Definition
Practices and processes used to assess the mathematical knowledge of teachers. This information is frequently used to establish certification of new teachers, to give promotion and recognition to current teachers, to determine the need and content of professional development for current teachers, and to provide information to researchers about teacher knowledge. Methods to assess the mathematical knowledge of teachers include paper and pencil or oral examinations with multiple choice, short answer, or open-ended questions; portfolios; interviews; and demonstrations of teaching.
The need to systematically assess mathematics teacher knowledge was initiated by the publication in the early 1980s of reports about the low quality of mathematics in schools (e.g., the Cockcroft report in the UK, Nation at Risk in the US; see Howson et al. 1981). These reports stirred the need for reform in mathematics classrooms, and in particular to attend to “salary, promotion, tenure, and...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ball DL, Thames M, Phelps G (2008) Content knowledge for teaching: what makes it special? J Teach Educ 59(5):389–407
Blömeke S, Delaney S (2012) Assessment of teacher knowledge across countries: a review of the state of research. ZDM Math Educ 44:223–247
Hill HC, Rowan B, Ball DL (2005) Effects of teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching on student achievement. Am Educ Res J 42:371–406
Hill HC, Ball DL, Schilling SG (2008) Unpacking pedagogical content knowledge: conceptualizing and measuring teachers’ topic-specific knowledge of students. J Res Math Educ 39(4):372–400
Howson G, Keitel C, Kilpatrick J (1981) Curriculum development in mathematics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Krauss S, Neubrand M, Blum W, Baumert J, Kunter M, Jordan A (2008) Die Untersuchung des professionellen Wissens deutscher Mathematik-Lehrerinnen und -Lehrer im Rahmen der COACTIV-Studie. J Mathematik-Didaktik 29(3/4):223–258
National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983) A nation at risk. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
Shulman LS (1986) Those who understand: a conception of teacher knowledge. Educ Res 15(2):4–14
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mesa, V., Leckrone, L. (2020). Assessment of Mathematics Teacher Knowledge. In: Lerman, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15789-0_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15789-0_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15788-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15789-0
eBook Packages: EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education