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1. Deepening the Validity Argument for the Problem-Solving Measures 3-5

   Bostic, J.; Matney, G.; Folger, T.; Brown, N.; Evans, E.; May, T.; Stone G. (January 2022, Hawaii International Conference on Education)

   Problem solving is a theme within mathematics instructional standards, which suggests that assessments must address mathematics content and practices. This study examines grades 3-5 students’ strategy use on a test designed to measure students problem-solving performance within the context of mathematics standards used during instruction. The tests are called the Problem-Solving Measures. Results indicate that students use multiple and varied strategies to solve PSM items, which in turn supports prior validation studies. 

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2. PSM5: Measuring Elementary Students’ Mathematical Problem Solving

   Bostic, J.D.; Matney, G.; May, T.; Stone, G.; Folger, T. (April 2022, Annual meeting program American Educational Research Association)

   Problem solving is central to mathematical work and is a core component of mathematical standards found in many instructional standards. As such, effective measures must be available to scholars and school personnel. Assessment is a key part of the teaching and learning process. Additionally, scholars need rigorous assessments with robust validity evidence to use results from those assessments as part of generalizable research. The focus of this paper is development of one problem solving measure for grade 5 (ages 10-12) students. It is a measure within the Problem-Solving Measure (PSM) series. Results from this study offer a quantitative instrument that can be used broadly. 

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3. MEASURING WHAT WE INTEND: A VALIDATION ARGUMENT FOR THE GRADE 5 PROBLEM-SOLVING MEASURE (PSM5)

   Bostic, J. (January 2020, Proceedings for the 47th Annual Meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning)

   The purpose of this proceeding is to share a validity argument for the Problem-solving Measure for grade 5 (PSM5). The PSM5 is one test in the PSM series, which is designed for grades 3-8. PSMs are intended to measure students’ problem-solving performance related to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (i.e., content and practices). In addition to sharing validity evidence connected to the PSM5, we discuss implications for its use in current research and practice. 

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4. Developing a problem-solving measure for grade 4.

   Bostic, J. (July 2019, Proceedings of the 43rd Meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education)

   Problem solving is central to mathematics learning (NCTM, 2014). Assessments are needed that appropriately measure students’ problem-solving performance. More importantly, assessments must be grounded in robust validity evidence that justifies their interpretations and outcomes (AERA et al., 2014). Thus, measures that are grounded in validity evidence are warranted for use by practitioners and scholars. The purpose of this presentation is to convey validity evidence for a new measure titled Problem-Solving Measure for grade four (PSM4). The research question is: What validity evidence supports PSM4 administration? The PSM4 is one assessment within the previously published PSM series designed for elementary and middle grades students. Problems are grounded in Schoenfeld’s (2011) framework and rely upon Verschaffel et al. (1999) perspective that word problems be open, complex, and realistic. The mathematics in the problems is tied to USA grade-level content and practice standards (CCSSI, 2010). 

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5. A Usability Analysis and Consequences of Testing Exploration of the Problem-Solving Measures–Computer-Adaptive Test

   https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15060680  

   King, Sophie Grace; Bostic, Jonathan David; May, Toni A; Stone, Gregory E (June 2025, Education Sciences)

   Testing is a part of education around the world; however, there are concerns that consequences of testing is underexplored within current educational scholarship. Moreover, usability studies are rare within education. One aim of the present study was to explore the usability of a mathematics problem-solving test called the Problem Solving Measures–Computer-Adaptive Test (PSM-CAT) designed for grades six to eight students (ages 11–14). The second aim of this mixed-methods research was to unpack consequences of testing validity evidence related to the results and test interpretations, leveraging the voices of participants. A purposeful, representative sample of over 1000 students from rural, suburban, and urban districts across the USA were administered PSM-CAT followed by a survey. Approximately 100 of those students were interviewed following test administration. Findings indicated that (1) participants engaged in the PSM-CAT as desired and found it highly usable (e.g., most respondents were able to use and find the calculator and several students commented that they engaged with the test as desired) and (2) the benefits from testing largely outweighed any negative outcomes (e.g., 92% of students interviewed had positive attitudes towards the testing experiences), which in turn supports consequences from testing validity evidence for PSM-CAT. This study provides an example of a usability study for educational testing and builds upon previous calls for greater consequences of testing research. 

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