Word problems are prevalent on high-stakes assessments, and success on word problems has implications for grade promotion and graduation. Unfortunately, English Language Learners (ELLs) continue to perform significantly below their native English-speaking peers on mathematics assessments featuring word problems. Little is known about the…

We identified child-level predictors of responsiveness to 2 types of mathematics intervention (calculation and word problem) among second-grade children with mathematics difficulty. Participants were 250 children in 107 classrooms in 23 schools pretested on mathematics and general cognitive measures and posttested on mathematics measures. We…

The focus of this study was connections among 3 aspects of mathematical cognition at 2nd grade: calculations, word problems, and prealgebraic knowledge. We extended the literature, which is dominated by correlational work, by examining whether intervention conducted on calculations or word problems contributes to improved performance in the other…

According to national mathematics standards, algebra instruction should begin at kindergarten and continue through elementary school. Most often, teachers address algebra in the elementary grades with problems related to solving equations or understanding functions. With 789 second-grade students, we administered: (1) measures of calculations and…

Students often misinterpret the equal sign (=) as operational instead of relational. Research indicates misinterpretation of the equal sign occurs because students receive relatively little exposure to equations that promote relational understanding of the equal sign. No study, however, has examined effects of nonstandard equations on the equation…

Researchers and practitioners indicate students require explicit instruction on mathematics vocabulary terms, yet no study has examined the effects of an embedded vocabulary component within mathematics tutoring for early elementary students. First-grade students with mathematics difficulty (MD; n = 98) were randomly assigned to addition tutoring…