An examination of the validity of the mathematics exit level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills
Abstract
This study examines the validity of the Spring 2004 Mathematics Exit Level
TAKS. In particular, I examined the test through three forms of evidence: content area
specialist surveys, statistical analysis of item-level data from 4340 students provided by
TEA, and individual interviews conducted with thirty-four 11th grade students. These
multiple lines of evidence give a clear understanding of the actual constructs the test
measures.
Because of the high-stakes nature of this exam, it is important to examine its
validity closely. Assessing the validity of a test involves looking at the appropriateness,
the meaningfulness and the usefulness of the test through an empirical investigation into
the underlying constructs. Each aspect of this study has provided insight into the
underlying constructs of the TAKS. TEA states ten broad objectives TAKS is supposed
to cover. Each objective is further broken down into detailed sub-objectives. The TEAstated
objectives and sub-objectives are used in this study as the intended constructs of
the test. In general, the content area specialists’ surveys did not confirm the TEA-stated
objectives for the test, however this could be due to nuances in the way TEA defined
various sub-objectives.
A factor analysis was conducted on the TEA data set in order to see if the items
would factor along the TEA-stated objectives, however since the test is designed to be
multidimensional, it is not surprising that the items did not factor along objectives.
Differential Item Functioning (DIF) was also conducted in order to determine if any
items were particularly problematic for various subgroups. Significant DIF was detected
in almost one-fourth of the items usually with African American students as the
disadvantaged group.
The most useful information came from the student interview data conducted on
twenty of the items. Through these interviews, the true constructs the items measure were
revealed. In some cases the student interviews validated the TEA-stated objectives,
however in many cases, the student interviews showed a different construct. It is mostly
due to the results of the student interviews that I was not able say the exit level TAKS is a
valid measure of the intended constructs.
Department
Description
text