Education has been the platform of many individuals in and out of politics. Often, the topic is focused on school test scores, student achievement, and the demand for highly qualified teachers in the classroom. The No Child Left Behind legislation mandates school systems to adhere to a curriculum that promotes academic growth. Therefore, teachers…

This article focuses on learning environments that support students' mathematical understanding and enhance their adaptive motivation. Drawing on the authors' experiences as teachers and teacher educators, they first describe adaptive motivation. They then introduce TARGETTS, a lesson planning and analysis tool, and describe ways in which teachers…

Women's low enrolment in post-school engineering degrees continues to be a problem for engineering faculties and the profession generally. A qualitative interview-based study of Australian women engineers across the range of engineering disciplines showed the relevance of success in math and science at school to their enrolling in engineering at…

Poor math performance is a major concern leading the current educational reform agenda. Many educational math critics are claiming a math crisis. Researchers and school personnel are trying to resolve this crisis. Some are looking at curriculum-based evaluation (CBE) as a process for solving this problem. CBE and curriculum-based measurement (CBM)…

In this 15-week study the effects of motivational email messages on learner self-efficacy and achievement in an asynchronous math course were investigated. A repeated measures design was used. One hundred, ninety-six participants were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. Specially designed email messages were sent weekly to both…

Responding to a survey requires cognitive abilities similar to those for any other linguistic task. We argue that, when faced with a cognitively challenging task, individuals respond by simplifying the task, declining it, or performing it poorly. Using the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA 2003) data sets, we document that…

The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between prior knowledge, academic self-beliefs, and previous study success in predicting the achievement of 139 students on a university mathematics course. Structural equation modelling was used to explore the interplay of these variables in predicting student achievement. The results…

Concerns about the ability-achievement discrepancy method for specific learning disability (SLD) determination led to alternative research-based methods, such as failure to respond to intervention. Neither of these "regulatory" methods address the "statutory" SLD definition, which explicitly includes a deficit in "basic…

As many as 30% of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) do not achieve academically at the level predicted by their age or IQ. One of the variables that may contribute to their poor academic performance is homework completion. Unfortunately, a paucity of research has investigated interventions that address homework…

This study examined cross-level interactions between personal goals and classroom goal structures, as well as their additive contributions to predicting math achievement, engagement, interest, effort withdrawal, and avoidance coping, using a sample of 3,943 Grade 5 students from 130 classrooms. Results of hierarchical linear modeling showed that…

Using the ''between-grade levels'' regression discontinuity design, this study examined the hypothesized differential sensitivity of logico-mathematical (LM) and infralogical (IL) operational tasks to the effects of chronological age and first grade schooling in a sample of 580 1st and 2nd grade Israeli children. The results indicate that the…

This dissertation reports a study of a year-round school in comparison to a traditional calendar school and whether the year-round school calendar was related to higher student achievement in a large, school district in the southeastern United States. The data represented the results of third through fifth grade student state test scores in the…

The Summer Enrichment Camp (SEC) at Pequea Valley School District was developed to provide an extended school year for at-risk, Title I, students. This study compared the learning growth of the SEC students with similar students who did not attend SEC. The 36 students in the SEC group were compared to 18 non-SEC students using district and state…

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) focuses on young people's ability to use their knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. This orientation reflects a change in the goals and objectives of curricula themselves, which are increasingly concerned with what…

To investigate whether games may serve as useful formative assessment environments, this study examined, experimentally, the effects of two aspects of formative assessment on math achievement, game play, and help-seeking behaviors: (a) making assessment criteria explicit through the explanation of scoring rules and (b) incentivizing the use of…