This paper examines the relationship of the policies and practices employed by 3 high school reform models--Early College High Schools, Redesigned High Schools, and High Schools That Work--with student success in college preparatory mathematics courses by the end of the 10th grade. Data on policies and practices collected through a survey of…

Although many studies have focused on the importance of school composition for student achievement, there is still no consensus on "whether" school composition matters to student achievement, and, if so, "why". Therefore, the present study investigates the association between school composition and mathematics achievement at…

This article analyzes the design decisions of a team developing diagnostic assessments for a learning trajectory focused on rational number reasoning. The analysis focuses on the design rationale for key decisions about how to develop the cognitive assessments and related validity arguments within a fluid state and national policy context. The…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference in achievement scores exist between students who attended the Johnson County School System preschool program and those who did not as measured by standardized TCAP achievement test Reading/Language Arts and Math scores of students in the third and fourth grades. The variables of grade…

Most mathematics assignments consist of a group of problems requiring the same strategy. For example, a lesson on the quadratic formula is typically followed by a block of problems requiring students to use the quadratic formula, which means that students know the appropriate strategy before they read each problem. In an alternative approach,…

This study examined the difference between 2012 CRCT math sores based on principal leadership styles and teacher morale, as well as the relationship between teacher morale and 2012 CRCT math scores at each of the 12 elementary schools within a Northwest Georgia county school district. There is a gap in current research regarding the importance of…

Educators across the United States have searched for avenues to improve students' mathematics achievement since the publication of "A Nation at Risk" (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) which reported that American students were behind students in other countries academically. Recent legislation, No Child Left Behind…

In early childhood settings narratives that capture children's learning as they go about their day-to-day activities are promoted as a powerful assessment tool. However, in the New Zealand context there is increasing concern that learning stories currently downplay domain knowledge. Data from teacher interviews and samples of learning stories…

Drawing on 1386 questionnaire responses, 11- and 12-year old primary students in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan valued the same six orientations in their mathematics learning. These are achievement, relevance, practice, communication, information and communication technologies [ICT], and feedback. Each of these six values was also embraced…

In this paper we present findings from a study investigating the relationship between all girls' classes, all boys' classes and coeducational classes on student mathematics self-concept and student perception of classroom environment. Further, we compared responses of girls in all girls' classes to girls in coeducational classes and responses of…

Current educational policies in the United States attempt to boost student achievement and promote equality by intensifying the curriculum and exposing students to more advanced coursework. This paper investigates the relationship between one such effort -- California's push to enroll all 8th grade students in Algebra -- and the distribution of…

Background: In a previous study, the total, direct and indirect effects of parental education on reading, mathematics and science achievement have been estimated for Grade 4 pupils of 37 countries that participated in PIRLS and TIMSS 2011 studies (Gustafsson et al. in "TIMSS and PIRLS 2011: Relationships among reading, mathematics, and…

Teaching mathematics has long required the use of technology due many powerful affordances. More recently, education technology has been developed to support personalized learning through the use of adaptive learning systems. Through the use of educational technology in online learning, there is great potential for improving students' mathematics…

In spite of Tea Party criticism, union skepticism, and anti-testing outcries, the campaign to implement Common Core State Standards (otherwise known as Common Core) has achieved phenomenal success in statehouses across the country. Since 2011, 45 states have raised their standards for student proficiency in reading and math, with the greatest…

Research findings have established that students often struggle with mathematical symbols including common misconceptions for literal symbolic representations of variables but provide little evidence of when or how these misconceptions arise. This article reports findings from a study of grade 4-6 students' conception(s) for various…