Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement

There is an increasing demand from employers and universities for school leavers to be able to apply their mathematical knowledge to problem solving in varied and unfamiliar contexts. These aspects are however neglected in most examinations of mathematics and, consequentially, in classroom teaching....

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Main Authors: Jones, Ian, Swan, Malcolm, Pollitt, Alistair
Format: Article
Published: Springer 2014
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32091/
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author Jones, Ian
Swan, Malcolm
Pollitt, Alistair
author_facet Jones, Ian
Swan, Malcolm
Pollitt, Alistair
author_sort Jones, Ian
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description There is an increasing demand from employers and universities for school leavers to be able to apply their mathematical knowledge to problem solving in varied and unfamiliar contexts. These aspects are however neglected in most examinations of mathematics and, consequentially, in classroom teaching. One barrier to the inclusion of mathematical problem solving in assessment is that the skills involved are difficult to define and assess objectively. We present two studies that test a method called comparative judgement (CJ) that might be well suited to assessing mathematical problem solving. CJ is an alternative to traditional scoring that is based on collective expert judgements of students’ work rather than item-by-item scoring schemes. In Study 1 we used CJ to assess traditional mathematics tests and found it performed validly and reliably. In Study 2 we used CJ to assess mathematical problem-solving tasks and again found it performed validly and reliably. We discuss the implications of the results for further research and the implications of CJ for the design of mathematical problem-solving tasks.
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spelling nottingham-320912020-05-04T20:15:26Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32091/ Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement Jones, Ian Swan, Malcolm Pollitt, Alistair There is an increasing demand from employers and universities for school leavers to be able to apply their mathematical knowledge to problem solving in varied and unfamiliar contexts. These aspects are however neglected in most examinations of mathematics and, consequentially, in classroom teaching. One barrier to the inclusion of mathematical problem solving in assessment is that the skills involved are difficult to define and assess objectively. We present two studies that test a method called comparative judgement (CJ) that might be well suited to assessing mathematical problem solving. CJ is an alternative to traditional scoring that is based on collective expert judgements of students’ work rather than item-by-item scoring schemes. In Study 1 we used CJ to assess traditional mathematics tests and found it performed validly and reliably. In Study 2 we used CJ to assess mathematical problem-solving tasks and again found it performed validly and reliably. We discuss the implications of the results for further research and the implications of CJ for the design of mathematical problem-solving tasks. Springer 2014-02 Article PeerReviewed Jones, Ian, Swan, Malcolm and Pollitt, Alistair (2014) Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13 (1). pp. 151-177. ISSN 1573-1774 assessment comparative judgement examinations mathematical problem solving reliability validity http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10763-013-9497-6 doi:10.1007/s10763-013-9497-6 doi:10.1007/s10763-013-9497-6
spellingShingle assessment comparative judgement examinations mathematical problem solving reliability validity
Jones, Ian
Swan, Malcolm
Pollitt, Alistair
Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement
title Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement
title_full Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement
title_fullStr Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement
title_full_unstemmed Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement
title_short Assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement
title_sort assessing mathematical problem solving using comparative judgement
topic assessment comparative judgement examinations mathematical problem solving reliability validity
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32091/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32091/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32091/