A set of brief reflections about different aspects of mathematical errors and their roles in education is given. The nature and variety of errors and their positive use in learning mathematics are highlighted. (MNS)

This study involved 179 9-year-olds and 352 13-year-olds in New Zealand. Four addition and four subtraction tasks were set to ascertain students' ability to use the number line. Comparison of these data with results from the national assessment in the United States are given. (MNS)

Machine translation has been criticized for its inability to provide language style, but for specialized or technical texts, of which there are increasing numbers, machine translation with its obligatory post-editing may be effective, and the "style" of these translations may be a reflection of the error patterns caught in post-editing. (MSE)

Twenty-five infants were tested every two weeks on the AB Object Permanence Task, from the time they first reached for a hidden object until they were 12 months old. Results indicate that the AB provides an index of the ability to carry out an intention based on stored information despite a conflicting habitual tendency. (Author/RH)

Fourth-grade students in Title I mathematics took 40-problem tests to determine types of persistent errors made in addition and subtraction. Tests, administered to 117 students (addition) and 104 students (subtraction), were analyzed for basic fact, random, or procedural errors. Findings are reported and discussed, and recommendations for…

Unsuccessful programing attempts by university business students in introductory COBOL classes were analyzed to determine most frequently occurring syntactical errors. Results indicate the most common errors were use of undeclared data in Procedure Division, missing periods, misspelled reserved words, missing hyphens, and use of wrong margin area.…

The informal subtraction strategies that children develop are discussed in detail, with the role of the counting-down strategy described. Problems and remedies for difficulties caused by counting backward and the double count are also presented. (MNS)

Describes a technique for use in detecting and correcting spelling difficulties. (FL)

The relation between incorrect option choice and estimated ability level was examined for two widely used aptitude tests, the Scholastic Aptitude Test, and the Graduate Record Examination. Incorrect option choice was found to be related to estimated ability for many items. Implications of these findings are briefly discussed. (Author)

Discusses problems and patterns in student journalistic writing. (HOD)

Describes a study of "analogy" and "interference" errors in the syntax of second language learners. (Author/RM)

This study examined the hypothesis that perceptual errors on a task requiring subjects to take different viewpoints could be explained in terms of response bias. Results were consistent with response bias hypothesis: making an egocentric error is different from behaving in an egocentric manner. (Author/SB)

Mathematics departments rarely require students to study very much logic before working with proofs. Normally, the most they will offer is contained in a small portion of a "bridge" course designed to help students move from more procedurally-based lower-division courses (e.g., abstract algebra and real analysis). What accounts for this seeming…

This article addresses difficulty in English-as-a-Second-Language grammar instruction, offering the systemic approach as an alternative method of teaching grammar. Observation of the process of learning various grammatical rules reveals a tendency to make two types of errors (formational and functional). Analysis of grammatical errors made by…