This essay traces the history of two standards--estimation and mental calculation--devised by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). It is hoped that the history of these standards will illustrate the difficulties encountered by other proposed standards and by the standards movement as a whole. The essay provides an overview of…

This profile is designed as a recording sheet for monitoring an individual student's progress throughout the school year. Kindergarten assessment materials and the "Strategies for Instruction in Mathematics" suggests tasks and questions that can be used for on-going and summative assessment. Directions for use and descriptions of levels of…

This profile is designed as a recording sheet for monitoring an individual student's progress throughout the school year. Sixth grade assessment materials and the "Strategies for Instruction in Mathematics" suggest tasks and questions that can be used for on-going and summative assessment. Directions for use and descriptions of levels of…

In this study we test the performance of some nonexperimental estimators of impacts applied to an educational intervention--reduction in class size--where achievement test scores were the outcome. We compare the nonexperimental estimates of the impacts to "true impact" estimates provided by a random-assignment design used to assess the…

Presents a stochastic model for distinguishing mental arithmetic errors according to causes of failure. A series of experiments (1) studied questions of goodness of fit and model validity among four and five year olds and (2) used the model to measure the relative contributions of developmental improvements in short-term memory and arithmetical…

A laboratory exercise using a gerbil is described for use in the high school biology class and in accordance with the National Science Teachers Association guidelines. The authors cite references that deal with current awareness of the moral status concerning animals. The exercise includes measurement and calculations. (SA)

This article describes teaching mathematics to students with disabilities using "My Math," a three-component software program consisting of "shells" into which students or teachers insert content. The three components include computation problems, arithmetic word problems, and arithmetic story problems. The content of the program is discussed,…

Proposed is a gradual transition from arithmetic to the idea of an equation with variables in the elementary grades. Vertical and horizontal formats of open sentences, the instructional sequence, vocabulary, and levels of understanding are discussed in this article. (KR)

Outlined is the "nine complements" method of subtraction. This activity was used by students to generate proofs that explained why the subtraction method worked. Reasoning and inquiry skills are emphasized. Other examples are offered that have been successful in stimulating inquiry. (KR)

This article examines the level of understanding by children (six- to seven-year-olds) of the addition and equality symbols. The article reports that about half of the subjects were unable to write the mathematical expression of simple addition while they were able to do it verbally. (YP)

Experiments with 12 sixth-grade students doing mathematics assignments and 9 students doing reading assignments under differing conditions of radio and television distraction indicate no sizable distractor effects on time studying, accuracy of computation or reading comprehension, and reading rate. Results are consistent with the conceptualization…

Offers seven criteria for developing mathematical thinking, plus suggestions for teaching and assessing students' progress that are compatible with each learning criterion. Provides evaluation sheets that help the teacher assess and grade students on the criteria. (10 references) (MDH)

The interaction of reading and computational abilities in solving mathematics word problems was investigated with the responses of about 20,000 fourth graders and 20,000 eighth graders to items from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Item responses exhibited different types of interaction, a finding with implications for item-response theory…

Examined the mathematical beliefs and achievement of 62 elementary school students from a school at which teachers were participating in a project to improve mathematics teaching. Found that students who enjoyed mathematics were also confident of their math abilities and that there was little correlation between parental support and student…

Suggests ways that children's literature can be used to extend mathematical thinking to daily life and events in the preschool and primary grades classroom. Discusses books pertaining to such events as the calendar, celebrating birthdays, the daily schedule, taking attendance, and the lunch menu. (BB)