This issue of "ZDM Mathematics Education" focuses on the formative assessment of young children's mathematical thinking, with an emphasis on computer-based approaches drawing upon on cognitive and educational research. The authors discuss several different assessment methods, including clinical interviewing, observation, and testing,…

In this article, the authors share a variety of ways to formatively assess basic fact fluency. The define fluency, raise some issues related to timed testing, and then share a collection of classroom-tested ideas for authentic fact fluency assessment. This article encourages teachers to try a variety of alternative assessments from this sampling,…

Over the past two decades, mathematics education reformers have increasingly called for new approaches to assessment. This call urges mathematics teachers to merge their assessment with pedagogy, to employ assessments that engage students in the process of "doing mathematics," and to exploit assessment to support learning. This paper…

Romania's education system has made impressive strides over the past two decades, with an increasing share of students mastering the basic competencies that they need for life and work. But these average improvements mask significant disparities in learning outcomes and attainment, with an increasing share of students leaving education early…

Research was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the use of handheld technology to administer mathematics assessments in kindergarten and 1 st grade classes in North Carolina. This research was a review of secondary data from the first year of implementation of the Mathematics Assessment Pilot Project conducted by the North Carolina…

The focus on grades and what they represent happens in every middle grades classroom--some students completely understand the concepts when reviewed, but perform poorly on the quiz; some gifted students score high on tests but appear bored in class. With the current emphasis on school accountability by standardized test scores, middle level…

This article summarizes the use of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis and subsequent action planning as a tool of self-assessment to meet CAS (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education) requirements for systematic assessment. The use of the evaluation results to devise improvements to increase the…

The guiding principles and procedures for pupil assessment in Portuguese compulsory education were established by the Implementing Order No. 1/2005, 5th January, with amendments introduced by the Implementing Orders No. 18/2006, 14th March and No. 5/2007, 10th January, and apply to the learning objectives and competencies defined for the various…

Recent studies indicate that students in the United States are not achieving sufficient mathematics skills to meet the demands required of them within and outside of school. Among the keys to preventing mathematics difficulties are to identify and intervene with those students who may be most at risk for later failure, monitoring their progress as…

Formative assessment in distance teaching is a complex issue, particularly when diverse students are involved. At Unisa many students from previously disadvantage backgrounds need to be accommodated in tertiary mathematics and science. However, many such students have limited entry-level mathematical knowledge and academic skills. This article…

In this article, the authors describe a collaborative effort involving 30 school districts in California's Silicon Valley that are seeking to overcome the ill effects of mandatory high-stakes standardized testing in mathematics. These districts administer, score, and analyze a common set of performance assessments in mathematics in a way that…