ERIC Number: ED406449
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1996-Apr
Pages: 29
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Influence of Task Directions on Student Performance for Open-Ended Mathematics Assessments.
Taylor, Catherine S.
This study investigated the impact of task directions on the mathematical performance of high school students from six classes. Students analyzed data regarding school dropout by answering six short-answer questions and writing a letter discussing the trends and their predictions about school dropout. Tasks were scored using two methods: (1) trait scoring of students' responses for understanding statistical and probability concepts and for mathematical communication; and (2) item by item scoring rules. Trait scoring rules were applied by making holistic judgments about a student's collection of responses to a set of related items. For the item-by-item scoring procedure, scores for six short-answer items were summed for a statistics total score. The scores for students' letters were analyzed separately from the other six items. In one form, 140 students were told to add their own ideas to the letter about school drop-out (connections condition). There were 36 students in the no-connections condition. For trait scoring, there were no significant differences between groups for either the conceptual or communication traits. For item-by-item scoring, mean scores for the statistics total score were not different. However, letter scores for students in the "no connections" condition were significantly higher than letter scores for the students in the "connections" condition. Results are presented, and implications for test development and mathematics instruction are discussed. (Contains 4 figures, 9 tables, and 12 references.) (Author/SLD)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A