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This thesis is about assessment and education in early mathematics. The aim is to develop knowledge about mathematics assessment in the Swedish preschool class and about how an equal mathematics education based on this assessment can be designed.

In Sweden, children begin preschool class at the age of six. In 2019, national assessment of mathematics was made mandatory in preschool class with the aim of assessing the mathematical thinking of all six-year-olds as they start school. To address the aim of the thesis, three studies were conducted: a document study, a focus group study, and an educational design research study. In the document study, assessment material for six-year-olds in Sweden and Norway was analysed. In the focus group study, four focus group interviews about early assessment with a total of 12 preschool class teachers were conducted. In the educational design research, four cycles of planning, implementation, and evaluation of mathematics education were conducted in a classroom with 18 preschool class students. Two theories were used: discourse analysis by Gee in study one and study two, and communities of practice by Wenger in study three. 

The findings of study one show a diversity of discourses both between and within the assessment materials of Sweden and Norway, indicating different views on when to assess, on what knowledge to assess, and on how and why to assess. The findings of study two show a diversity of discourses with different meanings ascribed to early mathematics education and equity. The findings of study three show that it is possible to develop mathematics education in a way that contributes to equity in mathematics, based on the assessment. 

Together, the findings of these studies indicate that teachers’ views on equity may affect the extent to which assessment may contribute to equity in early mathematics education. Furthermore, the results show that mathematics education in preschool class can be understood as unique, where the uniqueness is about how and why the mathematics education is carried out the way it is. However, mathematics education in preschool class can also be understood as changing as a result of challenges that come with the new national assessment for preschool class.