EVALUATION IN MATH: WHY IS IT SO UNFAIR?

Since our birth, we are constantly assessed. First are our parents, and then other family members, family friends and acquaintances who assess us by our physical and behavioural characteristics. This situation does not change as we grow up. On the contrary, society still imposes patterns and rules of conduct, by which we continue to be constantly assessed. Then, when we start school, at five and six years of age, we are faced with an even more rigid assessment, since, in addition to family assessment, the school grades our successes and failures. Not only are our actions assessed, but also our ability to demonstrate what we have learned is evaluated. However, what does it mean to learn? Is it only the ability to memorize or will it be the ability to articulate the accumulated knowledge to produce our own results and conclusions? On the other hand, should the evaluation process be the same in all cases or for all students? What factors influence the learning evaluation results, particularly in Mathematics? In this work, we discuss the influence of affective factors on students’ performance in mathematics, using the participant observation method as main strategy. The data collected and analysed in this study emerged from the students’ participation and from the diagnostic tests and surveys carried out in mathematics classes for undergraduate degree students in Basic Education over the period from 2015 to 2017. The results of some forms of evaluation that have been used successfully with these students to overcome the anxiety and mental blocks in mathematics caused by affective factors are reported and discussed.