An Assessment Of High School Leavers? Development of Mathematical Thinking

This descriptive design study evaluated the mathematical thinking attainment level of 649 High School leavers, ages 18 to 19 years, in the context of their preparation for facing the challenges of the tertiary level math curriculum. The findings depict students' low level of mathematical thinking attainment regarding their paucity in critical thinking and a lack of heuristics repertoire as a guide to employing their contextual knowledge in solving fundamental non-routine problems. These findings are a matter of concern as there seems to be a mutual exclusivity between the content learned in school and the ability of students to think mathematically.