Grade-12 results of the Second International Mathematics Study for Belgium, New Zealand, Thailand, and Japan suggest that when single-sex schooling is relatively scarce in a country, it influences student achievement by attracting students with unique characteristics. Achievement effects may be positive or negative depending on the function of…

Student behaviors that best predicted mathematics learning in peer-directed small groups among students who needed help were studied with 166 seventh graders. Tape recordings of student interaction confirmed that receiving explanations and carrying out constructive activity were predictors of achievement. (SLD)

Examined the mathematical beliefs and achievement of 62 elementary school students from a school at which teachers were participating in a project to improve mathematics teaching. Found that students who enjoyed mathematics were also confident of their math abilities and that there was little correlation between parental support and student…

Compared the effectiveness of two instructional conditions in a first-grade mathematics class: one comprised entirely of teacher-directed activities; the other including a supplemental peer practice activity. Found that both procedures were associated with divergent instructional processes and that supplemental practice with peers increased…

Discusses the Project 2061 benchmarks, statements of what all students should know or be able to do in science, mathematics, and technology by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12. (MKR)

Describes Math Clinic, a remedial program to diagnose and remediate elementary school students' mathematical concepts. Provides details about the program's objectives; student recruitment; how to apply to the program; diagnosis and identification of participants' achievement, mathematical difficulties, and attitudes toward mathematics; and…

Forty-eight rural high school students were randomly assigned to groups that solved math problems with paper and pencil or with calculators. Both groups displayed similar attitudes toward math. Results of a word problem test revealed that, after one week, calculator use contributed significantly to mathematical word problem achievement. (LP)

This study investigated technical features of a curriculum-based measurement (CBM) system that addresses a concepts and applications mathematics curriculum. Six elementary educators implemented the concepts/applications CBM system, along with a computation CBM system, with 140 students, including 12 with learning disabilities. The system indexed…

Investigated relationships among interest, motivation, mathematical ability, quality of experience, and mathematics achievement among (n=108) high school freshmen and sophomores. Found that quality of experience was mainly related to interest in mathematics and not to ability. Achievement was most strongly related to ability. (45 references)…

Predictive relations between mathematics and verbal achievement and several different measures of motivation were examined in samples of 348 sixth-grade and 325 ninth-grade Norwegian students. Results support the internal/external frame of reference model suggesting that academic self-concepts are influenced by both external and internal…

Response to "The Bell Curve." Argues that correlations between IQ and U.S. social problems are created by the IQ selection process; in addition, emphasis on testing and innate abilities has produced lowered expectations of what students can achieve through hard work and learning, resulting in lower mathematics achievement among North…

Urban at-risk elementary school students (n=72) who experienced both parent involvement (PI) and reciprocal peer tutoring interventions or the PI intervention alone reported higher self-concept and greater gains in mathematics achievement than students in practice control conditions. (SLD)

This study highlights the correlation between seventh grade students' (n=429) beliefs about how mathematics is learned and their achievement in mathematics. Results from structural relation modeling indicate that, when beliefs are considered as a single construct, the relationship between beliefs and achievement is much stronger than when beliefs…

Described are important changes that will be introduced in the mathematics sections of the new Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). The three main changes are (1) permission to use calculators; (2) inclusion of open-ended questions; and (3) content revisions consistent with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "Curriculum and Evaluation…

The relative impact of structured peer learning and group reward components of a reciprocal peer tutoring intervention on mathematics performance of 64 academically at-risk students in grades 4 and 5 was examined. Results indicate additive and distinctive effects of both components, with the highest gain for the component combination. (SLD)