In this paper we present findings from two studies focusing on computer algebra system (CAS) calculators. In Victoria, Australia, it is currently mandatory for students to use graphics calculators in some grade 12 mathematics examinations. Since 2001, a pilot study has been conducted involving Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students…

The authors compared the achievement of children who were enrolled in full-day kindergarten (FDK) to a matched sample of students who were enrolled in half-day kindergarten (HDK) on mathematics and reading achievement in Grades 2, 3, and 4, several years after they left kindergarten. Results showed that FDK students demonstrated significantly…

Ancient Chinese mathematics has been the focus of many research studies and scholarly works from a historical perspective. However, no move has been made to investigate its role in the teaching and learning of mathematics. This pilot study examined the effects of an Ancient Chinese Mathematics Enrichment Programme (ACMEP) on the academic…

This research examined whether the tendency for girls to outperform boys in the classroom is due to differences in how girls and boys approach schoolwork. In 5th grade and then again in 7th grade, children (N=518) reported on how they approach schoolwork (i.e., achievement goals and classroom behavior), their learning strategies, and their…

Although the participation rates of females in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (or STEM) education is poor in most Western countries, considerable differences across countries exist as well. This may be due to differences in the so-called gender achievement gaps, that is, delays of one sex with respect to the other. The variation…

This article describes current goals for K-8 school mathematics and outlines 7 critical areas in which students frequently experience difficulty. Effective mathematics teaching is related to teaching that takes into account the 3 learning principles articulated in the National Research Council (2006) publication, "How Students Learn". Research…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of integrating Microsoft Excel into a high school algebra class. The results indicate a slight increase in student achievement when Excel was used. A teacher-created final exam and two Criterion Referenced Tests measured success. One of the Criterion Referenced Tests indicated that the…

Preservice elementary school teachers' fragmented understanding of mathematics is widely documented in the research literature. Their understanding of division by 0 is no exception. This article reports on two teacher education tasks and experiences designed to challenge and extend preservice teachers' understanding of division by 0. These tasks…

This study investigated the predictors of school mobility and the influence of mobility on grade 6 math and reading achievement. The sample included 988 urban, low-economic status black children participating in a longitudinal study of the effects of preschool intervention. Fifty-eight percent of the students changed schools at least once.…

This publication of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) 1994 report on the National Education Goals marks the fourth year of DoDDS' participation in the national-goals effort. In spring 1990, the DoDDS adopted the national goals and developed 20 specific implementation targets to measure progress toward achievement of the goals.…

Grades in college freshman English composition courses were predicted from high school rank in class, multiple-choice writing scores, essays, current Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Verbal scores, and scores from a revised version of the SAT-Verbal. Data were obtained from 21 English courses at 17 different colleges with some supplementary data…

This report describes a program for improving the completion of homework assignments in a seventh-grade mathematics classroom in a large middle school in Rockford (Illinois). The problem of missing homework was noted by the mathematics teacher and confirmed by the other teachers on the seventh-grade team. Analysis of the probable-cause data…

This study examined the impact of preschool education on the academic achievement of 100 third graders from May Community Academic Public School in Chicago, Illinois. The subjects were all minority students. A random sample of 30 students per group was selected from the 55 students who had received preschool education and the 45 who had not. The…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of test motivation on estimated ability, test anxiety, and attitudes toward computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Korean college students (n=208) were given the Math Aptitude Test, Math Self-Concept Scale, Math Test Anxiety Scale, Computer Competence Instrument, Computer Anxiety Scale, and…

It is argued that mastery learning is one explanation for the documented differences in mathematics achievement between Japanese and American students. Given its emphasis on mastery at one stage before moving on to the next stage, and the potential accumulated benefits of this approach over time, mastery learning appears to be very similar to what…