Estimating Student Achievement at the Topic Level in TIMSS Using IRT-Based Domain Scoring (NCES 2020-038)

Student achievement data from large-scale assessments have traditionally only been analyzed at the overall subject (for example, mathematics) or content area levels (for example, geometric thinking). This report introduces a method to analyze large-scale student achievement data at the topic level (for example, using fractions), using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) fourth-grade mathematics assessment. Obtaining topic-level scores from large-scale assessments, such as TIMSS, allows for the identification of specific areas of strength and weakness in student performance and how those may be related to curricula. The introduced method has the additional benefits of straightforward implementation and intuitive interpretation.