Using student achievement in geometry as an output, 17 Punjab (India) schools were dichotomized as productive or underproductive. The global and analytic picture of such schools was viewed in terms of process and structure variables associated with school, classroom, teachers, and students. (Author/SJL)

Relationships between mathematics attitude and mathematics ability were investigated using six scale scores from Sandman's Mathematics Attitude Inventory and four mathematics scores from the California Test of Basic Skills. Results showed significant differences in mathematics attitude and mathematical ability among the class levels and the…

Gender-related differential item functioning (DIF) was examined in a context in which 3,946 middle school students received mathematics instruction focusing on problem solving. Reasons why four tasks on the performance assessment favored female students and two favored male students are discussed. (SLD)

Reports on a pilot program studying the use of computer software to enhance spatial skills presumed to be related to success in calculus. Addresses the effects of such a program on female and minority students. Results indicated that the combined effects of the computer, drawing and drafting, and gender variables explained 31% of the variance in…

This study used the Assessment Standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to evaluate the appropriateness and adequacy of selected standardized tests of mathematics achievement as they pertain to students with disabilities. Problems with content validity included inadequate representation of content domains, inappropriate…

This study examined gender-related issues in four Canadian and Asian education systems based on algebra and geometry achievement data. Results suggested that each system affected the academic achievement of males and females in similar ways, although one gender might be affected more seriously than the other. (SM)

Argues that failure to improve the quality of public education since publication of "A Nation at Risk" has cost the American economy hundreds of billions of dollars in unrealized growth. Asserts that policymakers must look beyond the largely ineffective efforts to improve school quality by increasing expenditures and reducing class size.…

Mathematical performance by 14 first- and second-grade children with specific language impairments (SLI) indicated difficulty with mathematical tasks that required immediate response. Findings suggest that storage and/or retrieval of rote sequential material is difficult for children with SLI. (Author/PB)

Singapore students scored highest on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Any nation that "outsources" its poverty (Malaysian street sweepers) and its low-achievers (who study in Malaysia) can get high test scores. U.S./Japan score differences stem from Japan's effective teaching practices. Among 13 occupations in the…

Analyzes students' productions, taking affective and social factors into account. Uses the technique of virtual monologue to reproduce the student's voice in order to describe as vividly as possible what might be going on in the student's mind during such situations. (AIM)

Investigated Finnish parents' explanations of their young children's reading and mathematics achievement, noting whether child gender influenced parent assessment. Parent surveys indicated that parents of boys assessed their children's mathematical competence to be higher than did parents of girls. The opposite was true for reading. For boys, the…

Used regression analyses to identify variables predicting the six most frequently cited problems that concerned African American parents and guardians of children enrolled in urban schools. Data from parent/guardian surveys highlighted six problems: school district racial climate; math problems; suspension; writing problems; reading comprehension…

Examined the effect of adding a computerized, curriculum-based, instructional management system to enhance mathematics instruction in low-income, urban schools. Contrasted math test performance gains for students in treatment and control groups (same-school and district-wide math instruction-only groups). Students in classrooms in which teachers…

Argues that current efforts to close achievement gap in mathematics between underrepresented minority students and white students are inadequate. Suggests that to close achievement gap greater effort must be made to train and hire quality teachers with pedagogical content knowledge. (Contains 14 references.) (PKP)

Prior to a precalculus course, 2,000 Asian, Hispanic, black, and white college students were graded on three dimensions of mathematical achievement: early skills, later skills, and formulation. The development of later skills was substantially the most important to successful course completion. Results suggest that for black and white students,…