Elementary PSA Item Specification Chart

Mathematics Content

S

T

A

Type I Items

Type II Items

Type III Items

Type IV Items

1. Probability

a. sample space (outcomes)

3

3

6

8. Determine equally likely outcomes (sample space) of a given experiment

b. determine likelihood of an outcome/event

5

2

7

3. Determine likelihood of an event

c. determine simple/compound probabilities (theoretical)

3

5

8

4. Find simple theoretical probability given a situation

18. Find compound theoretical probability of a given situation

d. determine simple/compound probabilities (empirical)

3

4

7

12. Find simple probabilities given empirical data

e. concept of randomness

0

3

3

19. Determine if a situation is random

f. independent and dependent events

2

1

3

g. fair games and expected value

0

2

2

h. misconceptions about prob.

1

1

2

i. conditional probability

2

0

2

j. describe and conduct experiments and simulations

0

1

1

k. compare empirical & theoretical probabilities

0

1

1

Mathematics Content

S

T

A

Type I Items

Type II Items

Type III Items

Type IV Items

2. Data Representation & Analysis

a. represent data using appropriate graphs and plots

6

6

12

1. Description of a type of graph

16. Determine appropriate graphical representations

b. collect data

6

5

11

c. formulate questions

6

2

8

d. measures of central tendency

5

6

11

2. Find the mean, median or mode of a set of data

e. use measures of spread

3

4

7

f. analyze data/draw conclusions

4

4

8

6. Draw conclusions from graphical representations

7

i. distributions of data (shape)

3

3

6

g. making predictions/inferences

5

3

8

11. Make predictions using graphs and proportional reasoning

h. sampling

3

3

6

17. Determine if a given sampling technique generates a random sample

j. make conjectures

3

2

5

k. compare data sets

2

1

3

l. understand correlation vs. causation

2

1

3

m. misuses of statistics

2

1

3

n. compare different representations of the same data

1

0

1

Elementary Probability Statistics Algebra Item Specification Chart—4/19/05 (Continued)

Mathematics Content

S

T

A

Type I Items

Type II Items

Type III Items

Type IV Items

3. Algebraic Ideas

a. patterns (generating/generalizing)

7

6

13

13. Generalize patterns using algebraic expressions

b. function concepts and representation

6

6

12

9. Determine whether or not a relation is a function

14.Use graphical representations to describe relationships

h. graph representations (reading/interpreting graphs)

4

5

9

c. variables/unknown numbers

7

5

12

10. Identify expression of a given situation

d. expressions

4

3

7

e. equation representation & modeling

6

6

12

15. Use equations to solve problems

20. Create a model for an algebraic equation

i. equation solving

4

5

9

f. plotting points – Cartesian plane

5

5

10

5. Find coordinates of a given point in a four-quadrant plane

g. slope/intercept

1

3

4

k. direct variation

0

2

2

l. systems of equations

0

1

1

m. bivariate and univariate data

0

1

1

n. curve fitting

0

1

1