Performance in and perceptions of computational thinking (CT) are considered vital dimensions for comprehensively assessing CT skills of students. In this study, secondary school students' CT performance and their perceptions were examined in terms of certain variables including gender, grade level, achievement and self-efficacy.…

Vertical scaling is used to put tests of different difficulty onto a common metric. The Rasch model is often used to perform vertical scaling, despite its strict functional form. Few, if any, studies have examined anchor item choice when using the Rasch model to vertically scale data that do not fit the model. The purpose of this study was to…

The pervasiveness of Computer Science (CS) in today's digital society and the extensive use of computational methods in other sciences call for its introduction in the school curriculum. Hence, Computer Science Education is becoming more and more relevant. In CS K-12 education, computational thinking (CT) is one of the abused buzzwords: different…

As the demand for skilled data scientists has grown, university level statistics and data science courses have become more rigorous in training students to understand and utilize the tools that their future careers will likely require. However, the mechanisms to assess students' use of these tools while they are learning to use them are not well…

Numerous studies have shown that individuals from less advantaged backgrounds face poorer labor market prospects partly because they are characterized by low levels of skills, including digital skills. However, regarding digital skills, most of these studies rely on indicators of general digital competences rather than of specific information and…

Chinese children routinely outperform American peers in standardized tests of mathematics knowledge. To examine mediators of this effect, 95 Chinese and US 5-year-olds completed a test of overall symbolic arithmetic, an IQ subtest, and three tests each of symbolic and non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge (magnitude comparison, approximate…

Access to high-quality education at scale is limited by the difficulty of providing student feedback on open-ended assignments in structured domains like programming, graphics, and short response questions. This problem has proven to be exceptionally difficult: for humans, it requires large amounts of manual work, and for computers, until…

This tool is intended to support state and local education agencies in developing a statistical model for estimating student postsecondary success at the school or district level. The tool guides education agency researchers, analysts, and decisionmakers through options to consider when developing their own model. The resulting model generates an…

This applied research methods report is a guide for state and local education agency policymakers and their analysts who are interested in studying teacher mobility and retention. This report provides the foundational information needed to answer policy-relevant research questions related to teacher mobility and retention and presents the decision…

The Numeracy Centre at the University of Cape Town has taught a one-semester quantitative literacy course for social sciences students since 1999. This study aims to provide an example for how the design of such a course can be assessed for alignment with quantitative reasoning goals. We propose a framework of learning outcomes for the course and…

This study aimed to examine whether a computational thinking (CT) intervention related to (a) number knowledge and arithmetic (b) algebra, and (c) geometry impacts students' learning performance in primary schools. To this end, a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group design was employed, with 61 students assigned to the experimental group and 47…

Previous studies have found that block play results in better spatial ability which may lead to greater mathematical skills. The current study examined a specific type of block play, structured block play in which a copy of a block configuration is constructed. Structured block play is a difficult cognitive task that requires an understanding of…

This article aims to explore the symptoms and characteristics of dyscalculia. This is a qualitative study. Five experts in the field of special education took part in a focus group interview. Each expert had more than ten years of experience in their area of expertise. To determine the content validity of the protocol, three experts in special…

Money skills are important for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to successfully live independently. A crucial first step is teaching them money identification. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of using TouchMath money (TMM) to teach middle school students with ASD to count money. A multiple probe design across…

In this article, the authors explain how they leveraged the popularity of the "Star Wars" franchise to introduce a task steeped in popular culture as a fun way to engage their students in investigating complex mathematics that have real-life connections to careers in toy design and engineering design in general. The authors share various…