CRME: Assessing GCSE problem solving in mathematics

There is increasing interest in developing secondary pupils’ mathematical problem solving skills. However “problem solving skills” are difficult to specify precisely and are therefore difficult to assess accurately and reliably. I will present a study that investigated an approach to assessing mathematical problem solving that is based on collective expert judgement rather than detailed mark schemes. There were two main components to the study. First, GCSE examiners were commissioned to write a special problem solving GCSE exam paper that required no mark scheme and did not need to be “markable”. The outcome was a paper that was administered to Y10 pupils (N = 750) of a wide range of abilities. Second, the pupils’ work was assessed using an innovative method, called Comparative Judgement, that uses holistic expert judgements rather than marks. The outcome was a rank order of pupils’ work from “worst” to “best”. The results suggest that, when freed from marking constraints, examiners can write more substantial problem solving tasks than is typical in current GCSE exam papers, and that Comparative Judgement is a feasible and reliable method for assessing such tasks.

Refreshments will be available from 4pm

This seminar will take place in Room A35, Dearing Building, Jubilee Campus