National Assessment of Educational Progress, Ann Arbor, MI., National Center for Education Statistics (ED), Washington, DC., Neidorf, Teresa Smith, Binkley, Marilyn, Gattis, Kim, and Nohara, David
This technical report describes a study that was undertaken to compare the content of three mathematics assessments conducted in 2003: the NAEP fourth-and eighth-grade assessments; the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which also assessed mathematics at the fourth-and eighth-grade levels; and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assessed the mathematical literacy of 15-year-old students. Its aim is to provide information useful for interpreting and comparing the results from the three assessments, based on an in-depth look at the content of the respective frameworks and assessment items. The report draws upon information provided by the developers of the assessments, as well as data obtained from an expert panel convened to compare the frameworks and items from the three assessments on various dimensions. The results of this study indicate that although the NAEP, TIMSS, and PISA 2003 mathematics frameworks address many similar topics and require students to use a range of cognitive skills and processes, it cannot be assumed that they measure the same content in the same way. Appended are: (1) Content Framework Summary Documents; (2) Levels of Mathematical Complexity; (3) Expert Panel; (4) Methodological Notes and Supplementary Data; and (5) Example Items. (Contains 22 tables, 18 figures, and 13 exhibits.)