The effect of level marking mathematical tasks on students' time spent on it: An experimental study

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effect of level-marking mathematical tasks on students’ time spent on such tasks and correct solutions. The study was conducted among students in lower secondary schools in Norway. The effect was measured by comparing the control group with the experimental group. An independent samples t-test suggested that even if the students were given the same mathematical task, the time spent on the task depended on the level-marking. The results suggest that the level-marking of tasks has a significant effect on students’ time spent on solving the task. In addition, the preliminary results show a negative effect of level-marking on the correct solutions of the given task.