We have developed a taxonomy of common errors made by mathematics students at the school-university transition. The purpose of this study is to highlight key areas of misunderstanding and to influence future teaching and assessment in Calculus and Algebra in order to reduce such errors.
We analysed a total of 206 first year Calculus and Algebra exam scripts. These were from the 2006/2007 end of year examination for the module MSM1Ab Mathematics Core, taken by both first year single and joint honours mathematics undergraduates at the University of Birmingham. On each exam script, we considered solutions to five calculus and five algebra questions from the compulsory section of the exam paper. We developed a taxonomy detailing the frequency and type of common errors made throughout all ten questions.