Integral to fostering computational thinking (CT) skills, which are increasingly essential in today's digital era, has been the shift of paper-based pictorial modeling activities to computational modeling. Research has indicated that modeling activities can advance students' understanding of a system's mechanism (i.e., systems thinking), such as…

Number line models provide a visual aid for students to examine the relationship of integers with each other and facilitate learning of integers and integer operations. Such models are typically used when students are asked real-life problems. This study employs a qualitative case study design to perform an in-depth analysis of how middle grade…

Teachers do not directly implement new teaching materials, but rather adapt them. For changing teaching practice, research requires more insights into these adaptions. This study draws on the Theory of Instrumental Genesis to describe the ways teachers adopt the percentage bar model to create different learning opportunities. The results of the…

This article explains the process behind estimating a National Education Cost Model (NECM) and generating from that model projections of per-pupil costs to achieve 2016 national average outcomes (reading and math grades 3 to 8) across all districts in the United States, from 2019-20 to 2020-21. This article is a follow-up to a preliminary report…

For the past decade, the accountability model associated with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) emphasized proficiency on end of year tests; with Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) the emphasis on proficiency within statewide testing programs, though now integrated with other measures of student learning, nevertheless remains a primary metric for…

Houston's experience with the Educational Value-Added Assessment System (R) (EVAAS) raises questions that other districts should consider before buying the software and using it for high-stakes decisions. Researchers found that teachers in Houston, all of whom were under the EVAAS gun, but who taught relatively more racial minority students,…

Typically a longitudinal growth modeling based on item response theory (IRT) requires repeated measures data from a single group with the same test design. If operational or item exposure problems are present, the same test may not be employed to collect data for longitudinal analyses and tests at multiple time points are constructed with unique…

Value-added approaches for attributing student growth to teachers often use weighted estimates of building-level factors based on "typical" schools to represent a range of community, school, and other variables related to teacher and student work that are not easily measured directly. This study examines whether such estimates are likely…

The effects of misspecifying intercept-covariate interactions in a 4 time-point latent growth model were the focus of this investigation. The investigation was motivated by school growth studies in which students' entry-level skills may affect their rate of growth. We studied the latent interaction of intercept and a covariate in predicting growth…

Recognizing the need to implement standards-based instructional materials with school-wide coherence led some Philadelphia schools to adopt whole-school reform (WSR) models during the late 1990s. The authors report on the relation between mathematics achievement growth for middle-grade students on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments and…

This document presents the proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). The theme of this conference is "Navigating Currents and Charting Directions." The theme reminds us that, although we are constantly pushed to account for the quality and impact of our research, we…

This document contains the second volume of the proceedings of the 29th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Conference papers are centered around the theme of "Learners and Learning Environments." This volume features 43 research reports by presenters with last names beginning between Adl…

This is a record of the proceedings of the 30th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). The theme of the conference is "Mathematics: Essential research, essential practice." The theme draws attention to the importance of developing and maintaining links between research and practice and…