Volume: 20  Number: 5  Page: 374–390  doi:10.2167/le638.0

Really That’s Probably About Roughly What Goes Down: Hesitancies and Uncertainties in Mathematics Assessment Interactions

Tamsin Meaney University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

This research examines how primary school children exhibit uncertainty in their spoken responses to mathematics assessment tasks. Students displayed uncertainty about: what was expected of them in a task; what information was provided; the correctness of their answers, and the exactness of their answers. The use of uncertainty devices and hesitation was related to: the task requirements; the accuracy of what was being proposed; the need to reduce the speaker’s loss of face, and the need to show deference to the listener. Different groups (boys/girls, students from high/low decile schools, Pacific Island/non-Pacific Island students and Year 4/Year 8) expressed hesitations and uncertainties in different ways.

Keywords: assessment, language, mathematics, student differences, uncertainty

© 2006 T. Meaney

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