An overview is given of the consensus process for development of the frameworks underlying the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments, with emphasis on those for the 1990 and 1992 mathematics assessments, the 1992 reading assessment, and the 1994 science assessments. Innovative techniques for 1992 are described. (SLD)

Clarifies the benefits of having students write about their understanding and dispositions toward mathematics. Discusses ways to manage journal writing and incorporate it into existing classes. Suggests 19 assignments students can respond to in their journals. (MDH)

Early (during the child's first three years) and recent (during the previous three years) maternal employment were associated with less family poverty and higher scores on measures of home environment. Early maternal employment predicted second grade children's math achievement, and recent maternal employment predicted their reading achievement.…

Stimulated recall was used to examine the affective experiences of (n=32) fourth and fifth graders engaged in mathematics seatwork. Students' affect was found to be primarily negative and achievement related. Anger was the most prevalent affective response. (42 references) (MKR)

Describes an intervention in which an elementary principal taught math to a group of four underachieving third-grade students in the classroom. Discusses the principal's influence on the entire class, as well as on the low achievers. The target students' achievement improved negligibly, but their behavior and work habits improved noticeably, and…

Discusses the research design for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Asserts that the TIMSS is a compromise between longitudinal and cross-sectional survey designs and will yield more information about student achievement. (CFR)

The activities of a teacher who developed and piloted an eclectic model in an eighth grade mathematics classroom are described. Peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and mastery learning elements were selected and combined into a classroom program designed to increase student mathematics success. (KR)

Reviewed and analyzed are studies on task-related verbal interactions among students in small groups in mathematics classrooms and their links to mathematics achievement. Factors that predict group interaction are considered and research-based strategies for shaping group interaction are discussed. (MDH)

Effects of an intervention by teachers and researchers to enhance mathematics and reading self-concepts were studied for 162 Australian students in grades 3 through 6 with low academic self-concept. Implications of the modest enhancement of self-concept for specific facets over a relatively short period are discussed. (SLD)

Presents a study to determine whether computer use in guided-discovery learning episodes would enhance the problem-solving ability of secondary school students (n=147). Results indicate interaction between low- and middle-level students' mathematical achievement and treatment groups, while high-level students performed well regardless of approach.…

This study explored the relationship between traditional item difficulty and cognitive complexity as measured by response time. Rural students (n=43) responded to computer-based tests of the Individualized Study by Technology General Mathematics Course developed by Alaska's Department of Education. Results indicated that mean response times were…

Four studies involving 45 subjects found that children (ages 9-14) with nonverbal learning disabilities syndrome exhibited specific patterns of impairment in mechanical arithmetic and in psychosocial functioning, whereas children with poor performance in reading and spelling exhibited patterns of academic deficits (including arithmetic), but not…

Describes the processes and techniques used to assist a suburban, lower-middle socioeconomic community's school system plan strategies to improve its students' proficiency test scores. Techniques included content analyses of the system's textbooks, the Graded Course of Study, and standardized tests for grades four, six, and eight in comparison…

Analysis of data on grade 11 students from the 1985-86 National Assessment of Educational Progress indicates that minority students are substantially disadvantaged in mathematics, and that students of all races score low enough to jeopardize future United States leadership in science and technology. (Author/MSE)

A structural model of mathematics achievement was tested with 117 male and 108 female Canadian high school seniors, examining the role of self-efficacy as a mediator between mathematics attitudes and achievement. The postulated model for similarly specified parameters was a good fit to data for both males and females. (SLD)