CAN MATHS IN A TEST BE ‘FUNCTIONAL’?

This paper argues that the assessment of functional mathematics as currently being developed at GCSE level should go beyond testing mathematical skills and using word problems. Drawing on the literature about mathematics in the workplace, criteria for functional mathematics assessments are offered, and the constraints of tests considered, before answering the question, with: “Yes, but it won’t be easy”. 1. WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL MATHEMATICS? Functional mathematics is about mathematics being useful, and what can occur in school that enables that, but the scope of what is meant by the phrase varies considerably. Some authors use it to refer to a re-conceptualisation of the mathematics curriculum, a complete rethink about what is done in school to make the mathematics that is learned more useful, responding especially to the changes in the workplace occasioned by advances in technology (e.g. Forman and Steen, 2000). A narrower view of functionality, and the one that is the focus of this paper, is the set of skills that enables a person to cope with everyday life. In this vein, functional mathematics is defined in the White Paper “14-19 Education and Skills ” as the “maths that people need to participate effectively in everyday life, including in the workplace ” (DfES, 2005, page 35). This functional mathematics is going to be examined both as part of GCSE, and separately as a series of stand-alone qualifications. Standards for these assessments can be found on the QCA website