TIMSS 2019 Assessment Design

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eTIMSS Assessment Design

The item block design for eTIMSS 2019 (Exhibit 4.4) is similar to the paper and pencil TIMSS design (Exhibit 4.1), with each block in the paperTIMSS design having a counterpart in digital format in the eTIMSS design. The eTIMSS design is more extensive, however, in that it also includes four blocks of problem solving and inquiry (PSI) tasks and items. Blocks ET19DCM01 through ET19DCM14 in Exhibit 4.4 are the digital versions of mathematics blocks M01 through M14 in Exhibit 4.1, and similarly blocks ET19DCS01 through ET19DCS14 are the digital versions of science blocks S01 through S14. Blocks ET19DPSIM1 and ET19DPSIM2 contain mathematics PSIs while blocks ET19DPSIS1 and ET19DPSIS2 contain PSIs for science.

Similar to the paperTIMSS design, eTIMSS blocks ending in the numbers 01, 03, 05, 06, 07, 09, 11, and 13 contain the trend items from the 2015 assessment, although converted to digital format. Blocks ending in numbers 02, 04, 08, 10, 12, and 14 contain items developed for use for the first time in TIMSS 2019. As far as possible these are digital versions of the items in the corresponding paperTIMSS blocks, although adapted to make use of digital components such as “drag and drop,” “sorting,” etc., as appropriate.

Exhibit 4.4: eTIMSS 2019 Item Blocks—Fourth and Eighth Grades

Exhibit 4.5 shows the eTIMSS block combinations (as student booklets are known in eTIMSS) that are assigned to individual students, and as such is the eTIMSS counterpart to Exhibit 4.2 for paperTIMSS. For example, block combination ET19DCBC01 for eTIMSS includes mathematics blocks ET19DCM01 and ET19DCM02 and science blocks ET19DCS01 and ET19DCS02, just as Booklet 1 contains blocks M01, M02, S01, and S02 for paperTIMSS. The eTIMSS design contains two extra block combinations, ET19DCBC15 and ET19DCBC16, to accommodate the PSI tasks. Similar to paper TIMSS, the 16 eTIMSS block combinations are distributed among students in each sampled classroom according to assignments predetermined by the within-school sampling software.

Exhibit 4.5: eTIMSS 2019 Student Achievement Block Combination (Booklet) Design—Fourth and Eighth Grades