Chapter 4: The Good Mathematics Teacher: Standardized Mathematics Tests, Teacher Identity, and Pedagogy

Compulsory standardized testing regimes in mathematics education are becoming increasingly widespread as systems of monitoring performance of state funded schools. Such tests are used not only to measure an individual child’s attainment, which can be reported to the clients (parents), but also to measure the proficiency of teachers and schools—the competing providers. It is within these economy-driven policy models of education that new identities of “the good mathematics teacher” are emerging. Investigation of links between standardized testing and teacher identity is important for our understanding of implications for classroom practice. Research involving mathematics teacher identity seeks to clarify the complex and shifting demands of teachers as individuals acting within the social settings of classroom, school, community, and beyond. This chapter focuses on perceptions of the “good mathematics teacher,” the part that standardized test regimes play in teacher identification, how teacher identity is reflected in classroom practice, and how teacher identity is implicated in pedagogical change.