Finnish Pre-Service Teachers' Basic Mathematical Skills

A Comparison Between 2008 and 2020

Abstract

This study examined how first-year primary school teacher students at Åbo Akademi University in Vaasa, Finland, performed in a basic mathematics test, through a comparison between the years 2008 and 2020. By comparing the results of the mathematics tests from the two time points, it was possible to identify significant differences in basic mathematical skills demonstrated by the prospective teachers. The results were tested for significance, which showed that the grand total means of the mathematics test, and the task-specific means, had all declined. Furthermore, the test score distributions were compared. The results showed that the portion of students with high scores had decreased, and the portion with low scores had increased, a change that agrees with previous reports on the development of Finnish students’ mathematical skills.