Differences between black, anglo and chicano male and female adolescents were studied to determine the extent to which these differences are associated with differences in attitude toward mathematics, parental influence, peer influence, and societal influence. Findings supported the conclusions of similar studies with the exception of a more…

The proposition was examined that for children from different family groups, there are variations in relations among their ability, attitudes toward school, and academic achievement. The study indicated that the family may act as a critical substratum variable that influences the relations between children's attitudinal and cognitive attributes…

Beliefs about children's performance in mathematics were examined through interviews with mothers and their sixth-grade children in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and in Chinese-American and Caucasian-American groups in the United States. (Author/LMO)

Discussed is the difference in the use of verbal explanation, identified by observations of mathematics teaching in first- and fifth-grade classrooms in Japan and the United States. The author suggests we reexamine the role of direct teaching and stress both concrete experiences and verbal explanations at the same time. (MNS)

The academic achievement of men and women was compared to determine why women are underrepresented in certain curricula, especially engineering. Math-related attitude and anxiety factors were examined, and a number of ACT test scores were studied. A math questionnaire is appended. (Author/MLW)

Investigated the behavior of college mathematics professors as they taught a basic course. It was found that all of the teachers typically taught the class as a unit using a teacher centered approach. Compared to less effective teachers, the more effective teachers asked more product questions and covered more content. (PK)

This study investigated whether a global cognitive development construct could effectively predict both concurrent and future Grade 1 achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics and whether there were gender differences in the relationship between the construct and achievement. Sixty-five first grade pupils were selected for the study.…

This study investigated the ways students represented fractions on number lines and the effects of instruction on those representations. The instruction primarily concerned representing fractions and ordering fractions on number lines. (Author/PK)

Using samples of college students of very high ability and strong academic background, sex differences in performance and perceptions of performance in introductory chemistry and mathematics courses were studied. Considerable differences favoring men were found, and these appeared to be due primarily to differences in mathematics background.…

This study concerns the selection of mathematically talented students at the beginning of secondary school in Australia, using a version of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Age and sex differences were found. Younger and older students responded to SAT items in qualitatively different ways. (MNS)

Two experiments investigate how attributes of peer models influenced achievement behaviors among children who had experienced difficulties learning mathematical skills in school. Children in the single-coping-model, multiple-coping-model, and multiple-mastery-model conditions demonstrated higher self-efficacy, skill, and training performance,…

This study attempts to understand the American and Japanese cultural and ethnic differences in student's mathematics scores from the perspective of differential cognitive organization of number resulting from differences in primary-language characteristics. The relation between cognitive representation of number and mathematics achievement are…

Investigates whether 53 mothers' beliefs about achievement were related to their seventh grade children's sex differences, and the association between these beliefs and their children's performance in mathematics. (HOD)

A task specification chart that integrates the content facets and the procedural steps of a specified task is suggested as a tool for designing a test and interpreting its results. This procedure is demonstrated for a mathematics test covering one instructional unit on adding and subtracting fractions. (Author/GDC)

Behaviorally disturbed students were administered portions of a test battery including the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT), and the Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test (SDMT). Results on the predictive validity of the instruments for mathematics and reading are given. (Author/ABB)