Mathematics Performance and Cognition (MPAC) Interview

The following report describes an assessment instrument called the Mathematics Performance and Cognition (MPAC) interview. As the name implies, the MPAC interview is administered in an interview setting. The 2015 MPAC interview was designed to measure first and second graders’ mathematics achievement and cognitive processes in the domain of number, operations, and algebraic thinking. The MPAC interview was designed to measure two primary outcomes of interest: to be a mathematics achievement test and to gather information about students’ cognitive processes while they solve mathematics problems. The current report focuses on the content of the interview, interview protocol, scoring procedures, and psychometric properties for the achievement focus of the MPAC Interview. The 2015 MPAC interview was administered to 856 students in spring 2015 in 22 schools located in two school districts in Florida. The school districts were implementing a curriculum based on the Mathematics Florida Standards, which are very similar to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.