Rasch Analysis of the Mathematics Self Concept Questionnaire

TL;DR

This paper applies Rasch analysis to evaluate the measurement properties of the Mathematics Self Concept Questionnaire used in TIMSS assessments, aiming to ensure its validity and reliability across diverse populations.

Contribution

It introduces a Rasch model approach to validate the Mathematics Self Concept Questionnaire in an international assessment context.

Findings

The questionnaire shows good fit to Rasch model assumptions.

Item difficulty levels are well distributed across the scale.

The instrument demonstrates reliable measurement across countries.

Abstract

TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center is a research center at Boston College that conducts a series of assessments in a number of countries to measure trends in mathematics and science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades. In general, TIMSS assessments include achievement tests as well as questionnaires for student, parent, teacher, school, and curricular. There are 63 participating countries and 14 benchmarking participants in TIMSS 2011, including 608,641 students, 49,429 teachers, 19,612 school principals, and the National Research Coordinators of each country. TIMSS data are valuable for researchers and analysts from all over the world, especially for those from participating countries, to conduct related studies to improve education.