Statistical Competencies in the Training of Mathematics Teachers in 2017 Enade: An IRT Application

The National Students' Performance Examination [Exame Nacional de Desempenho dos Estudantes–Enade] is a large-scale assessment instrument for Brazilian higher education programs whose results, along with other quality indicators, allow for an evaluation of the country's higher education. This work analyzed 2017 Enade questions for the mathematics degree program regarding the statistical competencies of future educators. The quantitative approach methodology allowed analyzing 10,869 participants' responses through Item Response Theory (IRT) using the Three-Parameter Logistic Model. The results indicate evidence of weakness in questions related to probability and statistics regarding t levels of difficulty and discrimination in addition to reflecting discrepancies between the statistical content in the official test descriptors and those found in the questions.