On some psychological aspects of mathematics achievement assessment and classroom interaction

The way students and teachers evaluate mathematics achievement differs in certain respects. To which causal performance is ascribed determines the teacher's strategy to interact with the student on the one hand and influences the student's willingness to invest additional effort on the other. Certain possible causal factors for success and failure in mathematics and their relation to teacher-student-interaction are discussed in the present article. A rather general cognitive scheme, the teachers reference norm, explains differences between the teacher's perception and assessment of student characteristics and subsequent teaching interventions.