Designing and Developing a Test for Cognitive Competencies of the Iranian Students’ Mathematics Literacy based on PISA Studies

Since the establishment of formal education in Iran, there has always been an emphasis on the application of mathematics in real life situation. To measure students’s competencies in applying mathematics in real life situations, there is a need to design a test with this purpose. During the current decade, PISA has been conducted in various countries to measure sudents’ competencies needed for solving real life problems in 15 years old. Because of the reliable systematic framework of PISA regarding mathematics literacy (ML) as a construct, agreed by mathematics experts, PISA framework has been chosen as a suitable framework to design a test to assess students’ competencies for ML. In this paper, we explain the stages of designing a similar test for the Iranian students of the same age. The approach to design the test is cognitive-diagnostic according to the framework of PISA and required modifications were made based on mathematics teachers’ viewpoints in Tehran. The final test items are based on three processes of mathematics literacy which consist of formulation employment and interpretation/ evaluation, and six cognitive competencies including communication, mathematising, representation, reasoning and argument, devising strategies for solving problems and using symbolic, formal and technical language and operations, in addition, four real context of personal societal occupational and scientific and finally four content area of quantity uncertainty and data change and relationships and space and shape.