Identifying Word-Problem Difficulty: An Item Response Analysis of an Additive Word-Problem Screener

Abstract

Students encounter hundreds of word problems throughout the elementary grades and on standardized assessments through high school. To demonstrate proficiency on these measures of mathematics competency, students must be skilled in solving word problems. Early detection of word-problem difficulty is essential, and screeners play an important role in early detection. There are, however, a limited number of word-problem screeners and very few nonproprietary brief screeners. Thus, this paper examines the Additive Word-Problem Screener—a 12-min, free-to-use, eight-problem screener. Through examination of classical test theory and calculation of item response theory statistics, we determined that the Additive Word-Problem Screener is a promising short-form screener for identifying students with word-problem difficulty.