The first complication is that the tests used for international comparisons are, like all others, small samples of content, and the decisions about the sampling of content and the format of its presentation matter. For example, what percentage of mathematics test items should be allocated to algebra? (The decision was approximately 25 percent on the TIMSS test and NAEP tests but only 11 percent on the PISA test.) What aspects of algebra should be emphasized, and how should they be presented? What formats should be used, and in what mix? TIMSS and NAEP are roughly two-thirds multiple-choice
...more
