Patterns of student performance on mathematics assessments aligned with Bahrain Ministry of Education curriculum directive and materials.

Abstract

ABSTRACT : Construct a psychometrically adequate mathematics achievement test sufficiently sensitive to identify instructional problems associated with misalignments between curriculum guidelines, published textbooks, and classroom practice in the elementary schools of Bahrain; (2) Analyze student performance on the test in an attempt to identify differential performance profiles associated with gender, variations in classroom organization, and/or misalignments between stated objectives, textbook coverage, and instructional syllabi. Methodology. State-mandated curriculum guidelines Adopted textbooks and teacher syllabi were analyzed as a basis for preliminary identification of skills misalignments. The guidelines and textbooks were used as a source for item sampling and test construction. Interlocking forms were constructed conforming the progression of skills in grades one through four. The sample included 3,316 students in the designated grades from 24 different schools. Standard psychometric procedures were used to refine the instrument prior to its use in addressing the second purpose of the study. Comparisons among variations in gender and classroom organization were made using both single and multiple variables ANOVA. Findings: Similar to studies in the United States, student performance was higher in the first two grades than in the latter two, suggesting the effects of both increased skills complexity and the cumulative effect of non-mastery at the lower levels. Females tended to outperform males, and children in the self-contained classrooms scored higher than those in the departmentalized classrooms. When instructional misalignments between objectives and text coverage were considered, there was a strong suggestion that the self-contained classroom organizational structure was the most supportive. Further, it appeared that males in the early grades found the self-contained classroom more supportive. Conclusions: The curriculum alignment embodied in this study has important implications for the improvement of instructional effectiveness across all curriculum areas in Bahrain. An assessment that is systematically correlated with curriculum guidelines, instructional objectives, and classroom transactions will provide an instructional information system to: (a) help ensure continuity of student performance across grade levels and (b) determine beneficial organizational and psychological support mechanisms.