Evaluation is a complex task that requires clear and transparent criteria, ensuring all involved understand it as credible, with educational and social responsibility. However, as evaluation is not an exact science, it is naturally subjective. Do teachers prepare questions covering all levels of complexity? Do they reflect on the knowledge and complexity required for each question? What methods and tools do they use?

In higher education, studies on evaluation are few, and in mathematics subjects, they are almost nonexistent. Greater reflection on this topic in higher education institutions is needed to deepen knowledge. The SOLO taxonomy, developed by John Biggs and Kevin Collis, in 1982, includes five levels of learning complexity: pre-structural, uni-structural, multi-structural, relational, and abstract. The authors have used this taxonomy to assess exam quality and identify cognitive complexity levels needed for assessments. The SOLO taxonomy should be used by teachers to formulate questions, classifying them according to cognitive complexity and assigning appropriate weights in student evaluations. This approach helps identify areas for student improvement, aiming for greater academic and professional success.
This paper presents a comparative study of results and discussions based on an evaluation of Linear Algebra program content common to subjects from three different undergraduate programs at different higher education institutions. In the study, students took an exam with questions structured according to an ascending process of cognitive complexity, based on the SOLO taxonomy.

Authors:
Cristina Caridade, Politechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal
Verónica Pereira, Polytechnic of Guarda, Portugal
Inês Borges, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Portugal

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Cristina Caridade is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Politechnic Institute of Coimbra in Portugal

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristina-caridade-a1ab36107/

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