Reliability and validity of scoring the constructed response items is critical to the quality of the assessment results. To ensure reliability within and across countries in the scores assigned to students’ responses, the students’ responses to these questions must be scored by trained scorers applying the provided scoring guides.
After TIMSS 2023 assessment was completed in schools, the Agency announced a public tender for scorers. After the applications were received, the candidate selection committee had a very difficult task in selecting potential candidates for the process of TIMSS 2023 items scoring. Based on the criteria and interviews, the commission proposed ten candidates who had the opportunity to attend the eliminatory TIMSS 2023 constructed response items scoring training.
Two candidates dropped out, of the ten proposed candidates who attended the training, due to uncertainty about their knowledge to continue the process.
Then, the training material was delivered to scorers who signed a confidentiality statement for data protection. The scoring system is implemented electronically. The peculiarity of TIMSS applications and data updating is another specificity of the entire process. The scoring process began on 13 July 2023 in the Agency for Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary Education.
Upon scoring the constructed response items in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, the scorers will score the constructed response items in English.