Results from an English assessment of achievement on two geometric topics, line symmetry and angles, are reported. Contrasts in the patterns of responses to related items, and to the same items by pupils aged 11 or 15, are highlighted. (MNS)

This is the fifth annual edition of the Brown Center Report on American Education. It analyzes the difficulty of items on the math portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), examines the content training of middle school math teachers, and evaluates the Blue Ribbon Schools Program. The NAEP assesses student performance…

This report summarizes the 2003-2004 state assessment information that was submitted to the U.S. Department of Education by states in their Annual Performance Reports. States and other educational entities receiving Part B funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) submitted their Annual Performance Reports to the U.S.…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires that states improve academic performance so that all students reach proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2014 and that achievement gaps close among student groups. States set annual proficiency targets using an approach known as a status model, which calculates test scores 1 year at a time. Some…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a typical California community college Intermediate Algebra course in preparing students for success in the transfer level mathematics courses for which Intermediate Algebra was the prerequisite. The subsequent mathematics course taken by each of the 986 students who received a grade…

This monograph presents the findings of a multiyear study of the effectiveness of reform-oriented mathematics and science instruction. It builds on an earlier RAND study, called the Mosaic project, which found "a weak but positive relationship" between reform practices and student achievement (see Klein, Hamilton, McCaffrey, Stecher,…

This paper describes the data sources and method used in conducting a 3-year evaluation of the Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) of the National Science Foundation in four cities. The paper also provides a discussion of two approaches to analyzing the evaluation results: structural equation modeling (SEM) and a complementary analysis of the…

This paper examines how controlling statistically for baseline covariates (especially pretests) improves the precision of studies that randomize schools to measure the impacts of educational interventions on student achievement. Part I of the paper introduces the concepts, issues, and options involved. Parts II and III present empirical findings…

Numerous researchers have found positive effects of year round school on student achievement. This study examined the progress of third grade teachers from one traditional school and one year round school through their reading and mathematics textbooks in order to determine whether this purported benefit was realized in the year round school…

This report is the third in a series based on findings about young children's early experiences with school from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, the ECLS-K study selected a nationally representative sample of…

This study explored the perspectives of teachers, administrators, and students as they were engaged in a 5-year funded project aimed at improving science and mathematics achievement for African American students in a school district. The study also discusses the obstacles that hindered and the supports that bolstered this project. In this study,…

This paper reports on a study carried out in the Netherlands which is aimed at finding an explanation for the curious evidence that the reformed approach to mathematics education appears to have a less positive influence on girls' results. Over and over it turns out that girls' achievement scores in primary mathematics are lower than those of…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of environmental conditions of adult literacy and demographics prevalent during infancy and early childhood on mathematics and language arts literacy scores on eighth grade achievement tests. This study collected published scores for eighth grade math and language literacy from public schools…

This study offers systematic trend analyses of NAEP national and state-level public school fourth and eighth graders' reading and math achievement results during pre-NCLB (1990-2001) and post-NCLB (2002-2005) periods. It compares post-NCLB trends in reading and math achievement with pre-NCLB trends among different racial and socioeconomic groups…

This research project investigated the effects of computer-assisted cooperative learning in mathematics instruction within integrated classrooms for 118 third-graders (25 with learning disabilities) and 92 fourth-graders (16 with learning disabilities). Students were grouped into cooperative learning, whole-class, or individual learning situations…