Evaluating the alignment between the Grade 9 mathematics Annual National Assessment and the TIMSS test items

Abstract

In the study reported on here I evaluated the alignment between the Annual National Assessment (ANA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Theoretical perspectives were drawn from the Survey Enacted Curriculum (SEC), while quantitative correlational methods were used to determine the alignment between ANA and TIMSS using 2 variables in the assessments, topics and cognitive levels. The research design was the correlational prediction design. The evaluation revealed that the Porter’s alignment index between ANA and TIMSS was 0.657 in 2012, 0.728 in 2013 and 0.681 in 2014. Statistically, this was significantly low at the Alpha level of 0.05, in accordance with Fulmer’s critical values at 20, 60 and 120 standard points. The low statistical significance of the alignment indices justifies discrepancies in topics and cognitive levels for ANA and TIMSS, justifying misalignment in what was tested in the two assessments. It is recommended that alignment studies be sanctioned frequently by the ANA developers as one of many measures to gauge the performance of  the curriculum both in a national and international context.