Mathematical literacy examination items and student errors: An analysis of English Second Language students’ responses

Abstract

Mathematical literacy is a real-world practical attribute yet students write a high-stakes examination in order to pass the subject Mathematical Literacy in the National Certificates (Vocational) (NC(V)). In these examinations, all sources of information are contextualised in language. It can be effortful for English second language students to decode text. The deliberate processing that is required saturates working memory and prevents these students from optimally engaging in problem solving. In this study, 15 items from an NC(V) Level 4 Mathematical Literacy examination are selected, as well as 15 student responses to each of these questions. From these responses, those which are incorrect are analysed to determine whether the error is due to insufficient mathematical literacy or a lack of English language proficiency. These results are used as an indication as to whether the examination is fair and valid for this group of students.

Language of Learning and Teaching as one of the Causes for Difficulties in Learning Fractions

“…Two proper fractions were given and students had to pick the correct sign (such as less than, <, or more than, >) to insert in the placeholder between the two fractions. This question was rated by lecturers as easy, and the majority of students (66 or 70.2%) answered it correctly It is not always simple to categorize the source of a particular error, since they interact and overlap [15] as cited by [18]. Problems experienced by students when answering this question can be attributed to poor fraction magnitude comparison strategies, or difficulties with mathematical symbolic language.…”

“…In yet another study conducted in South Africa, error analysis was done on the results of a National Certificate (NC) examination in Mathematical Literacy. In this examination, 32% of the errors made by English second language students, were ascribed to limited language proficiency [18]. Comprehension difficulties may arise from the presence of unfamiliar (low-frequency) words, polysemous words (words or phrases which have more than one or several meanings) and idiomatic or culturally specific lexical references [28].…”

“…Evidence shows that language proficiency has an influence on mathematics achievement on the primary and secondary level [20], [13], [19], [18]. Language issues become even more prevalent in mathematics when word problems are under consideration.…”

Kalibrasi Instrumen Literasi Matematika Siswa Menggunakan IRT dan Aplikasinya untuk Estimasi Skor

“…This includes mathematical reasoning and the use of mathematical concepts, procedures, facts, and tools to describe, explain, and predict phenomena (OECD, 2013). The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) (Vale et al, 2013) views mathematical literacy as an individual attribute that involves managing situations and solving problems in everyday life, work, and society by engaging with mathematical concepts. Mathematical literacy can describe how an individual applies mathematics in daily life (Hasanah & Hakim, 2022;Yuberta et al, 2020).…”

A Comparison between Generative Learning and Conventional Learning Model on Students’ Mathematical Literacy in the 21st century

“…The mistakes in seeing are the misunderstanding in symbolic notation, table, or graphic that caused the mistakes. Students knew the problems and they were capable to perform the calculation correctly, however, they failed to explain the solution written accurately [12]. To develop the students' mathematical literacy should be capable to determine the model of learning that close students to get extra actively.…”