Ask me questions and I will tell you what they assess and teach. An analysis of social sciences exams in the 5th and 6th grade of Primary School

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine the cognitive skills and knowledge that are evaluated in social science exams in the 5th and 6th grade of Primary School. The data processing (1240 questions in 111 exams) was performed using Access and SPSS. The most common verbs were "complete", "write" and "indicates", while "explaining", "think" or "links" appeared less frequently. The most usual interrogative questions were, what...? and who...? compared to a much smaller percentage of, why...? This formulation promotes the memorizing of questions but not the ability to understand, analyze or relate. The exams continue to promote factual knowledge, with little presence of procedures and attitudes. The social science assessment must focus on how to construct exams for a meaningful assessment of skills and abilities, rather than conceptual knowledge.