Performance of sixth graders in Hong Kong on a number sense three-tier test

ABSTRACT

This study examined the performance of sixth graders in Hong Kong on a number sense three-tier test (NSTTT) and identified their possible misconceptions about number sense. The NSTTT comprises a content tier, which assesses the content knowledge of number sense; a reason tier, which assesses the reasons for the first-tier responses; and a confidence tier, which assesses students’ confidence in their responses to questions in the first two tiers. The study participants were 942 sixth graders in Hong Kong. The results indicated that the percentage of correct answers (and confidence indices) of the first two tiers (i.e. the content tier and reason tier) of the sixth graders was 53.96% (4.27). In addition, the sixth graders showed the highest performance on “ability to recognise number size” and the lowest on “ability to judge the reasonableness of computational results”. Moreover, the results revealed that some students showed a low performance on number sense but demonstrated extremely high confidence levels, indicating that they may have significant misconceptions regarding number sense and may lack of number sense. Furthermore, this paper discusses the educational implications of the findings.

KEYWORDS:

• Hong Kong
• number sense
• sixth grade
• three-tier test

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan: [Grant Number MOST 105-2511-S-415-003-MY3].

Notes on contributors

Ka Luen Cheung

Dr. Ka Luen Cheung is an Assistant Professor at the Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. His primary research interest is on Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations. He also conducts research in Mathematics Problem Solving, Number Sense, Geometric Thinking, E-Learning in Mathematics and STEM education.

Der-Ching Yang

Dr. Der-Ching Yang is a Distinguished Professor at National Chiayi University, Taiwan (R.O.C). His research interests focus on Number Sense, International Comparative Study, Mathematics Textbook, and Curriculum Development.