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 |
| _version_ | 1818501378157314048 |
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| author | Hung-Hsi Wu |
| author_facet | Hung-Hsi Wu |
| author_sort | Hung-Hsi Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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.” |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:55:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e81bab5713ab4abbbcaeb858f84e4ffe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2156-1400 2156-1397 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:55:18Z |
| publishDate | 2012-05-01 |
| publisher | Columbia University Libraries |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College |
| spelling | doaj.art-e81bab5713ab4abbbcaeb858f84e4ffe2022-12-22T01:33:59ZengColumbia University LibrariesJournal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College2156-14002156-13972012-05-0131Assessment for the Common Core Mathematics StandardsHung-Hsi Wu0University of California at BerkeleyThis 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.”https://journals-test.library.columbia.edu/index.php/jmetc/article/view/729 |
| spellingShingle | Hung-Hsi Wu Assessment for the Common Core Mathematics Standards Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College |
| title | Assessment for the Common Core Mathematics Standards |
| title_full | Assessment for the Common Core Mathematics Standards |
| title_fullStr | Assessment for the Common Core Mathematics Standards |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment for the Common Core Mathematics Standards |
| title_short | Assessment for the Common Core Mathematics Standards |
| title_sort | assessment for the common core mathematics standards |
| url | https://journals-test.library.columbia.edu/index.php/jmetc/article/view/729 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hunghsiwu assessmentforthecommoncoremathematicsstandards |