Enhancing Numeracy Skills of Grade 3 Students Through Authentic Performance Tasks

Abstract

Numeracy is the capacity to use mathematical ideas in all facets of life. It involves activities such as adding and subtracting numbers, counting, number recognition, solving number problems involving various operations, sorting, observing, identifying, and establishing patterns. It is one of the fundamental skills that students should have mastered by the end of their primary schooling. With the notable importance of mastery of numeracy skills, low achievement and performance of the learners were observed in this aspect. This study aimed in enhancing the numeracy skills of Grade 3 learners through authentic performance tasks. The variable in numeracy skills includes the four fundamental operations and problem solving. The quasi-experimental design was utilized wherein purposive sampling or non-randomized sampling was used. In this study, 33 Grade 3 learners of Rizal Elementary School were selected to participate in the tests. Pre-test and post-test crafted by the teacher were the main instrument in the study. The result revealed that in the pre-test the learners obtained a mean percentage score (MPS) of 38.20% in four fundamental operations, which implied a non-numerate level. While in terms of problem solving, the learners obtained a MPS of 20.60% which is also in the non-numerate level. It has a grand mean of 29.40% with an interpretation of non-numerate level. In the post-test, it was observed that four fundamental operations have a MPS of 81.10% which is in average numerate level, while problem solving has a MPS of 76.30% with a grand mean of 78.70% with an interpretation of average numerate level. This implied that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test in the four fundamental operations and problem solving. Thus, it can be concluded that the application of authentic performance tasks was effective to bridge the gap on numeracy skills.