Preparing for the 'new' end-of-primary mathematics examination : a case study

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to explore how a Year 6 primary classroom in a state school prepares for the 'new' benchmark mathematics examination that has replaced the Junior Lyceum mathematics examination. The main research focus was on trying to understand how this preparation was different from the preparation for the Junior Lyceum examination, and how students and their teacher experience this new preparation. A qualitative case study methodology was used and the research data was collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with the classroom teacher and eight of her students. This study shows that the notion of 'teaching to the test' has remained with the introduction of benchmark assessment. On their part, the students in the selected class did not like the introduction of the mental paper, were afraid of the benchmark mathematics paper and were also anxious about its outcome. Moreover, although the students did not seek extra help from private tuition as they prepared for the benchmark mathematics examinations, they still got extra help form relatives and their parents pressured them a little bit to study. This study thus suggests that although the new benchmark examination system does not serve as a selective device through which students get placed in different types of secondary schools, it is still experienced within the Year 6 classroom as a high stakes assessment procedure, albeit not necessarily with the same intensity as before.