Previous work has looked at the relationship between high school preparation and student performance in calculus-based introductory mechanics (physics 1) courses. Here, we extend that work to look at performance in introductory calculus-based electricity and magnetism (physics 2), and we look at the significance of what college math courses have…

This paper is a descriptive and preliminary report on recent efforts to address two questions: 1) Can school mathematics be used to enhance our students' ability to understand their changing world? and 2) What role might computer technology play in this regard? After recounting some of the mathematical tools that led to a better understanding of…

Implementation of a problem-based mathematics curriculum, the "Interactive Mathematics Program" (IMP), at three high schools in California has been associated with more than just differences in student achievement. The outcomes that distinguished students who participated in the IMP program from students who followed a conventional…

THIS REPORT DESCRIBES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PROGRAM IN PLANE GEOMETRY AND THE USE OF THIS PROGRAM IN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH TO GENERATE HYPOTHESES ABOUT METHODS OF PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT. AN INDUCTIVE APPROACH, BASED ON AN INTENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS IN A SELF-STUDY SITUATION, WAS USED TO DEVELOP PRINCIPLES OF PROGRAM…

FOUR SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS WERE STUDIED AND REVISED BY USE OF TUTORING TECHNIQUES WITH INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS TO CREATE MODIFIED PROGRAMS SUPERIOR TO THE ORIGINAL ONES. THE PROGRAMS USED IN THE STUDY WERE FIRST-GRADE READING, FIRST-GRADE ARITHMETIC, JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH, AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL GEOMETRY. PROGRAMS THAT LED TO IMPROVED…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in the United States know and can do in various academic subjects. The 1996 NAEP in mathematics assessed the current level of mathematical achievement as a mechanism for informing education reform. In 1996, 44…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment which, for the first time in the NAEP's history, made voluntary state-by-state assessments. This 1992 mathematics report marks the first attempt of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to shift to standards-based reporting of National…