Why is it ok to demand that maths exam questions have a low literacy demand to make them accessible, assuming we don’t need much language to do maths? Would anyone accept the same argument in for e.g. history? Let’s make history accesible by focusing on just the dates &remove all that wordy stuff - ThreadSky

darrenmacey.bsky.social • 164 days ago

Why is it ok to demand that maths exam questions have a low literacy demand to make them accessible, assuming we don’t need much language to do maths?

Would anyone accept the same argument in for e.g. history?

Let’s make history accesible by focusing on just the dates &remove all that wordy stuff

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miss-agd.bsky.social•164 days ago

To play devils advocate... what do you think of subjects like the sciences which also consider literacy in assessment like we do in Maths?

darrenmacey.bsky.social•164 days ago

I think it represents a narrowing of the subject in service of the needs of assessment in most cases. Science and maths are about creating models of the world…that requires literacy and context. While maths does have a component which is abstract it’s much less core than we tend to think IMO.

vmnalex.bsky.social•164 days ago

We stopped getting questions like this in the name of reducing the literacy needs. Was a sad day.

(FYI Tasmania Jones or his cousin Victoria Jones used to show up annually, and yes it's a pun on Indiana Jones using Australian states instead of US).

tombutton.bsky.social•164 days ago

I've heard that Finnish students' higher attainment in maths is linked to high levels of literacy. It's mentioned in the Ofsted report at https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/1144/1/Finnish%20pupils%27%20success%20in%20mathematics.pdf

pippinsboss.bsky.social•164 days ago

Well I dare say bright kids are good at maths and language, and plenty of other subjects. I imagine that, at least for young kids, high attainment in any two subjects are positively correlated.

tombutton.bsky.social•164 days ago

I think there's more to it than that though - my experience of teaching kids at different attainment levels is that the majority of the time they can do the questions if they understand them.

There's also an element that maths isn't just arithmetic - it's about being able to solve numerical or ...

tombutton.bsky.social•164 days ago

... spatial problems in a variety of contexts (mathematical or real world). The knowledge/skills to be able understand a problem, select the information and choose the mathematical processes IS maths. Literacy skills are an essential component of this.

darrenmacey.bsky.social•164 days ago

I wonder how much is related to beliefs about maths…if literacy is seen as integral to maths rather than a barrier then that will surely impact pedagogy and curriculum/task focus

darrenmacey.bsky.social•164 days ago

I am finding the pervasive attitude that “we can support low attainers by reducing the literacy demand of maths questions they are exposed to” increasingly hard to reconcile with my beliefs around what it is to do maths…

The Finnish example is very interesting.

stelladudzic.bsky.social•164 days ago

I was lucky enough to visit the Freudenthal Institute a few years ago. Looking at exams (recent eg https://www.examenblad.nl/2023/vwo/vakken/exacte-vakken/wiskunde-a-vwo) I was struck by the amount of reading and commented that a page of context before question would not be allowe in England.

stelladudzic.bsky.social•164 days ago

The reply was "If they want this qualification, they have to be able to read". And students do have to be able to read. I do sympathise with those who find it hard but I'm not sure we have the balance right.

miss-agd.bsky.social•164 days ago

Really interesting Stella and @tombutton.bsky.social, I'm going to look more into those links - it's so interesting to compare.
I had a similar conversation with Sue at RME where I asked her how context could be included in assessment vs literacy demands and got a very similar response!

tombutton.bsky.social•164 days ago

There's at least 2 different meanings of 'literacy demands' in maths:

- Making the language clear and understandable by rephrasing questions can make them more accessible.
- Removing context-specific aspects to reduce the amount of words.

I'd support the former but not the latter.

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