Retrospective Queensland Core Skills Test. Multiple Choice (MC) I & II (Part 1 of 5)

Transcription

1 Retrospective 2009 Queensland Core Skills Test Multiple Choice (MC) I & II (Part 1 of 5)

2 Multiple Choice (MC) I & II Commentary In 2009 the MC subtest consisted of 100 items divided evenly across two testpapers, with 10 units on MC I and 10 units on MC II (overall there were 9 verbal units and 11 quantitative units, but equal numbers of verbal and quantitative items). A wide variety of common curriculum elements was tested again this year. The table on pages 3 5 gives the name of each multiple choice unit on the MC subtest, the keyed response for each item, the basket to which the item is assigned, the facilities, as percentages, for each item and for each unit (rounded to the nearest whole number), the average facility for the MC subtest as a whole and the common curriculum elements tested in each unit. A broad spectrum of stimulus materials was included this year, covering literature (Persuasion, McAuley), literary criticism (Lighthousekeeping), language (Experience), cartoons (Wally), civics and society (Selfobsession), history (French Revolution), art (New York Streets), popular culture (Villains), pure mathematics (Areas of Circles, Grid Paths), applied mathematics (Car Journey, Height Prediction, Unfolding Boxes), chemistry (Fertica), game theory (Abalone), geneaology (Family Tree), biology (Frog Calls) and environmental sciences (SEQ Dams, Carbon Dioxide Levels). A variety of text forms was represented as well, including short, medium and long verbal texts, tables, diagrams, paintings, illustrations, quotations, graphs and maps. This year s students found their MC subtest marginally harder than did last year s cohort (average facility (F) on both testpapers, F = 0.52 (2009) and F = 0.53 (2008)). Average facilities for each testpaper were the same (F = 0.52); the average facility of verbal items was, at F = 0.49, considerably down on last year (F = 0.53), while the average facility of quantitative items was, at F = 0.55, slightly up on last year (F = 0.54). Students found none of the verbal units to be extremely challenging, with most units yielding average facilities between 0.4 and 0.6; the easiest was Family Tree, with F = The quantitative units, by contrast, yielded a much broader spectrum of facilities: students found Unfolding Boxes very easy (F = 0.80), but struggled with Areas of Circles (F = 0.27) and Car Journey (F = 0.36); all other quantitative units yielded average facilities in the mid-range, from about 0.4 to 0.7. Common Curriculum Elements (CCEs) and the MC format Of the 49 CCEs, the following cannot be tested directly in MC format, though a few such as graphing, summarising and manipulating equipment may be tested at second order (i.e. indirectly): 11 Summarising/condensing written text 12 Compiling lists/statistics 13 Recording/noting data 14 Compiling results in a tabular form 15 Graphing 20 Setting out/presenting/arranging/displaying 21 Structuring/organising extended written text 22 Structuring/organising a mathematical argument 26 Explaining to others 27 Expounding a viewpoint 46 Creating/composing/devising 53 Observing systematically 55 Gesturing 57 Manipulating/operating/using equipment 60 Sketching/drawing. These CCEs can be validly tested in Short Response (SR) format. 2 Retrospective 2009 QCS Test

3 MC I & II 2009 summary Unit Item Key Basket F AF (%) Common Curriculum Elements 1 New York Streets 1 B 81 2 C 67 3 D 36 4 B 46 5 A 50 6 D 30 2 Unfolding Boxes 7 D 81 8 A 88 9 A 73 3 Fertica 10 C B B D 80 4 Experience 14 C B D A C C 63 5 Height Prediction 20 D 72 6 Areas of Circles 21 A B C A C 29 7 Persuasion 26 B A B D A A Interpreting the meaning of pictures/ illustrations 49 Perceiving patterns 6 Interpreting the meaning of tables or diagrams or maps or graphs 16 Calculating with or without calculators 19 Substituting in formulae 28 Empathising Queensland Studies Authority 3

4 Unit Item Key Basket F AF (%) Common Curriculum Elements 8 Family Tree 32 D D B A C A B 59 9 Car Journey 39 D D B D A Lighthousekeeping 44 D B C D C B C Wally 51 D B C A Frog Calls 55 C A D B D A McAuley 61 B C D C SEQ Dams 65 A B D C A Finding material in an indexed collection 6 Interpreting the meaning of tables or diagrams 6 Interpreting the meaning of diagrams or graphs 15 Graphing 11 Summarising/condensing written text 5 Interpreting the meaning of illustrations 6 Interpreting the meaning of diagrams or maps or graphs 28 Empathising 44 Synthesising 16 Calculating with or without calculators 35 Extrapolating 4 Retrospective 2009 QCS Test

5 Unit Item Key Basket F AF (%) Common Curriculum Elements 15 Self-obsession 70 B D C A A D Grid Paths 76 C C A B French Revolution 80 B A C C D Abalone 85 D A B C B B D Villains 92 A D C A D B Carbon Dioxide Levels 98 B 47 Notes: The order of the CCEs tested for each unit does not reflect the order of the items, nor does it imply a cognitive hierarchy. Rarely does an item require the use of only one CCE, hence a suite of the dominant CCEs that are tested in a unit are listed. The baskets into which CCEs are grouped are shown in Appendix 2. For an item, the facility (F) is the proportion of students who gave the correct response. For a unit, the average facility (AF) is the average of the facilities of all items in that unit C B 65 Average facility on subtest Substituting in formulae 36 Applying strategies to trial and test ideas and procedures 36 Applying strategies to trial and test ideas and procedures 49 Perceiving patterns 11 Summarising/condensing written text 6 Interpreting the meaning of graphs 17 Estimating numerical magnitude 35 Extrapolating Queensland Studies Authority 5