Cognitive demand and the level of alignment in the mathematics items of the staar test and the textbook tasks in the intended curriculum for 7th, 8th, and algebra 1 students in south Texas

This study examined the cognitive demand and the level of alignment between the mathematics items on the STAAR Test and the corresponding textbook tasks in the intended curricular for students in grades 7, 8, and Algebra 1 in South Texas. One of the primary drives for the present study was based on the notion that when there is a strong alignment between students assessment and the intended mathematics curriculum, educators and policymakers are better placed to evaluate students’ performance in relation to the expected students learning at the respective grade levels, and thus, able to make appropriate policy decisions regarding students learning. The study, therefore, employed the Mathematical Task Framework developed by Stein and Smith (1998) with its four levels - memorization, procedures without connections, procedures with connections, and doing mathematics (in order from the lowest level to the highest) to examine the the cognitive demand between the curricular tasks and the assessment items on linear equations, inequalities, and functions on the STAAR Test and selected mathematics textbooks specifically developed for students in grades 7, 8, and Algebra 1 in South Texas. The results of the cognitive demand analysis conducted showed that each grade level textbook contained tasks at the four levels of cognitive demand. Each textbook contained the majority of its tasks at the memorization, procedures without connections, and procedures with connections levels of cognitive demand. There were few tasks at the doing mathematics level of cognitive demand. The STAAR Assessments contained items only at the procedures without connections and procedures with connections levels of cognitive demand. Because the STAAR Assessment is a timed standardized test, none of the assessments contained items at the doing mathematics level of cognitive demand; items at this level require larger amounts of time than the assessment could permit. The results indicated a weak alignment with the linear equations STAAR Assessment items and the McGraw-Hill textbook tasks (curriculum) for 7th grade. Linear equations assessment items were properly aligned with the McGraw-Hill textbook tasks for 8th grade and Algebra 1. Linear functions were properly aligned for all three grade levels. Linear inequalities were poorly aligned for 7th and 8th grade because the 7th grade STAAR Assessments did not contain any linear inequatity items nor the textbook. And the 8th grade STAAR Assessment contained 2 linear inequality items but the textbook did not contain tasks. For Algebra 1, the linear inequality STAAR Assessment items were properly aligned with McGraw-Hill textbook tasks. Overall, the McGraw-Hill TEKS textbook series did a good job preparing students for the corresponding STAAR Assessments. It is the hope of the researcher that the results from this study will inform assessment practices, textbook development, classroom practices, as well as other educational policies at the local and state levels.