Cognitive analysis and path construction of Chinese students’ mathematics cognitive process based on CDA

As a new generation of assessment theory, cognitive diagnosis can provide students with better personalized and formative learning. As an international large-scale test, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has already had some research foundation in cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA), however, Mainland China has not yet participated. Therefore, this study aims to understand the specific performance of Mainland Chinese students within the TIMSS framework, compare their performance to other high-performing countries, and analyze the students' learning paths and progressions. With CDA techniques, this study first identified eight attributes in mathematics cognition and formed a Q-matrix based on TIMSS-2015 items to construct the diagnosis assessment. A total of 4,733 Grade 8 students from Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Shanghai in Mainland China were measured using a mixed model from the G-DINA package in software R. The findings revealed that Grade 8 students in Mainland China exhibited an absolute advantage in the mastery of mathematical cognitive processes, particularly in the traditional domains such as Calculation and Measurement (CM), Operation and Solution (OS), and Representation Modeling (RM). Furthermore, analyses of the second and third learning progressions demonstrated diverse knowledge states among students. Last, students with the same overall score showed substantial differences in their mastery of specific cognitive processes. This study thoroughly discusses the construction of methods for TIMSS cognitive diagnostic assessment as well as the construction of learning paths and progressions in the assessment. It also highlights the potential of CDA for assessing cognitive abilities and constructing in-depth data mining, advancing the understanding of students' cognitive strengths and weaknesses in mathematics education.