Reflections on students' answers to some items of INVALSI tests

Abstract

This article presents some didactic reflections on the answers of 9th grade students (second year in upper secondary school) to INVALSI tests in Italy. These reflections also concern common practices in Maths teaching, particularly regarding compulsory education. The analysis of the answers given by students to some items indeed reveals several criticalities related to basic knowledge and skills for meaningful Maths education. The paper suggests that a possible cause of students difficulties in answering to some INVALSI test items is of an educational nature and depends on an excessive attention devoted to mastery in symbolic calculation, leading to unaware training of merely mechanical skills.