathematicians, psychologists, public policy experts, mathematics teacher • Made consensus recommendations, after an extensive review of the literature, on various aspects of mathematics education, including two broad recommendations on assessment

  3. First NMP recommendation on assessment NAEP and state tests for students through Grade 8 should focus on and adequately represent the Panel’s Critical Foundations of Algebra. Student achievement on this critical mathematics content should be reported and tracked over time.

  4. Explanation One of the Panel’s greatest concerns is that fractions are Underrepresented on NAEP. The NAEP Validity Study (2007), as well as others, have noted the relative paucity of items assessing fractions, particularly within the Grade 8 NAEP (And teachers have noted the importance of ensuring proficiency with fractions before beginning the study of algebra; see the Panel-commissioned National Survey of Algebra Teachers, National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008.) The Panel also recommends a more appropriate balance in how algebra is defined and assessed in both the Grade 4 and Grade 8 NAEP. At Grade 4, most of the NAEP algebra items relate to patterns or sequences (Daro et al., 2007). Although states’ inclusion of patterns in textbooks or as curriculum expectations may reflect their views of what constitutes algebra, patterns are not emphasized in high-achieving countries (Schmidt, 2007).

  5. Second NMP recommendation on assessment State tests and NAEP must be of the highest mathematical and technical quality. To this end, states and NAEP should develop procedures for item development, quality control, and oversight to ensure that test items reflect the best item-design features, are of the highest mathematical and psychometric quality, and measure what is intended, with non-construct-relevant sources of variance in performance minimized (i.e., with nonmathematical sources of influence on student performance minimized).

  6. Explanation Quoting the NAEP Validity Study: Five percent of NAEP items were found to be seriously flawed mathematically at Grade 4, and 4 percent were designated seriously flawed at Grade 8. The state items were classified as 7 percent seriously flawed in fourth grade and 3 percent seriously flawed in eighth grade. For marginal items, NAEP had 28 percent at Grade 4 and 23 percent at Grade 8, while the state sample had 30 percent at Grade 4 and 26 percent at Grade 8. Mathematicians should be included in greater numbers, along with mathematics educators, mathematics education researchers, curriculum specialists, classroom teachers, and the general public, in the standard-setting process and in the review and design of mathematical test items for state, NAEP, and commercial tests.

More Related