TITLE:
A Multi-Strand Test for Assessing Year 4 Pupils’ Proficiency in Area Formulae
AUTHORS:
Chew Cheng Meng, Wun Thiam Yew, Lim Hooi Lian, Wong Sing Ie
KEYWORDS:
Mathematical Proficiency, Area Formulae, Multi-Strand Test, Rectangle, Square: Triangle
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.4 No.2,
February
23,
2016
ABSTRACT: The objectives of this study are to develop
a multi-strand test for assessing Year Four pupils’ proficiency in area formulae
and to determine their levels of proficiency in the area formula of a square,
rectangle and triangle, respectively. The researchers will employ a
cross-sectional survey research design and cluster sampling will be used to
select a sample from a population of Year 4 pupils who are studying in all
public schools in the state of Penang, Malaysia. However, at this stage of the
study, the paper only reports the results of the pilot test involving a sample
of sixty- seven Year 4 pupils who have learned the area formulae from a public
primary school in Penang. The results of the pilot test indicate that among the
five strands of proficiency in each of the area formulae, adaptive reasoning
shows the highest percentage of pupils who are not proficient and among the
three area formulae, adaptive reasoning in the area formula of a triangle shows
the highest percentage of pupils who are not proficient. But, among the five
strands of proficiency in the area formula of a square, rectangle and triangle,
procedural fluency, conceptual understand- ing and productive disposition show
the highest percentage of pupils who are very proficient, respectively. Overall,
the area formula of a rectangle shows the highest percentage of pupils who are
very proficient (59.7%). But, the area formula of a triangle shows the highest
percentage of pupils who are still not proficient (31.3%). The results of the
pilot study seem to indicate that the multi- strand test is able to assess the
levels of proficiency in the area formula of a square, rectangle and triangle,
respectively. The results imply that more attention should be given to the
strand of adaptive reasoning in the teaching, learning and assessment of the
area formulae in order to improve the pupils’ adaptive reasoning in the area
formulae.