نبذة مختصرة : South Australian Secondary Mathematics teachers consider their testing parameters (duration and frequency) to be consistent with teachers elsewhere in the state, however, formal evidence is not available. A review of literature presented similar gaps in this evidence in other jurisdictions in Australia. The logic model that underpins the resource heavy (in terms of time) program are not clearly espoused and therefore require definition. This clarificative evaluation identifies the status quo in secondary Mathematics classrooms and identifies a logic model. The evaluation shows that assessment parameters are set to align with high-stakes assessment, and this preparation occurs throughout high school. It also shows that the mechanism for achieving this preparation not defined, and, at times, is contradictive. With over 64 000 students enrolled in South Australian high schools (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021), any program of assessment, consistently administered or otherwise, in which students sit up to eight assessments per year, is a significant outlay of resources that requires thorough evaluation. In South Australian high schools, there is no evidence of a significant increase in numeracy attainment over the past 10 years (Goss, Sonne-mann, & Emslie, 2018), and the prevailing social narrative and evidence from PISA (Thompson, De Bortoli, Underwood, & Schmid, 2019) does not suggest that high school mathematics achievement is increasing. To monitor progress in studies of mathematics, one of the key tools that teachers have access to is school-based assessment, and support could be found for interrogating the success of prevailing school-based assessments given the stagnating results. Interestingly, Australian high school teachers were satisfied with what can be described as traditional tests as valid measures of student ability (Watt, 2005). Mathematics testing protocols in South Australian high schools require evaluation, as over 64 000 students are engaged with over 250 000 hours of assessment that teachers are satisfied with, that is a part of an overall system that is not demonstrating significant progress in student attainment. While the literature suggests that assessments in mathematics both rank students and validate the education program (Watt, 2005), interviews with participants in this research largely focused on preparation for high-stakes assessment as being the determining factor when deciding on the parameters that assessments should have. As a mode of preparation for high-stakes assessment, traditional assessments are susceptible to content bias in longer, single mode assessments (Clarke & Stephens, 1996), and it can be argued that single mode assessments with non-examination style questions are not likely to prepare students for examinations. This evaluation does not make the case for alternative assessments, or argue for traditional versus non-traditional assessment, but identifies the status quo and evaluates the logic of assessment parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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