The main concerns put forth for not allowing symbolic calculators in examinations are:

• What will there be left to examine if calculators can do symbolic manipulation?

• Won’t examinations become much harder if we need to devise ways where students do not profit from the power of such calculators?

• Are we not signing the “death warrant” of our own subject by permitting such devices which “dumb down” algebraic and analytical techniques in a similar way that scientific calculators have robbed students of numeracy facility, and some teachers claim, graphics calculators are slowly diminishing students’ understanding of functions?

• Don’t people setting examinations need to be thoroughly trained (at whose expense?) to be familiar with the capabilities of all machines on the market so as to be able to set questions that do not favor students with one machine over students with a different make?

All of the concerns mentioned above are certainly valid, and we need to ensure that none of the scenarios that disadvantage student performance occur. We need to take particular care that the examinations do not become more difficult, thus making success even more inaccessible as

here-to-fore. This would certainly serve as a key factor in de-motivating students to pursue careers in mathematically related fields, and making our subject more elitist than the popular conception.

Certainly one way forward is to have a system of two-tier examinations.

In this system, two papers would form a final examination whereby one paper would not allow any technology at all and the second paper would set a minimum standard in technology that students would be required to have. Opponents to this, however, state that this would rebound back on classroom teaching creating an artificial situation just for exam purposes. Since students are allowed technology in the classroom, they should be allowed it then in the examinations since assessment should be the natural by-product of classroom teaching.






							COMPUTER ALGEBRA SYSTEMS - TECHNOLOGY IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION