The Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT) is an authentic tool for evaluating prospective teachers by examining their abilities to plan, teach, assess, and reflect on instruction in actual classroom practice. The PACT seeks both to measure and develop teacher effectiveness, and this study of its predictive and consequential…

Background/Context: Most reforms in elementary education rely on teacher learning and improved instruction to increase student learning. This study increases our understanding of which types of professional development effectively change teaching practice in ways that boost student achievement. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study:…

The current investigation will synthesize numerous studies conducted across the nation at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Meta-analytic techniques will assist parents and educators in making evidence-based decisions while adding to the research supporting educational reform and promoting best practices in both educational models.…

The aim of the present study was to examine how different types of tracking--between-school streaming, within-school streaming, and course-by-course tracking--shape students' mathematics self-concept. This was done in an internationally comparative framework using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). After…

Districts throughout the nation are engaged in comprehensive transformation to "turn around" low performing schools. Standardized test scores are used to gauge student achievement; however, academic gains may lag behind leading indicators such as improved school climate and effective leadership. This study examines 16 underperforming…

Many researchers, educators, administrators, policymakers and members of the general public doubt the prevalence of high-achieving African-American males in urban high schools capable of excelling in mathematics. As part of a larger study, the current study explored the educational experiences of four high-achieving African-American males…

This study concerns pupils' experience of unit and non-unit fractions of a discrete quantity during specially designed lessons. The aim was to explore pupils' understanding of operations such as "b/c of a" in lessons where the teachers were aware of some pupils' difficulties beforehand and what needed special attention.…

This longitudinal study examines growth in teacher knowledge as measured by two popular assessments--Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) and Diagnostic Teacher Assessments in Mathematics and Science (DTAMS). Using data collected from 24 teachers, we compare the extent to which each assessment captured teacher learning during a K-8 mathematics…

Diagnosing student learning barriers has been recognized as the most fundamental and important issue for improving the learning achievements of students. In the past decade, several learning diagnosis approaches have been proposed based on the concept-effect relationship (CER) model. However, past studies have shown that the effectiveness of this…

This article investigates gender inequity in the National Merit Scholarship Competition. Results suggest the competition favors males due to their higher mean score on the mathematics section and greater variability on all sections of the PSAT, which shares differential validity concerns with the SAT in terms of gender. These instruments are…

Using the Gap Analysis problem-solving framework (Clark & Estes, 2008), this study examined the performance gap experienced by 6th grade students on the math sections of the ISEE (Independent School Entrance Exam). The purpose of the study was to identify and validate the knowledge, motivation, and organization causes of the students' low…

The purpose of this research study was to examine leadership behaviors of middle school principals who have been successful in stimulating and sustaining African-American students' mathematics achievement on the California Standards Test. Specifically, this research sought to answer the following questions: 1) How do middle school principal…

A recent trend in the traditional mathematics classroom is the use of online homework systems. Where traditional homework problems are retrieved from a textbook, online homework systems provide problems online and permit students to interact with the system in order to complete homework assignments. Mathematics instructors who use or who wish to…

This study investigated the effects of parental involvement in the middle school students' achievement and self-perception of mathematics ability. Alarmingly low math proficiency, along with diminishing involvement with middle school parents, generated the purpose of the study. This research project used technology-based parental-involvement…

This study examined the impact of computer-assisted instruction on the mathematics performance of underachieving fifth-grade students in a rural school district in South Carolina. The instructional technology program ([IF) is South Carolina's response to addressing the needs of its young, struggling math students. The 449 fifth-grade students in…