Psychometric Validation of the Micro Thinking Skills Test (MTST): Advancing Competency-Based Assessment and Educational Equity among Middle School Students

Abstract

Background: The middle school years (Grades 6-8; ages 11-14) are a developmental period that is cognitively critical, as students move from concrete to formal operational thinking. Importantly, this time is when there are greater risks of school belonging being disrupted, when socioeconomic, linguistic and institutional equity gaps amplify cognitive developmental pathways. Although the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) explicitly includes the move towards competency-based assessment, there was no psychometrically standardized instrument to measure the discrete micro-level thinking sub-skills in this population in a regional context of Gujarat and the underprivileged students stood particularly disadvantaged position.

Objectives: To produce the Micro Thinking Skills Test (MTST), the instrument consisted of six sub scales (Observation, Comparison, Classification, Inference, Generalisation and Evaluation); to develop the items of the MTST; to assess the validity and reliability of the instrument and to standardise the instrument with norms. A secondary aim was to explore the equity in test performance across gender, school type, and language medium, which would help to inform authentic and equitable diagnostic assessment practices.

Methods: A 9 steps psychometric standardization design was used. Content Validation was done by experts using Lawshe's Content Validity Ratio (CVR) with 12 members. Final item selection was based in Classical Test Theory (CTT) Item Analysis. The standardization sample consists of N = 1200 students (400 per grade) selected by Stratified Multi-Stage Cluster Sampling from 35 schools across Anand and Kheda districts, Gujarat (35 schools: 12 urban, 17 semi-urban, and 10 rural) covering government, grant-in-aid and private schools across all urban, semi-urban and rural strata.