Compared arithmetic knowledge and calculation strategies of children in England and Slovenia in relation to existing policy and practice regarding school entry age. Found that English children scored significantly higher than Slovenes at age 6 on basic arithmetic; by 7 there were no differences. English 6 and 7-year-olds scored higher on…

Critiques an article on poor school funding, child poverty, and mathematics achievement, suggesting it distorts the interpretation of prior research and presents a flawed interpretation of new research. Hypothesizes that the level of school funding and incidence of childhood poverty exert substantial, independent causal effects on student…

The comprehensive approach to arts education, moving art from the academic fringes into the core curriculum, is producing excellent results at one Bedford, Texas, elementary school. Students there are thinking smarter and performing better. Mathematics, reading, and writing scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills are steadily improving.…

Reviews evidence of students' increased math course-taking in the American College Testing database, based on systematic 10% samples of all students with valid ACT composite scores in 1987, 1990, 1993, and 1996 graduating classes. Students generally took more math courses in 1996. Since 1987, females increased math course taking and ACT test…

Presents one mathematician's view of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics national standards documents, discussing their history and highlighting specific notions, examples, concepts, phrases, and uses/misuses of the standards. Differentiates among what the standards say, what people think they say, and what teachers do in the classroom…

Discusses various views regarding the fundamental premises of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) original standards documents, examining concerns expressed by key stakeholders and noting that one of the problems with the standards is that the essence of the subject is lost. Describes mathematics education reform, curriculum…

An attitude survey of 184 men and 152 women with similar math backgrounds and ability found that women appeared to prefer rote over autonomous learning and familiar over novel situations. They felt less confident in their ability to do word problems. Attitudes rather than Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were more useful in predicting grades. (SK)

Chartered in 1990 by a consortium of 14 universities an colleges in the Chicago area, the Teachers Academy for Mathematics and Science aimed to improve the inservice training and professional development of K-8 math and science teachers. The accompanying Comprehensive School Development Process has four phases: readiness, instruction,…

Presents findings of a study testing Creemers' model of educational effectiveness (stressing learning time and opportunity), using data from an evaluative study in mathematics involving 30 schools, 56 classes, and 1,051 pupils in Cyprus. Influences on pupils' achievement were multilevel; classrooms' net effect was higher than that of schools.…

A study investigated the arithmetic performance of 197 students (grades 3-8) with mild disabilities and 937 controls and data are discussed in terms of student achievement and implications for standards. The mathematics vocabulary of students with mild disabilities was less developed and they had lower performance scores on computation. (Contains…

Describes an algorithm for planning college-level mathematics lessons based on the identification and achievement of student learning objectives. Discusses the ways in which this algorithm can help novice instructors to include opportunities for active learning in their lessons. (Contains 50 references.) (Author/ASK)

Twenty-seven children (ages 7-10) with learning disabilities and 42 controls were tested on three different mathematics tasks. Significantly more controls abstracted composite unit structures suggestive of operational logic on modified nonverbal and associativity of length tasks. On a flash card task, children with learning disabilities achieved…

A study found that among second-grade children with mathematics difficulties (n=49), children with both mathematics and reading difficulties were distinct from children with only mathematics difficulties, with the former being characterized by pervasive deficiencies in mathematical thinking and the latter by more specific deficits in problem…

Uses data from national assessment programs to compare Scottish pupils' mathematics performance at primary stages P4 and P7 with French students' performance at stages CE2 and 6e. Discusses methodological issues, including comparability of samples, selection of common items, and curriculum coverage of items. Reports some findings on relative…

Discusses report on the reading, mathematics, and science performance of Canadian 15-year-olds on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Program for International Student Assessment in 1999. Reports equity outcomes (effect of socioeconomic status on performance) in Saskatchewan are better than in the other provinces or any of…