Undervegsvurdering i matematikk - frå mål til start? Ei undersøking om korleis elevar i ungdomsskulen opplever undervegsvurdering i matematikk

This thesis is dealing assessment for learning from the student's perspective. The issue How do students in lower secondary schools experience formative assessment in mathematics?" is approached through three questions; What kind of experience does students of lower secondary school have when it comes to formative assessment?", To which extent does the students take an active role in the formative assessment?" and What kind of benefit does the students experience that they have from formative assessment?" The purpose is to gain insight in the students' experience of the formative assessment and their understanding of effective formal assessment in mathematics. My choice of method is divided in two; qualitative semi-structured interview of six students at lower secondary school level, and a quantitative anonymous survey of about 170 students also from lower secondary schools. Choosing both a qualitative and a quantitative method is based on my research questions, which search answers both wide and deep. Throughout my research I have had a focus on the ethical perspective, because working with students always implies an ethical requirement of protecting the other part. I transcribed the interviews and extracted the content in meaning from them. The survey, which I made and completed through the licensed software Quest Back, gave me the opportunity to cross-tabulate and filtrate the data. I present the findings in an own chapter, and I also explain how I have analyzed the material. My main findings is that students in lower- secondary schools have reflected thoughts on how good formative assessment should be in mathematics, they experience effective formative assessment through frequent assessment and they gain from defining an academic goal in mathematics in the form of a grade. Furthermore I have found that students perceive the conversations between teacher and student as an important element in the formal assessment, they experience a positive effect in learning through cooperation with fellow students and they use the feedback they get from their teacher. Students have a great learning outcome from both a defined grade and a formative comment on their product or the work they have done in mathematics. Having students at lower secondary schools who reflect upon their own formal assessment and their own progress in the subject, should be a good foundation for cooperation between teacher and student. The challenge for the school, as I see it, may be to enhance the focus on how formal assessment affects the student's motivation, and to display and use methods of assessment which focuses on the process of learning for each student