Place Value Misconception Paper

Mathematical testing provides teachers the opportunity to identify students’ knowledge, methods and misconceptions. The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy [NAPLAN] (Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2011) presents questions to solve by utilising content descriptors from the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, n.d.-a). Mathematic computations have many methods of solution which would influence answers.

A misconception that students have when counting money is that the size of money reflects its value. Both Victoria State Government Education and Training [VET] (2017a) and Ojose (2015, p. xii) identify that students have the misconception that the larger the coin the greater it’s worth. Place value misconception would also see students place the dollar coin in the unit column (Sealy, 2018). For example, when answering question two (ACARA, 2011, p. 2) students may recognise the dollar coin as one cent as it is a smaller than other coins therefore counting thirty-six cents instead of one dollar thirty-five.

Misconception Two

Question four (ACARA, 2011, p. 3) requires students to understand place value. In year two students commence learning place value (Reys et al., 2016, p. 50), therefore having existing place value, face value

7). Students reviewing this question can identify that each shape is broken into four parts with only one part shaded in each, the misconception being that to be a quarter it is simply ¼ of something regardless of the size of each part, resulting in any answer being chosen. ASCD (2011, p. 9) highlight that not understanding fractions as equal parts of a whole is a common misconception, as supported by Mackle (2016, p. 139) who reinforces it should be clearly understood that fractions are equal parts of a whole. This misconception leads to the possibility of any answer being