This report from the Ben Hill Elementary School in Atlanta (Georgia) provides information on student achievement for the 1986-87 school year. The narrative presents 11 findings concerning enrollment, attendance, reading achievement and math achievement. Conclusions and recommendations generated from these findings are the following: (1) on most…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether homework affects second grade mathematics achievement. The study involved two classes of on-grade-level students and involved a unit on place value. The results indicated that the achievement of the experimental group, which was given homework, was better than the achievement of the control…

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the cumulative effect of the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) on students' learning, a study examined reading and mathematics achievement by all students in the program over a 5-year period (1981-1985), as measured by the testing portion of the BSAP. Subjects were students in grades…

This study was undertaken to determine whether a significant correlation exists between the student's performance on the Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science Examination and three factors: (1) mathematics scores on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT); (2) a mathematics index score reflecting mathematics courses taken by the student…

To isolate the process deficits underlying a specific learning disability in mathematics achievement, 77 academically normal and 46 learning disabled (LD) students in second, fourth or sixth grade were presented 140 simple addition problems using a true-false reaction time verification paradigm. (The problems were on a video screen controlled by…

The purpose of this study was to assess children's and adults' quantitative understanding of fractions in a new and potentially definitive way, and to determine whether this understanding was related to fraction computational skill. Thirty-seven seventh graders and 32 adults (college students) participated in the study. A computation task was used…

Fourteen research reports related to mathematics education are abstracted and analyzed. Five studies deal with aspects of mathematics instruction, and there are four reports each on mathematics achievement and on two cognitive processes. The remaining items concern calculators, attitudes, and aptitude-treatment interaction. Research related to…

Research on the use of calculators in mathematics classes is reviewed. It is noted that calculators were initially too high-priced and of too low an availability to be viewed in terms of widespread use in classrooms. Technological and manufacturing advances have since made wide use possible. Proponents of calculator use see this technology as a…

This document summarizes the research done on calculators and calculator use. It is noted that calculators are now seen as acceptable, with fears about use in school currently infrequent, and the role of such devices much more evident than 6 years ago. The first two sections of this material summarize data on use and availability. It is noted that…

This document reports on the procedures and results of the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) testing program in changing from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), administered to grades 1 through 7 from 1973-79, to the California Achievement Tests (CAT), Form C, administered in Spring 1980 to provide a continuous testing program from the elementary…

Success in performing the medical calculations required of nurses demands a competency in basic mathematical skills. This competency cannot be assumed of a number of college students and the nursing student is not an exception to this trend. A test was designed to assess basic mathematical competency and administered to two groups of sophomore…

Sex differences in attributions for success and failure in algebra of Samoan community college students were examined and compared with attributions of a large group of mainland U.S. students. study included the Mathematics Attribution Scale: Algebra Version (MAS), which assessed students' attributions of achievement in algebra to their effort,…

Conceptually, the laboratory approach is based on Maria Montessori's and Jean Piaget's theories that students learn through becoming involved and experiencing mathematics. Teaching them means creating situations where structures can be discovered and where students can verify and relate ideas to objects. Following a discussion of definitions and…

Sixth-grade middle school students (N=91) in four mathematics classes served as subjects in a study designed to: (1) determine if the use of computers as an integral part of instruction would increase mathematics achievement; and (2) explore the impact of computers as an integral part of instruction on other factors (such as student attitudes,…

Data from 32 state assessments in mathematics (conducted in 1984 and earlier) are analyzed in this document. The high degree of variability across the states is stressed, with some of the points of variation in the test development, administration, and analysis process noted. Information is then presented on topics on which students are doing well…