Whole Number Discrimination

Question #4 had a discrimination index of .86 indicating that it was a valid question. Reflecting on the assessment, this question had students solve a word problem involving division of a whole number by a unit fraction using a number line. It is expected for this question to have a strong discrimination index because students are required to apply their knowledge and understanding of division of fractions in order to solve the problem. Students who did not have a solid foundation in this skill, simply guessed. All seven of the high group students chose the correct answer, while the answers for the low group were spread among all four choices. This indicates a lack of ability to apply the learning to solve problems.

Question 7 had a

Looking back at the assessment, this question dealt with multiplication of a whole number times a fraction. The question asked students to determine the answer to 5/6 of an hour and provided a clock as a visual. Most students in the low group chose answer choice A, which stated that the answer was 56 minutes because five minutes plus six minutes is 56 minutes. This shows that the students in this group lacked understanding of the concept. The majority of the students in the high group selected answer choice B which stated, 25 minutes because one 1/6 of an hour is five minutes and five groups of 1/6 is 25. The students in this group partially understood the concept. They knew that had to figure out 1/6 of an hour and then multiply that times five. However, they made a calculation error when dividing an hour into six equal parts. It is possible these students did not remember there are 60 minutes in an hour or they made a simple calculation error when dividing the whole numbers. The question was difficult for students because it required several steps. Students must be able to recall how many minutes are in an hour and then be able to apply the steps of multiplying a fraction times a whole number. The answer choices may have also been difficult for students because they were based not only as a student’s answer but also included justification students, which might have led to some