Rebecca Woolley

In order to gain a recognised mathematics qualification in England, adults and young people are required to pass a timed test. Educational policy in this area rarely includes the voices of adults or teachers. The first investigative phase of this research attempts to redress this balance by exploring the attitudes of adults in England to timed mathematics tests through interviews and a focus group. The views of teachers in the Further Education sector were also sought through conducting an online survey. The findings were that most of the adults and teachers participating in this research perceive timed tests as a ‘necessary evil’; something that has to be undertaken in order to achieve a recognised qualification that often acts as a gatekeeper to further study. However, a significant minority of adults in this study said that the pressure of a time limit and the need for memorisation of methods inhibits their performance in timed mathematics tests. In the following action research phase of this project and drawing on the views of adults and teachers about possible alternatives to a timed test, a model of Connected Assessment for adult mathematics was then developed, trialled and evaluated with adult learners. This model of assessment aimed to support adults to give their ‘best’ performance. The key finding from a trial of Connected Assessment with two cohorts of adult learners was that assessment evidence was generated for about half of the mathematics curriculum at Level 2 without any restrictions on choice of task. The potential of the future development of Connected Assessment into a qualification was then discussed.