Developing a Basic Mathematics Questionnaire for Grades 4 to 7

Abstract

In this article, the authors report on the development of a basic mathematics questionnaire for Grades 4 to 7 (the BM(P)). The provisional instrument was completed by 1,103 Afrikaans-, English-and Tswana-speaking learners in Grades 4 to 7 in the North-West Province of South Africa. First-order factor analysis was carried out, item analysis was done, reliability coefficients and discrimination values were calculated, and norm tables were established. Weighted means were used to ensure that the results were proportional to the ratios of the language groups in the province. We (the authors) concluded that standardisation of the BM(P) yielded satisfactory results with regard to the determination of issues such as construct validity, reliability, validity and intercorrelations for Grade 4 to 7 learners in the North-West Province of South Africa.

Keywords:

• Basic Mathematics Questionnaire
• Mathematics
• achievement in Mathematics