A Comparative Study Of College Entrance Examination Questions Of Mathematics In China,the United States And The United Kingdom

The proposition of the college entrance examination is an important part of the college entrance examination reform,so the analysis and comparison of the college entrance examination questions have attracted more and more researchers’ attention.One of the research perspectives is the international comparison of the college entrance examination questions.With the promulgation and implementation of General High School Mathematics Curriculum Standards(2017 Edition,revised in 2020),the direction of the new round of college entrance examination proposition reform is guided by academic quality standards,focusing on students’ core literacy.To this end,this study selects the New Curriculum Standard National Examination VolumeⅡ(science)from 2017 to 2019 and the New College Entrance Examination Volume I from 2020 to2022 as the research objects,and takes the contemporaneous college entrance examination questions in the United States and the United Kingdom as the reference for comparative research.The main question of the study is what are the differences between the basic characteristics,the examination of mathematical knowledge content,the comprehensive difficulty and the examination of mathematical core literacy in the college entrance examination questions of mathematics in China,the United States and the United Kingdom.In order to compare and analyze the college entrance examination questions of mathematics in China,the United States and the United Kingdom more systematically and objectively,the author constructs an analysis framework from four perspectives: basic characteristics,mathematical knowledge content,comprehensive difficulty and mathematical core literacy,and conducts quantitative and qualitative research on the sample test questions of China,the United States and the United Kingdom in the past six years.The main research conclusions are as follows:(1)Basic characteristics: The college entrance examination questions of mathematics in China,the United States and the United Kingdom all pay attention to the basic mathematical knowledge and ability.ACT and A Level mathematics questions pay more attention to the use of mathematical knowledge to solve problems,so candidates do not need to memorize complex formulas.A Level mathematics questions use a paper-based test to assess pure and applied mathematics in different papers.(2)Mathematical knowledge content: A Level mathematics have the widest distribution of knowledge points,but the Chinese college entrance examination questions of mathematics are the narrowest.The college entrance examination questions of mathematics in China,the United States and the United Kingdom all pay more attention to the examination of function,geometry and algebra.(3)Comprehensive difficulty: The Chinese college entrance examination questions of mathematics are the most difficult,but ACT mathematics questions are the easiest.In the levels of exploration,reasoning and knowledge content,Chinese college entrance examination questions of mathematics are the most difficult,but ACT mathematics questions are the easiest.In terms of arithmetic level,A Level mathematics questions are the most difficult,but ACT mathematics questions are the easiest.At the context level,ACT mathematics questions are comparable in difficulty to A Level mathematics questions,but Chinese college entrance examination questions of mathematics are the easiest.(4)Mathematical core literacy: The college entrance examination questions of mathematics inChina,the United States and the United Kingdom all have the highest level of examination of themathematical operation core literacy,but the examination level of the data analysis andmathematical modeling core literacy is relatively low.Based on the research,this paper puts forward some suggestions on the reform of mathematics in the college entrance examination,the preparation of test questions and mathematics teaching,hoping to further promote the college entrance examination reform of mathematics.Thus,the college entrance examination questions of mathematics could evaluate students’ knowledge,ability and literacy more comprehensively and objectively,and be more conducive to daily mathematics teaching.