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What can we learn from TIMSS 2003?

What can we learn from TIMSS 2003?. Dr Edith R Dempster School of Education & Development University of KwaZulu-Natal. Defining the problem. TIMSS is an international study of Maths and Science literacy among 14-year-olds.

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What can we learn from TIMSS 2003?

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  1. What can we learn from TIMSS 2003? Dr Edith R Dempster School of Education & Development University of KwaZulu-Natal

  2. Defining the problem • TIMSS is an international study of Maths and Science literacy among 14-year-olds. • South Africa has been the worst-performing country in three successive TIMSS. • Why?

  3. Validity • Content validity • Face validity • Construct validity • Readability

  4. The sample • 8,952 learners participated in TIMSS 2003. • 11.6% wrote the test in Afrikaans. • 88.4% wrote in English. • 84% of these were African children attending “African” schools. • Remaining 16% were children attending “non-African” schools.

  5. Scaled score for Science

  6. Investigating readability • Long words, unfamiliar words & sentence complexity predict readability. • Not good predictors of performance in South African children! • 20 MCQ items were interesting: 40% of children from African schools chose one incorrect answer. • Why?

  7. Readability measures

  8. Strategy 1:Select an answer that contains words that are familiar (9 items). The sun is an example of which of the following? • Comet • Planet • Galaxy • Star

  9. Another example Which group of energy sources are ALL renewable? • Coal, oil and natural gas • Solar, oil and geothermal • Wind, solar and tidal • Natural gas, solar and tidal.

  10. Strategy 2: match terms in the question and the answers (2 items) The burning of fossil fuels has increased the carbondioxide content of the atmosphere. What is a possible effect that the increased amount of carbondioxide is likely to have on the planet? • A warmer climate • A cooler climate • Lower relativehumidity • More ozone in the atmosphere.

  11. Strategy 3: mixed strategy A balloon filled with helium gas is set free and starts to move upward. Which of the following best explains why the helium balloon moves upward? • The density of helium is less than the density of air. • The air resistance lifts the balloon up. • There is no gravityacting on helium balloons. • The wind blows the balloon upward.

  12. Other strategies • Misconceptions (5 items). • Selecting the answer that contains all the options (1 item). • Misunderstanding the question (2 items). • Unknown explanation.

  13. Unknown explanation Eatingleafy vegetables is important for human health. This is becauseleafy vegetables are a good source of which of the following? • Protein • Carbohydrates • Minerals • Fat

  14. What does this tell us? • Children have alternative strategies for answering MCQ. • Sentence complexity and unfamiliar words affect the strategy. • Content validity, construct validity and readability must be taken into account when designing MCQ. • ESL learners are more affected than EFL.

  15. Thank you!

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