Graphics calculators: Equity and assessment

Issues of equity and assessment loom large early in most discussions about the use of graphics calculators in mathematics, often simultaneously. In this paper, the authors identify and discuss some aspects of these issues, locating them in the broader curriculum framework in which they properly belong. The discussion is informed by the authors' recent experiences with using graphics calculators at the early undergraduate level but is not restricted to those experiences. The issues are of direct importance to mathematics education in the early undergraduate years as well as the senior secondary years, and have implications for the nature of mathematics education throughout secondary education. Of course, issues related to graphics calculators, equity and assessment are not only issues for Australia but have also appeared in socio-economically comparable countries. such as the USA and the UK. While there is not space in this paper to discuss the overseas experiences in great depth, it is perhaps worth noting at least that the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' 'Curriculum and Evaluation Standards' (1989) assumes availability of graphics calculators to all students at all times from the 9th grade onwards, that all the UK examining bodies now allow students to use graphics calculators in external examinations (although they do not all expect them to be used), and that a good deal of curriculum development is taking place in each country to design mathematics curricula accordingly