P-14 Using Item Analysis to Identify Common Algebra Misconceptions

This research study was conducted with the goal of identifying which mathematical misconceptions are most commonly observed in student work on the last two exams of the remedial math curriculum at Andrews University. In the first phase, we sorted and scanned all the exams saved for about 15 years, then selected a random sample. Our random sample consisted of 600 “Linear” exams and 600 “Non-linear” exams. The second phase of the research consisted of data collection and analysis. In order to collect the data, we designed a framework that identified the question types on the exams and the corresponding question numbers on different exam versions. The data collection started with tallying incorrect exam responses and recording these by frequency. We then chose some questions to analyze in more detail and recorded these within the designated framework. The final analysis identified the prevalent mathematical misconceptions.