A Rasch Model Analysis on Secondary Students’ Statistical Reasoning Ability in Descriptive Statistics

Earlier studies provided evidence that students had misconceptions in statistical reasoning. This study was aimed to determine the statistical reasoning ability in descriptive statistics among the tenth-grade students from Malaysian secondary schools. There were 412 participants randomly selected for this study. An instrument called statistical reasoning test which consisted of five questions with 16 items was utilized. The results obtained were analyzed using Rasch measurement model including person reliability, variable map, and person analysis report. The findings indicated that statistical reasoning ability of tenth graders seem to be at a poor level. Thus, the instructors and researchers should put efforts to enhance students’ statistical reasoning ability in future studies.