Development of screening instruments for mathematics education: Theoretical Framework and item development

Overview & Synopsis

The Erasmus+ funded project "Diagnostic Tool in Mathematics (DiToM)" addresses the need for national and international diagnostic instruments to assess mathematical key skills which are necessary to acquire competencies that build on them. Given the increasing proportion of countries struggling with decreasing students' performance in mathematics (e.g. France, Germany, Spain) (Mullis et al., 2020), the project focuses on identifying students at risk of being left behind in the following and advanced mathematical content. The project consortium consists of experts from seven European countries. The theoretical framework, i.e., the concept of mathematical key skills, forms the foundation of test development compatible with the similarities and differences in national curricula. Test development is criterion-based and involves creating an item pool and countryspecific diagnostic screenings derived from it.