Online Baseline Assessment in Mathematics: Initial Teacher Education Entry-Level Student Performance

This article describes a part of an online and technological intervention at a rural South African Higher Education Institution focused at improving the mathematical knowledge of first-year Senior Phase and Further Education Training (SP& FET) Bachelor of Education student teachers. As part of the interventions in an ICT integrated Mathematics Education and Research Centre, the student teachers were subjected to write an online baseline assessment on the content knowledge in Grade 7 mathematics, which is the first year in Senior Phase in South African Schools. A total of 193 student teachers wrote the online baseline test with 20 items in an invigilated computer laboratory environment. The test items were from the online Computer Aided Mathematics Instruction (CAMI) program which is aligned to the Grade 7 CAPS curriculum of South Africa. The data were analysed by the CAMI system and were further analysed using Microsoft Excel 2016. The result of the test showed an average performance of 38,67% (Variance: 0,66% and SD: 0,81%). This sheds light into the disturbingly limited mathematics subject content knowledge the student teachers enter the HEI with. The programme structure of the Senior Phase mathematics content module of the HEI was also analysed. The authors of this paper recommend that student teachers need to be thoroughly engaged in learning the content during their training as future mathematics teachers. This paper contributes to the ongoing research on ITE programmes at HEIs that prepare teachers for their mathematics teaching role in the senior Phase classrooms.