A gap in mathematics achievement between Asian and American children is acknowledged on both sides of the Pacific. Previous comparative investigations have been undertaken in China, Taiwan, Japan and the United States to gain insight into possible relationships between classroom strategies and the acknowledged achievement differences. Asian…

In recent years researchers have examined the apparent discrepancy between the sexes in mathematical ability. To explore the relationship between mathematics achievement and sex, sex role identity, self-esteem, and locus of control, 260 college students (170 males, 90 females), from three mathematics course levels, completed Rosenberg's…

This study was intended to determine whether sex-linked mathematics achievement and contextual differences persist into the university years. A random sample of 150 first-year mathematics students enrolled at a midwestern university was identified. A common 30-item calculus readiness test and a 37-item questionnaire, dealing with students'…

This paper is an overview of some points made at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in April of 1987. Gender effects were computed on 82 nationally standardized tests designed to determine precocity among youth. The effect sizes ranged from a magnitude of 0.50 (favoring females) for spelling in grade 12 on the…

Many high school and college students seem to dislike mathematics, do poorly in the subject (as evidenced by declining test scores), and avoid scheduling courses in mathematics. Answers to why test scores are declining and why mathematics achievement is low among adults are speculative and as varied as the educators who offer them. However, one…

Experimental schemes of concentrated studies have been in progress for some years at a number of upper secondary schools in Sweden. Concentrated studies involve concentrating the number of periods devoted during an upper secondary school course to the teaching of one subject within a shorter period of time than is laid down by the regular time…

Piaget has suggested formal operations, as measured by his tasks, may be related specifically to physics-type problem solving and that other hypothetico-deductive thinking processes develop in adults in other specializations. The present follow-up study examined the relationship between formal versus concrete operational thinking as measured by…

This study investigated whether Koreans and Americans differ in proficiency in informal mathematics, if Korean children start off with an advantage in this area, and if their informal mathematics is different from that of Americans. The study also examined: possible cultural differences in the understanding of and performance in formal mathematics…

Investigating the relationship between students' daily attendance and mathematics classroom performance, the study was conducted using 23 American Indian adult students enrolled in Remedial Mathematics 100 at the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute from September 1981 through November 1981. Classroom attendance was recorded on a daily basis…

Grade, sex, and race information of 1,391 students registered in Introduction to Business Statistics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga were gathered to investigate sex and race differences in achieving quantitative competencies. Results indicated that females scored significantly higher than males, whereas blacks scored significantly…

Results of 120 studies were combined by meta-analysis to determine effects on mathematics test performance of factors other than knowledge of content. Conditions that enhanced performance included testwiseness training, praise, word problem pictures, and frequent testing. Conditions depressing or not affecting performance were also noted. (MNS)

Examined (1) whether Korean children exhibit superior levels of mathematics achievement, compared to U.S. children; (2) whether an early advantage in informal mathematical thinking contributes to superiority in mathematical achievement; and (3) whether the superior achievement of Korean children is qualitatively different from that of U.S.…

A study of fourth and fifth grade classes suggests that competitive math activities give boys an advantage where cooperative math activities generally give girls an advantage. Suggestions to help teachers balance their teaching methods to decrease disparities between boys and girls are made. (MT)

Examined the potential of using repeated rate-of-response measures to identify students exhibiting difficulties in arithmetic. Second-grade students (N=30) were followed over two years. Pearson product-moment correlations were computed to determine the ability of rate-of-response measures to predict arithmetic achievement. Results indicate that…

Students' reported inner speech during mathematics problem solving was studied. Subjects from grades three to six were assigned to low-task or high-task difficulty groups. Between problems, students reported their inner speech. Both groups maintained an adaptive task-oriented problem-solving stance, with positive affect toward self. (Author/GDC)