Introductory placement tests of students with primary school teacher major in Hungary

Abstract

In the academic year of 2016/17, the Department of Mathematics at the ELTE Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education (Budapest) has introduced a new, Mathematics Primer Course for first-year students majoring in primary school education. Since this year, every first-year student to enrol has taken a compulsory placement test in Mathematics. Our supposition from this was that the students who attain weaker results do not have poorer abilities, but rather suffer lacks in their factual knowledge. Moreover, they do not possess adequate experience or skills in how best to apply their knowledge to an exact problem. By reviewing the methods and techniques to be applied when solving the placement test, we can deduce which topics demand greater emphasis in the future.