An examination of preservice middle school mathematics teachers' approaches to evaluate answers to geometry questions

The purpose of this study was to examine how prospective middle school mathematics teachers evaluate responses to open-ended questions in geometry. Nine prospective teachers in the final year of the Elementary Mathematics Teaching undergraduate program were selected as participants and asked to evaluate possible student responses to five questions in geometry. The findings indicated that prospective teachers adopted a multidimensional and complex approach to evaluating student solutions, but this approach emphasized conceptual accuracy, reasoning, and the use of mathematical representations. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for standardizing evaluation criteria.