Reflections on the use of item response theory in the school assessment process

Abstract

The National Common Curricular Base – BNCC (2018) indicates the need to investigate the process of students in the development of skills and competencies. While school evaluation is a broad and debated topic, there is a mechanism for investigating student learning paths that is still relatively unknown by teachers and underutilized in the classroom. Item Response Theory (IRT) is an assessment method that can better categorize student results through evaluations, making it possible to visualize which learning range students are in, thus becoming an effective instrument in learning processes. It is important to foster student protagonism and family participation throughout the school year, including knowledge of the evaluation strategies used for each student. Through a literature review, we conducted research on the importance of IRT for assessment in schools. We describe the advantages of IRT over Classical Test Theory (CTT), and the importance of more accurate data collection and analysis to enhance assessment processes. We conclude that knowledge of this theory can be useful in the classroom, and further research on this topic is warranted.