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International Mathematics (international + mathematics)

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Education100%

Selected Abstracts

The Utility of Third International Mathematics and Science Study Scales in Predicting Students' State Examination Performance

JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 4 2004
Nick Sofroniou
To examine the predictive utility of three scales provided in the released database of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (international plausible values, standardized percent correct score, and national Rasch score), information was obtained on the performance in state examinations in mathematics and science in 1996 (2,969 Grade 8 students) and in 1997 (2,898 Grade 7 students) of students in the Republic of Ireland who had participated in TIMSS in 1995. Performance on TIMSS was related to later performance in the state examinations using normal and nonparametric maximum likelihood (NPML) random effects models. In every case, standardized percent correct scores were found to be the best predictors of later performance, followed by national Rasch scores, and lastly, by international plausible values. The estimates for normal mixing distributions are close to those estimated by the NPML approach, lending support to the validity of estimates. [source]

Using data mining to predict K,12 students' performance on large-scale assessment items related to energy

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 5 2008
Xiufeng Liu
This article reports a study on using data mining to predict K,12 students' competence levels on test items related to energy. Data sources are the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 1999 TIMSS-Repeat, 2003 Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Student population performances, that is, percentages correct, are the object of prediction. Two data mining algorithms, C4.5 and M5, are used to construct a decision tree and a linear function to predict students' performance levels. A combination of factors related to content, context, and cognitive demand of items and to students' grade levels are found to predict student population performances on test items. Cognitive demands have the most significant contribution to the prediction. The decision tree and linear function agree with each other on predictions. We end the article by discussing implications of findings for future science content standard development and energy concept teaching. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 554,573, 2008 [source]