Enhancing Economics Teachers’ Competence in Identifying Prior Learning Readiness and Developing HOTS-Based Assessment for Differentiated Instruction

Assessment literacy constitutes a fundamental professional competency for teachers, essential for designing differentiated instruction and developing evaluation instruments based on Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). This study rigorously evaluates the impact of a Subject Teacher Forum (MGMP)-based training intervention on enhancing the assessment literacy of economics teachers, employing the Rasch Measurement Model framework. Utilizing a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design, the research involved 20 senior high school economics teachers in Barito Kuala Regency, Indonesia. Shifts in teacher competency were evaluated using a 20-item instrument, analyzed via stacking calibration to map changes in individual ability, and racking calibration to measure item difficulty invariance. Model fit analysis confirmed that the instrument possessed excellent psychometric properties (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.82). The stacking analysis revealed a substantial increase in mean teacher ability of 1.74 logits, shifting from -0.19 logits at the pretest to 1.55 logits at the posttest. These findings were convergently supported by the racking analysis, which documented a precipitous decline in mean item difficulty of -1.48 logits, with the most pronounced intervention effects concentrated in the domains of cognitive taxonomy and HOTS item design. The results empirically demonstrate that structured technical training is highly effective in bridging the gap between teacher capacity and the cognitive demands inherent in assessment content.