Mathematics Assessment in Low-Resource Countries

• In Event: Challenges and Successes in Early-Grades Mathematics Education in Low-Income Contexts

Abstract

While international assessments of educational achievement, such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), have shown that students in developing or lower income countries are behind their peers in developed countries (Mullis et al., 2012), there has been a dearth of information concerning students’ mastery of fundamental competencies in early grade mathematics. The objective of this presentation is to describe the current state of the field in low-resource environments.

Based on a comprehensive literature review, this presentation will focus on three core elements. First, the study will identify current mathematics assessments in use, and provide case study illustrations on assessments such as the Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA; Research Triangle International, 2014), and assessments developed by India’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER, 2011) and UWEZO in East Africa (2014).

Second, I will discuss how assessment results can be used to improve the instruments, inform policy dialogues and interventions, and explore how these assessments can be scaled-up to a national level. The limited data available from these assessments has helped to reveal that differences in math achievement begin well before the grade-levels typically tested in large-scale international assessments. For example, in a study conducted by ASER in 2011, results showed that approximately 73% of grade 3 children in rural India could not recognize numbers past 9, and thus they could not do any type of operations at grade level (ASER, 2011). EGMA results show that even before grade 1, there are significant differences in skill levels. If these children continue on these lower trajectories, they will end up learning basic math skills by grade 6, instead of grades 2 or 3 (Global Partnership for Education, 2012).

Finally, I will identify contextual challenges. There are a range of factors which may undermine students’ ability to perform well in mathematics in these developing and lower income countries. These include the extent of exposure to mathematics concepts at home prior to and during school attendance, lack of trained teachers, and the lack of appropriate resources to support student learning.

This presentation will contribute to current efforts to improve the quality of mathematics teaching in low-income environments by synthesizing the available research, and propose next steps based on these conclusions.

Author

• Deepa Srikantaiah, Global Partnership for Education