Development and Application of an Achievement Test to Examine the Mathematical Literacy Levels of Primary School 4th Grade Students

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Yıldız Technical University, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Basic Education, Turkey

Approval Date: 2024

Thesis Language: Turkish

Student: MELİS İREM CAN

Supervisor: Zeynep Yıldız

Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection

Abstract:

In this study, an achievement test was developed and applied to examine the mathematical literacy levels of students finishing the 4th grade of primary school. In this regard, the study has two main aims. One of these main objectives is to develop an achievement test with validity and reliability to measure the mathematical literacy levels of students who are finishing the 4th grade of primary school. The second main purpose of the study is to examine the mathematical literacy levels of these students by applying the developed test to students who are finishing the 4th grade of primary school. For this purpose, exploratory sequencer design, one of the mixed research methods, was used. While preparing the achievement test, the sub-learning areas in the primary school 4th grade mathematics curriculum were taken as basis. An item pool was created based on the textbook prepared by the Ministry of National Education (MEB), supplementary books and questions asked in international exams. Then, an achievement test with 10 multiple choice questions was developed by the researcher. In order to determine the validity and reliability of the test, a pilot application was carried out with 5th grade students and the test was administered to 220 students. According to the results of the analysis carried out after the pilot application, it was decided that the test items were suitable. For the main application, the study was conducted with 4th grade students selected by easily accessible case sampling method. The test was administered to 216 students studying in Istanbul. After the application, to examine the mathematical literacy levels of the students, the total scores of the students from the test were examined and it was determined that 121 students out of 216 had upper-intermediate and high level mathematical literacy. Afterwards, analyzes were carried out regarding the solution stages of each item in the test. The averages and percentage values of the scores received by the students at each stage were calculated. In addition to these analyses, the frequencies of students who answered each stage correctly and incorrectly are stated. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that students made more mistakes in stages that require mathematical thinking and can be completed by performing more than one operation. In addition, an independent sample t test was conducted to evaluate the test results in terms of gender variable and it was found that mathematical literacy levels did not show a significant difference according to student gender. As a result of the study, it was suggested that activities and course content that would contribute to mathematical literacy should be included more frequently in the curriculum