Results of the most recent administration of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) suggest that the majority of secondary students believe in the independence of random events. In the study reported here, a high percentage of high school and college students answered similar problems correctly. However, about half of the students…

This paper examines the cognitive structures and processes that mediate mathematical and scientific ability. Ability is divided into achieved abilities and precursor abilities. Identified concepts in the area of achieved ability include expertise, understanding, and problem-solving. Other abilities can be seen as precursors to such achieved…

Evaluated was a three-year pilot project, the Academic Scholars Achievement Program. Its goals were: (1) to revitalize the college-preparatory mathematics program of two California high schools, and (2) to increase the number of minority students completing that program. Establishing collegial relationships between the faculties of the schools and…

Project Cumbre, the bilingual education program at the Ann Street Bilingual School in Hartford, Connecticut, was evaluated for the 1981-82 school year. The school was attended by 279 students in kindergarten through grade 6, of whom the majority were Hispanic. The participants, program, and objectives are described. Results are reported on (1)…

A battery of aptitude and vocabulary tests was administered to 477 students from two high schools. Test scores were correlated with grades in three mathematics courses (algebra, geometry, and algebra II/trigonometry) and scores on the PSAT and SAT. It was found that course grades are most strongly related to analytical reasoning, English…

This report is the third in a series of research projects concerning abilities and performance processes, particularly in school mathematics. A theoretical scrutiny of traditional psychometric testing, cognitive processes, their interrelationships, and an empirical application of the theoretical considerations on the level of junior secondary…

A study identified effective teaching strategies by constructing and comparing the teaching profiles of two eighth grade mathematics teachers whose students made significant achievement gains over the school year. This paper describes procedures used to select successful teachers within classroom groups having students with equivalent cognitive…

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the "Groups of Four" program, examining the impact of the cooperative learning strategy on students' achievement in mathematical problem solving. Effects of three specific independent variables in the program were examined in terms of gender, group assignment, and ability,…

The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), Test of Academic Skills Level I was administered to 10,186 tenth grade students in Hawaii during fall 1984. This two-section report presents findings from the SAT's mathematics subtest. This subtest measured students' competency in these nine areas: numbers, symbols, and sets; number properties and operations…

The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), Intermediate Level II, was administered to 11,077 sixth grade students during fall 1984. This two-section report presents findings of the SAT's three mathematics subtests. These subtests measured competency related to: (1) mathematics concepts (number, notation, operations, and geometry/measurement), (2)…

Three experiments were conducted with 51 college age beginning statistics students to assess the validity of six popular beliefs about factors related to statistics achievement. Mathematics background and ability, logical reasoning ability, attitude toward statistics, and anxiety were all found to have some relationship to statistics achievement.…

Differential item performance (DIP) is discussed as a concept that does not necessarily imply item bias or unfairness to subgroups of examinees. With curriculum-based achievement tests, DIP is presented as a valid reflection of group differences in requisite skills and instruction. Using data from a national testing of the ACT Assessment, this…

This paper examines the effects of teaching and learning strategies on mathematics achievement among eighth grade students in Malaysia using data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999. Factor analysis is used to separate the twenty-five teaching and learning practices into three main factors namely, instructional…

Presented are four fact sheets relating to mathematics education topics and which were produced by the ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education in 1981. Fact sheet topics are: (1) Females and Mathematics, (2) The Problem of Problem Solving, (3) Mathematics Teacher Supply and Demand, and (4) Microcomputers and…

Based on data provided by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, this study examines mathematics achievement in relation to various background variables, contrasts achievement levels of black and white (females and males) youth, and evaluates group achievement differences in the light of group differences in background variables.…