Teachers' Perceptions of Assessment in Mathematics as Students at Secondary Level

Abstract

This paper focuses on my study of a narrative research inquiry and interpretative paradigm under a qualitative research approach of in-service secondary level mathematics teacher of Kavrepalanchok district in Nepal based on my research. The study included five in-service teachers from the district chosen using a purposive sampling strategy. As a data collection strategy, I conducted in-depth interviews utilizing interview guidelines to elicit the narrative stories of response participants. I used qualitative data analysis methods to transcribe the participants' shared tales in order to generate themes. I gained the insight that absolutism and positivistic notions of mathematics education had influenced assessment practices in Nepal fifteen years ago from 2005 AD to 2020 AD. At the time, constructionist education for creating mathematical knowledge through assessment was uncommon. To enable mathematical learning, the students had fewer possibilities for competition-based learning, engagement, communication, and teamwork. Furthermore, the curriculum design of secondary level mathematics at that time was exclusive to focus on students' need, interests, and individual learning capacities Instead, math teachers took mathematics as a subject for gifted children and did not focus enough attention on individualized education for low-performing students. Students learned mathematics designed with a disengaged curriculum, non-participatory teaching, and insufficient evaluation using technology. Mathematics teachers did not frequently choose to develop a questioning environment in the classroom as part of the students' assessment. By focusing on summative assessment and paper pencil tests as a typical assessment approach, teachers overlooked student variety. Students lacked motivation, feedback, and encouragement from teachers when it came to assessment, which resulted in poor academic performance. Because the mathematics textbooks were published in English, students frequently had issues with the medium of instruction, particularly at the plus two (+2) level or equivalent to the intermediate level.