Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Selected Works

Mathematical literacy

Articles 1 - 30 of 30

Full-Text Articles in Education

Session F : Are Australian Mathematical Foundations Solid Enough For The 21st Century?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout Aug 2016

Session F : Are Australian Mathematical Foundations Solid Enough For The 21st Century?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

This presentation will look at some key messages from the Australian results of both the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). PISA assesses the mathematical literacy of 15-year-old students around Australia, whilst PIAAC assesses the numeracy proficiency of adults aged 15–74. What do the two surveys assess and are they telling a similar story? How solid are Australia’s mathematical foundations and what do they say about teaching and learning? How do Australia’s results compare internationally with those leading the field? What are some of the research outcomes and implications …

Go to article

Session F : Are Australian Mathematical Foundations Solid Enough For The 21st Century?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout Aug 2016

Session F : Are Australian Mathematical Foundations Solid Enough For The 21st Century?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout

Ross Turner

This presentation will look at some key messages from the Australian results of both the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). PISA assesses the mathematical literacy of 15-year-old students around Australia, whilst PIAAC assesses the numeracy proficiency of adults aged 15–74. What do the two surveys assess and are they telling a similar story? How solid are Australia’s mathematical foundations and what do they say about teaching and learning? How do Australia’s results compare internationally with those leading the field? What are some of the research outcomes and implications …

Go to article

Class 6 School Factors In Afghanistan 2013 : The Relationship Between School Factors And Student Outcomes From A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Tim Friedman, Sally Robertson, Stephanie Templeton, Maurice Walker Apr 2016

Class 6 School Factors In Afghanistan 2013 : The Relationship Between School Factors And Student Outcomes From A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Tim Friedman, Sally Robertson, Stephanie Templeton, Maurice Walker

Dr Tim Friedman

In 2012, the Ministry of Education, Afghanistan, engaged the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) as a partner to support the development of a national learning assessment program in Afghanistan. To achieve this goal, the Learning Assessment unit of the Ministry of Education and ACER have collaborated to design and implement the Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) program in Afghanistan. MTEG is designed as a long-term monitoring program with one focus on trends in achievement outcomes in single class levels over time, and another focus on the growth of achievement in cohorts throughout the school cycle, from Class 3 …

Go to article

Session H: Pisa: Behind The Headlines And Past The Rankings, Sue Thomson, Chris Wardlaw Aug 2015

Session H: Pisa: Behind The Headlines And Past The Rankings, Sue Thomson, Chris Wardlaw

Dr Sue Thomson

Whenever the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are announced, media headlines are full of reports about rankings, about how many countries Australia is outperformed by and outperforms. In early rounds of PISA, Australia ranked among the top 10 countries across all three education domains assessed. However, over time Australia’s position has declined, rather than improved, and Australia no longer sits in the top 10 of any of the assessed domains. This presentation will go behind the headlines and past the rankings, to look at where Australia has declined, and look at how we can improve outcomes …

Go to article

Class 6 Girls And Boys In Afghanistan 2013 : Comparing Outcomes Of Girls And Boys From A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Alla Routitsky, Rachel Stanyon, Maurice Walker Jul 2015

Class 6 Girls And Boys In Afghanistan 2013 : Comparing Outcomes Of Girls And Boys From A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Alla Routitsky, Rachel Stanyon, Maurice Walker

Maurice Walker

This report presents the results of an assessment of reading, writing and mathematical literacy of Class 6 students in 13 provinces in Afghanistan in relation to the gender of students. The data were collected in late 2013. The purpose of Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) is to provide information to education policy makers on the quality of education outcomes in Afghanistan. In addition MTEG will inform educational practitioners by clearly demonstrating what students at Class 6 can and cannot do in an assessment situation. One of the policy areas that MTEG aims to inform is gender equality. It is …

Go to article

Class 6 Girls And Boys In Afghanistan 2013 : Comparing Outcomes Of Girls And Boys From A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Alla Routitsky, Rachel Stanyon, Maurice Walker Jun 2015

Class 6 Girls And Boys In Afghanistan 2013 : Comparing Outcomes Of Girls And Boys From A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Alla Routitsky, Rachel Stanyon, Maurice Walker

Dr Alla Routitsky

This report presents the results of an assessment of reading, writing and mathematical literacy of Class 6 students in 13 provinces in Afghanistan in relation to the gender of students. The data were collected in late 2013. The purpose of Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) is to provide information to education policy makers on the quality of education outcomes in Afghanistan. In addition MTEG will inform educational practitioners by clearly demonstrating what students at Class 6 can and cannot do in an assessment situation. One of the policy areas that MTEG aims to inform is gender equality. It is …

Go to article

Perspectives On Numeracy: Reflections From International Assessments, Dave Tout, Iddo Gal Feb 2015

Perspectives On Numeracy: Reflections From International Assessments, Dave Tout, Iddo Gal

David (Dave) Tout

This paper examines perspectives regarding the mathematical skills expected of adults and school graduates, comparing ideas developed as part of two major multinational comparative assessments of skills: the Programme for International Student Assessment and the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (also known as the OECD Survey of Adult Skills). The paper reflects on the conceptual and assessment frameworks developed for these two programmes, aiming to shed light on the commonalities and differences between the constructs of numeracy and mathematical literacy and to inform current debate about directions for developing mathematical skills in the 21st Century.

Go to article

Using Competencies To Explain Mathematical Item Demand: A Work In Progress, Ross Turner, Werner Blum, Morgens Niss Aug 2014

Using Competencies To Explain Mathematical Item Demand: A Work In Progress, Ross Turner, Werner Blum, Morgens Niss

Ross Turner

This chapter describes theoretical and practical issues associated with the development and use of a rating scheme for the purpose of analysing mathematical problems—specifically, to assess the extent to which solving those problems calls for the activation of a particular set of mathematical competencies. The competencies targeted through the scheme are based on the mathematical competencies that have underpinned each of the PISA Mathematics Frameworks. The scheme consists of operational definitions of the six competencies (labelled as communication; devising strategies; mathematisation; representation; using symbols, operations and formal language; and reasoning and argument), descriptions of four levels of activation of …

Go to article

The Performance Of Students In The Australian Capital Territory On Pisa: Report To The Act Department Of Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli Aug 2014

The Performance Of Students In The Australian Capital Territory On Pisa: Report To The Act Department Of Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli

Lisa De Bortoli

The purpose of this report is to examine the performance of ACT students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) over the three cycles: Reading literacy in 2000, Mathematical literacy in 2003 and Scientific literacy in 2006. The report provides an opportunity to examine achievement within the territory, in comparison to the rest of the country and internationally.

Go to article

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley May 2014

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley

Lisa De Bortoli

PISA is a survey that measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds, who are near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems. PISA in Brief summarises the results from the PISA 2012 assessment of students’ mathematical, scientific and reading literacy skills. It tells us about how students performed in the assessment and describes some wider findings about what lies behind their results.

Go to article

Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up : The Pisa 2012 Assessment Of Students’ Mathematical, Scientific And Reading Literacy, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley May 2014

Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up : The Pisa 2012 Assessment Of Students’ Mathematical, Scientific And Reading Literacy, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley

Lisa De Bortoli

PISA seeks to measure how well young adults at age 15 (and, therefore, near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems) are prepared to use their knowledge and skills in particular areas to meet real-life challenges. PISA’s orientation reflects a change in the goals and objectives of curricula, which increasingly address how well students are able to apply what they learn at school. This report presents the results of the PISA 2012 assessment for Australia. It presents the results for Australia as a whole, for the Australian jurisdictions and (where relevant) for the other participants in the …

Go to article

Some Reflections On Teaching And Learning From Numeracy And Mathematical Literacy Assessments, Dave Tout Apr 2014

Some Reflections On Teaching And Learning From Numeracy And Mathematical Literacy Assessments, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Does It All Add Up? What’S The Story With Mathematical Literacy And Numeracy? Where To Next?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout Apr 2014

Does It All Add Up? What’S The Story With Mathematical Literacy And Numeracy? Where To Next?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

This presentation focuses on the mathematical components of the results from PISA and PIAAC. Do the two assessments of mathematical skills assess similar or related skills or are they assessing different skills and abilities? What do the two surveys show regarding the mathematical abilities of young people and adults across Australia?  What can young people and adults do in maths? What can’t they do? What insights do PISA and PIAAC provide about the teaching and learning of mathematics? What are the implications for both policy and practice in schools and vocational, adult and workplace education? What are the challenges Australia …

Go to article

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout Apr 2014

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout

David (Dave) Tout

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout Apr 2014

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout

Dr Sue Thomson

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Does It All Add Up? What’S The Story With Mathematical Literacy And Numeracy? Where To Next?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout Apr 2014

Does It All Add Up? What’S The Story With Mathematical Literacy And Numeracy? Where To Next?, Ross Turner, Dave Tout

Ross Turner

This presentation focuses on the mathematical components of the results from PISA and PIAAC. Do the two assessments of mathematical skills assess similar or related skills or are they assessing different skills and abilities? What do the two surveys show regarding the mathematical abilities of young people and adults across Australia?  What can young people and adults do in maths? What can’t they do? What insights do PISA and PIAAC provide about the teaching and learning of mathematics? What are the implications for both policy and practice in schools and vocational, adult and workplace education? What are the challenges Australia …

Go to article

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout Apr 2014

Australia’S Performance In Pisa And Piaac – Key Messages For Education And Training, Sue Thomson, Dave Tout

Dr Sue Thomson

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Lessons From Pisa For Mathematical Literacy, Ross Turner Apr 2014

Lessons From Pisa For Mathematical Literacy, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

Drawing on results from Australia's performance in PISA, the author asks: "How do we encourage our students to see their world through mathematical lenses?"

Go to article

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley Dec 2013

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley

Dr Sue Thomson

PISA is a survey that measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds, who are near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems. PISA in Brief summarises the results from the PISA 2012 assessment of students’ mathematical, scientific and reading literacy skills. It tells us about how students performed in the assessment and describes some wider findings about what lies behind their results.

Go to article

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley Dec 2013

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley

Dr Sarah Buckley

PISA is a survey that measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds, who are near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems. PISA in Brief summarises the results from the PISA 2012 assessment of students’ mathematical, scientific and reading literacy skills. It tells us about how students performed in the assessment and describes some wider findings about what lies behind their results.

Go to article

Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up : The Pisa 2012 Assessment Of Students’ Mathematical, Scientific And Reading Literacy, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley Dec 2013

Pisa 2012 : How Australia Measures Up : The Pisa 2012 Assessment Of Students’ Mathematical, Scientific And Reading Literacy, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Sarah Buckley

Dr Sarah Buckley

PISA seeks to measure how well young adults at age 15 (and, therefore, near the end of compulsory schooling in most participating education systems) are prepared to use their knowledge and skills in particular areas to meet real-life challenges. PISA’s orientation reflects a change in the goals and objectives of curricula, which increasingly address how well students are able to apply what they learn at school. This report presents the results of the PISA 2012 assessment for Australia. It presents the results for Australia as a whole, for the Australian jurisdictions and (where relevant) for the other participants in the …

Go to article

Mathematical Literacy: Are We There Yet?, Ross Turner Jun 2012

Mathematical Literacy: Are We There Yet?, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

As far as I can see, the term ‘mathematical literacy’ is a relatively new addition to the  education lexicon. This phrase and the related terms numeracy, and quantitative  literacy, are used in a variety of ways. The same words take different meanings in  different contexts and have been used differently over time, and this has caused some  difficulties in the debate about critical aspects of mathematical education. It is  important therefore to understand what is intended when these words and phrases are  used in presentations, debates and in the education literature.  This paper represents my struggle to clarify these matters …

Go to article

Pisa And The ‘Latest Model’: Can An International Survey Have Anything Useful To Say To Canberra’S Mathematics Teachers?, Ross Turner Jul 2011

Pisa And The ‘Latest Model’: Can An International Survey Have Anything Useful To Say To Canberra’S Mathematics Teachers?, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment is the world’s biggest comparative survey of educational outcomes, targeted at 15-year-olds and currently operating in almost 70 countries around the world. In this presentation the author introduces the PISA project, and some of the things we can learn from such a survey. He outlines the elements of the mathematics framework that will underpin the next round of the PISA survey in 2012, which will have mathematics as the major survey domain. The author's main goal, however, will be to give you a feel for some research findings acquired through his work in …

Go to article

Performance Comparison Between Ib School Students And Non-Ib School Students On The International Schools’ Assessment (Isa) And On The Social And Emotional Wellbeing Questionnaire, Ling Tan, Yan Bibby Dec 2010

Performance Comparison Between Ib School Students And Non-Ib School Students On The International Schools’ Assessment (Isa) And On The Social And Emotional Wellbeing Questionnaire, Ling Tan, Yan Bibby

Dr Ling Tan

This report examines the performance of students enrolled in the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) on the ACER International Schools’ Assessment (ISA) compared with non-IB students from the same ISA cohorts. The ISA is an assessment created especially for students in international schools in Grades 3 to 10. The assessment asks both multiple-choice and open-ended questions in the areas of writing, reading and mathematics, and provides international normative information about student performance. The Reading and Mathematical Literacy are based on the internationally endorsed frameworks of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Go to article

Identifying Cognitive Processes Important To Mathematics Learning But Often Overlooked, Ross Turner Dec 2010

Identifying Cognitive Processes Important To Mathematics Learning But Often Overlooked, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

This article is based on the author's presentation to ACER's Research Conference 2010 that introduced a set of mathematical competencies that deserve to be given more attention in our mathematics classrooms, on the grounds that the possession of these competencies relates strongly to increased levels of mathematical literacy. These competencies are: communication; mathematising; representation; reasoning and argument; strategic thinking; and using symbolic, formal and technical language and operations. The author argues that widespread under-representation of these competencies among the general populace contributes to unacceptably large measures on the mathematics terror index. The argument in support of these competencies comes out …

Go to article

Learning About Students' Mathematical Literacy From Pisa 2003, S Mccrone, J Dossey, Ross Turner, M Lindquist Jul 2008

Learning About Students' Mathematical Literacy From Pisa 2003, S Mccrone, J Dossey, Ross Turner, M Lindquist

Ross Turner

The need for mathematical literacy in our world today and shares results from the 2003 PISA assessment of mathematical literacy. Includes ideas for incorporating similar problems in the classroom. Several examples of PISA problems are included, as well an internet address where other released PISA test items can be found.

Go to article

Pisa 2003—Mathematical Literacy And Learning In The Americas, John Dossey, Sharon Mccrone, Ross Turner, Mary Lindquist Dec 2007

Pisa 2003—Mathematical Literacy And Learning In The Americas, John Dossey, Sharon Mccrone, Ross Turner, Mary Lindquist

Ross Turner

The article provides an overview of the mathematics assessment program of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments’ (OECD) Program for Student Assessment (PISA). As such, it provides a comparative view of the PISA results for Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It outlines the program, its frameworks, and competencies PISA uses to describe the achievement of 15-year-olds in over 40 countries participating in the PISA assessments. Particular attention is given to the PISA conception of mathematical literacy and cross-disciplinary problem-solving. These two areas were a focus of the 2003 assessment. In addition to a discussion of general results, two …

Go to article

Developing Mathematical Literacy, Ross Turner, L Steen, H Burkhardt Dec 2006

Developing Mathematical Literacy, Ross Turner, L Steen, H Burkhardt

Ross Turner

Mathematical literacy has received increasing attention in many countries over the last few years. This is partly driven by concerns of employers that too many students leave school unable to function mathematically at the level needed in the modern world of work. Further, it is increasingly recognised that people can only tackle many of the challenges of modern life effectively if they are mathematically literate in key areas. Planning in personal finance, assessment of risk, design in the home or on the computer screen, and critical appraisal of the flood of statistical information from advertising, politicians and the press — …

Go to article

The Roles Of Modelling In Learning Mathematics, Malcolm Swann, Ross Turner, Caroline Yoon, E Muller Dec 2006

The Roles Of Modelling In Learning Mathematics, Malcolm Swann, Ross Turner, Caroline Yoon, E Muller

Ross Turner

This chapter illustrates how Applications and Modelling promote the learning of mathematics by developing the student’s mathematical language and her use of tools, and by developing the learner’s capacity to ask and answer questions in, with, and about mathematics.

Go to article

El Programa Internacional Para La Evaluación De Los Alumnos (Pisa). Una Perspectiva General, Ross Turner Feb 2006

El Programa Internacional Para La Evaluación De Los Alumnos (Pisa). Una Perspectiva General, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

This article provides a general overview of the PISA project with the aim of setting up an appropriate context for debating on some specific outcomes of the 2003 assessment survey. This general perspective focuses on the goals of the project, its participants, proce­dures and organisation, its major components and methodologies as well as on the precise ch­aracteristics of Mathematics in PISA, which was the main assessment subject in 2003. Similarly, a very brief summary on certain key outcomes of PISA 2003 assessment in Spain is also provided.

Go to article