AVE, in collaboration with BRIO, is working on developing the National Mathematics Literacy Test – a tool for measuring the level of mathematical literacy among students in Romania. Developed with financial support from Apa Nova Bucharest, it is set to be launched in the first part of 2024 and will be available for free use by all teachers in the country.
“We are ahead of the announcement of the PISA 2022 results, and regardless of what they may be, we believe it is necessary to understand that they show the level at a specific moment. What is important is how we interpret and understand them, but especially how we take action to improve them, what concrete steps we take to find scalable solutions to a problem that we knew about in 2018 when 47% of 15-year-old Romanian students had difficulties in solving mathematical problems. AVE, through its mission to support schools in Romania, especially aims to support the development of children’s competencies. The integrated expertise in the School Transformation Program will serve precisely this purpose: for students to make visible progress in each of the eight key competencies identified by the Council of the European Union, with mathematics being one of them. Every child in Romania needs to have at least the minimum level of mathematical literacy by the age of 15, and this is the objective that brings us together,” stated Silvia Toth, Director of Educational Programs at AVE.
The National Mathematics Literacy Test will be a tool accessible to teachers in Romania for free through the Brio.ro platform, measuring the level of mathematical literacy of students in grades I-XII. As a preventive method, the test will be able to identify those at risk in terms of mathematical literacy and monitor personalized intervention programs for students. Furthermore, students who choose to use it will have the opportunity for self-assessment in line with their current school year.
Used by specialists in curriculum development or educational policies, this tool will provide an overview of the overall level of mathematical skills nationally and measure the solid and comparable level of each student.
The mathematical content considered includes properties of numbers and number operations, measurement, geometry, data analysis, statistics and probability, as well as algebra.
“The National Mathematics Literacy Test is the first of its kind in our country and fully complies with the scientific rigor required by a high-quality assessment tool. Developed based on a well-established and internationally recognized framework, the test has been meticulously adapted to suit all age groups, from the youngest students to adolescents. Its significance lies in its ability to measure and improve the numeracy skills of Romanian children, a crucial aspect for their academic and professional development. Through this tool, we aim to provide a solid foundation for understanding numerical concepts, cultivate analytical skills, and encourage the practical application of mathematical knowledge in real-life situations,” said Gabi Bartic, CEO of BRIO.
The National Mathematics Literacy Test will be available in two forms: a short one and a long one, and the platform will automatically generate a report specific to the type of test taken by the student. For the short form of the test, an ergonomic report containing only scores and graphs will be generated. For the long form of the test, two reports will be generated: one ergonomic, similar to the one mentioned earlier, and one detailed report that will also present the types of interventions that can be carried out for practicing or deepening the objectives assessed for each subcategory of content.
The test can be administered by any teacher starting from the first part of 2024 and is developed based on the model of the national test used in the USA for tracking students’ progress, applied in the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades.