Analyzing Mathematics High School State Examinations in Albania in the 1970s and 2006-2015

This dissertation is devoted to the history of the Albanian system of education in general, its mathematics education program in particular, and, specifically, the Albanian high school mathematics assessment. Historical in terms of its research methodology, and mathematical-pedagogical in terms of the objects of the study, this research explores and compares the Albanian high school mathematics graduate examinations during 1970s and 2006 – 2015: two decades during two different historical periods. It analyzes the general structure of the examinations, their mathematical task design, and the history of their changes under the influence of political and social processes. The units of analysis here are the questions of each examination, which are examined both individually and in context as part of the examination, investigating the examinations’ topic coverage and comparing the latter to the intended national curriculum. This study was based on multiple primary sources, including documents from the Albanian Ministry of Education, the Central State Archive of the Republic of Albania, the Internet archive (http://www.arsimi.gov.al), memoirs of former teachers, high school textbooks during the respective years, and other sources. The analysis showed that Albanian mathematics education was not immune to political and social change: both its curriculum and assessment were affected. Examination administration, format, topic coverage, and item characteristics, even the pure mathematical problems, represented in some ways the Albanian social, economic, and political views of the time.