This paper provides evidence that a short, fully online, well-constructed diagnostic test based on research literature can give teachers information about their students' thinking and strategies that is sufficiently accurate to use for formative assessment purposes. The example is a test for students beginning to learn to solve equations. The main…

This study is a pre test-post-test experimental control group design having a goal to analyze the role of problembased learning on students' mathematical problem-solving ability (MPSA) and self-confidence (MSC). The study involves 66 tenth grade students, a mathematical problem-solving test, a mathematical self-confidence scale, and perception of…

This article makes two simple observations about high-stakes assessments. The first is that, because mathematics is a very technical subject, an assessment item can be mathematically flawed regardless of how elementary it is. For this reason, every assessment project needs the active participation of high level mathematicians. A second point is…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 18th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2021), held virtually, due to an exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, from October 13-15, 2021, and organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society…

The effects of two item formats on item difficulty and item discrimination indices for mathematics problem solving multiple-choice tests were investigated. One format required identifying the proper "set-up" for the item; the other format required complete solving of the item. (Author/JKS)

This study investigated the effects of specific criteria for marking a test on its reliability and validity. Eight algebra word problems were administered to grade 10 students. The objectivity of scoring criteria improved the reliability of the test, but did not affect its validity. (MNS)