This paper presents results from a part project on early assessment in mathematics, from a special educational perspective: Sustainable national assessment in mathematics - equity and quality in focus now and in the future. The focus is implementation of support for assessment in preschool-class and the teachers experience of this. Earlier results in this project indicates that some of the concepts used in the governing documents are not in harmony with the teaching culture in the early school years and that there is a risk of narrowing down the curricula and of “schoolification” (Bagger, Vennberg & Björklund, 2019). Bagger & Vennberg, 2019; Bagger & Vennberg, 2021). Policy work argues for early identification and support by a need to raise goal achievement, quality of teaching and to secure teachers assessment practices and support for learning so that it is distributed more equal (Regeringen, 2017). Hence, early detection and well-designed teaching for students is a target (Swedish Government, 2017). Research supports this as, early interventions and identification of students in need of support has been proven to make a difference (see eg Dweck, 2015; Holmes & Dowker, 2013; Cohen Kadosh et al., 2013; Kallberg, 2018; Mononen et al., 2014; Sterner, 2015; Vennberg, 2020). 

Mandatory support for assessment in mathematics has been implemented in preschool-class, (six-year-olds) since 2020 and with a tryout 2019. Preschool-class is a first school year situated in both the curricula of the preschool and of the compulsory school, it is mandatory and has a curriculum of its own. These students, and often their teachers, had not before this first year of tryout experienced assessment in this form and the teaching culture is imprinted by both care and learning. Furthermore, the group of students starting preschool-class have very varied prerequisites. Some of the students might never even have been to preschool before their year in preschool-class. For all the children, this is a first experience of going to school and part of learning how to be a student. The purpose of the assessment material in preschool-class, called Find the Mathematics, is to impact the teachers' understanding, teaching, and the students' learning and consists of several parts. The intention is that the assessment will lead to early and systematic teaching in mathematics, which also has been proven to be positive for students' development of knowledge and positive identities in mathematics. It is supposed to be carried trough as a group exercise, in which students talk with each other and answers questions, are active and show their thinking in mathematics. 

Assessment has had a way of taking over in classrooms, and sometimes learning is rather for assessment, than the opposite. Following from this, an expected challenge when implementing the material is to keep the care discourse that is an important part of teaching in preschool-class and at the same time provide high quality teaching.  Watson (2021) has explored care of, for, and through mathematics teaching and then refers to “…care for mathematics in its fullest sense; care for students including knowledge of community; and these two are connected by care for their learning of mathematics’ (p. 91). Watson then shows that care for students learning mathematics, and the care for mathematics is interdependent. Without caring about mathematics and at the same time meeting high expectations and to be challenged, it is not possible to reach deep learning. The purpose of this paper is to explore opportunities and obstacles for the care of mathematics learning, in teachers experiences from preparing and working with the material, Find the Mathematics. 

During the implementation period 2019, the preschool-class teachers were interviewed in focus groups of 4 teachers in two schools with varied student populations and socio-economical settings. One of the researchers visited the team of teachers as they got acquainted with the material and its teacher instructions, during the period they carried it trough and afterwards as they reflected on their work and the outcome. The conversations were recorded and the material itself and the instructions worked as a material for reflections. The focus in the interview was teachers’ own questions as well as aspects pointed out in the material as especially important and earlier research on national assessment in mathematics with young students. After the interviews, they were transcribed. The two researchers thereafter selected all statements concerning the assessment of knowledge in mathematics, mathematics knowledge itself and students in need of support for their learning. The segments were thereafter coded and thematized in relation to when aspects of care for the learning was challenged or supported. We then derived from Watsons (2021) “elaborated didactic triangle to show sources of influence on the teacher’s care for the learning of mathematics” (p. 197). This model recognizes the learning environment in terms of not only the content, materials, and strategies applied in the classroom, but also stretches it to the community and family context. Relational and emotional aspects are also included in the care for the learner, besides cognitive care (care and knowledge of students' way of working and their cognitive prerequisites). Cognitive care implies that it is important to promote exploration, an active mind and to allow students to be challenged and to explore and learn ideas, generalities, and patterns. Finally, the care framework derives from the standpoint that both mathematical challenge and sensitivity to students is needed to stimulate learning.

Five themes were identified when exploring the care of the learning in mathematics and opportunities and obstacles involved as teachers talked about their understanding and experience of the assessment material: fairness, adaptations, access, accuracy, and a limited range of forms of knowledge. These themes were identified at both schools but with a variation of solutions or reasons. In addition, the themes were intertwined. For students to get access to the material and for the teachers to get access to the student’s knowledge, adaptations needed to be made. If not, the assessment would not be fair. On the other hand, the teachers also felt hindered to provide support at times or fell into doubt if supporting one student would give an advantage in comparison to others. Accuracy and understand exactly what the student tried to express, which was especial challenging if they did not share language or if a student was shy or with-drawn. This was connected to relations and feelings of safety with both peers and teachers, the teachers pointed out that if this did not work – the student would not be able to be active and display their knowledge with accuracy. This also meant that it was important that the teachers managed to identify and meet needs in terms of relational aspects, mathematical knowledge and learning needs to carry out care of the learning in mathematics. We claim that this indicates that assessment is not only the achievement or knowledge per se that is important to retrieve information about for teachers to preschool-class students, but foremost how a student learns, understands, or can make use of the instruction provided. This in turn is at a high degree affected by teaching approaches stemming from the teachers’ competence, knowledge and understanding of the student, the knowledge assessment and the subject.

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