Assessment for the Common Core Mathematics Standards
This article makes two simple observations about high-stakes assessments. The first is that, because mathematics is a very technical subject, an assessment item can be mathematically flawed regardless of how elementary it is. For this reason, every assessment project needs the active participation o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Columbia University Libraries
2012-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College |
| Online Access: | https://journals-test.library.columbia.edu/index.php/jmetc/article/view/729 |
| Summary: | This article makes two simple observations about high-stakes assessments. The first is that, because mathematics is a very technical subject, an assessment item can be mathematically flawed regardless of how elementary it is. For this reason, every assessment project needs the active participation of high level mathematicians. A second point is that high-stakes assessments are inherently a very blunt instrument because they are incapable of accurately measuring the most important aspect of mathematics achievement: sustained sequential thinking. Because the general public and policy makers are not aware of this fact, they tend to read more into such assessment scores than such a limited instrument can deliver. If we want high-stakes assessments to have a positive influence on mathematics education, this article suggests that we should reorient our thinking about how much student achievement such assessments can reliably measure, which is “not very much.” |
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| ISSN: | 2156-1400 2156-1397 |