Developing The Scale of Understanding and Using Language of Mathematics: A Validity and Reliability Study

The current study was conducted to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool that can measure middle school students' ability to understand and use the language of mathematics. The study was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, data were collected from 359 middle school students studying in a city in the north of Turkey in order to determine the structure of the scale. Exploratory factor analysis was performed on the collected data. In the second stage, data were collected from 217 middle school students studying in public schools in a province located in the east of Turkey in order to verify the structure of the scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the collected data. For the reliability of the scale, the Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficients of the entire scale and its sub-dimensions were checked. As a result of the analyzes made, a valid and reliable "Mathematics Language Understanding and Using Skills Scale" consisting of nine items and two dimensions was developed. Considering the items of the scale and the theoretical framework, the dimensions were named as "understanding the language of mathematics" and "using the language of mathematics".