Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it?
This article analyses aspects of the process of developing ‘functional’ assessments of mathematics at the end of compulsory schooling in England. A protocol that was developed for scrutinising assessment items is presented. This protocol includes an indicator of the ‘authenticity’ of each assessme...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor and Francis Group
2012
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27784/ |
| _version_ | 1848793438313512960 |
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| author | Drake, Pat Wake, Geoffrey Noyes, Andrew |
| author_facet | Drake, Pat Wake, Geoffrey Noyes, Andrew |
| author_sort | Drake, Pat |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This article analyses aspects of the process of developing ‘functional’ assessments of mathematics at the end of compulsory schooling in England. A protocol that was developed for scrutinising assessment items is presented. This protocol includes an indicator of the ‘authenticity’ of each assessment item. The data are drawn from scrutiny of 589 assessment items from thirty-nine formal unseen examinations taken by students aged sixteen, and the article illustrates ways that mathematics is presented in different contexts in examinations. We suggest that currently the ‘human face’ of the questions may serve to disguise routine calculations, and we argue that in formal examinations connections between mathematics assessments situated in context and functional mathematics have yet to be established. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:00:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-27784 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:00:18Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Taylor and Francis Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-277842020-05-04T16:34:19Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27784/ Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? Drake, Pat Wake, Geoffrey Noyes, Andrew This article analyses aspects of the process of developing ‘functional’ assessments of mathematics at the end of compulsory schooling in England. A protocol that was developed for scrutinising assessment items is presented. This protocol includes an indicator of the ‘authenticity’ of each assessment item. The data are drawn from scrutiny of 589 assessment items from thirty-nine formal unseen examinations taken by students aged sixteen, and the article illustrates ways that mathematics is presented in different contexts in examinations. We suggest that currently the ‘human face’ of the questions may serve to disguise routine calculations, and we argue that in formal examinations connections between mathematics assessments situated in context and functional mathematics have yet to be established. Taylor and Francis Group 2012-10-30 Article PeerReviewed Drake, Pat, Wake, Geoffrey and Noyes, Andrew (2012) Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? Research in Mathematics Education, 14 (3). pp. 237-252. ISSN 1479-4802 functional mathematics authentic assessment scrutiny protocol http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14794802.2012.734969 doi:10.1080/14794802.2012.734969 doi:10.1080/14794802.2012.734969 |
| spellingShingle | functional mathematics authentic assessment scrutiny protocol Drake, Pat Wake, Geoffrey Noyes, Andrew Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? |
| title | Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? |
| title_full | Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? |
| title_fullStr | Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? |
| title_short | Assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? |
| title_sort | assessing 'functionality' in school mathematics examinations: what does being human have to do with it? |
| topic | functional mathematics authentic assessment scrutiny protocol |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27784/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27784/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/27784/ |