Assessment of Mathematics in School and Early Childhood Settings: National, International and Classroom Perspectives

In the eight years since RiMEA included a chapter on assessment in mathematics, much has happened in Australasian research. This chapter seeks to review several rapidly developing areas of assessment within the Australasian research community. Firstly, attention is drawn to recent research on national and international assessments in Australia and New Zealand. Issues such as declining performance, computer-based delivery and the increased use of digital technologies are addressed, as well as the complexity of assessing, critical thinking, reasoning and problem solving in mathematics. Secondly, recent policy developments in Australasia and internationally have drawn renewed attention to the importance of early childhood education and the need for relevant research-based assessments of young children’s mathematical thinking that can intersect and align with the early years of school. Thirdly, over the same period, Australasian research in classroom-based assessment has been supported by several projects specifically directed at evidence-based learning progressions, diagnostic tools, scoring rubrics and frameworks that can provide guidance for practitioners, as well as researchers. Singaporean researchers have also reported upon a new research program examining the assessment of Big Ideas, which is both ambitious and likely to operate as a form of formative assessment for monitoring national progress. Several emerging areas of assessment research are also mentioned in a concluding section such as the assessment of numeracy in vocational settings and the use of assessment tools to examine students’ values towards and wellbeing regarding learning mathematics.