The impact which standardized mathematics tests have upon classroom instruction--content, sequence, pacing--is explored, and harmful consequences are discussed. Four suggestions are offered for enabling teachers to minimize "teaching for the tests" and to present a mathematics curriculum appropriate for their particular students. (DG)

This paper describes the mental model children have of their own learning, derived from their behaviors when learning a song. The basic assumption of the study is that behavior is an outward expression of a psychological entity. The song chosen for the study was a complex, unfamiliar Zulu song. Thirty-six children in three age groups participated…

This paper examines research studies that have concluded that elementary school children can learn more difficult and abstract social studies concepts than are taught in the traditional social studies curriculum. Research studies that focus on constraints on cognition, the use of embedded concepts, and understanding knowledge restructuring and…

Descriptions of ten reading, mathematics and readiness programs chosen for statewide dissemination in South Carolina are presented in this document. The programs were selected following a study funded by Title I and conducted to serve 127,702 children in local South Carolina school districts. Each was found to provide solutions to critical…

While many contemporary developmental theorists have avoided taking a stand on the controversial relationship between learning and development, this paper is based on the belief that the notion of "bandwidth of competence," or L. S. Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development," provides a useful framework for considering this…

This publication presents a summary of South Carolina's use of funds provided by Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act as an educational resource for educationally deprived children from 1985 to 1989, and identifies projects exhibiting the greatest gains in student achievement during fiscal year 1989. The report consists of…

This booklet describes procedures that are used in screening children for early admission to first grade. Generally, each child should be evaluated on an individual basis. When individual evaluation is not feasible as a first step, it is required that an initial group screening measure be administered and followed by individual evaluations for…

This paper focuses on a lesson plan in fractional number concepts that illustrates how research and practice have been brought together through the use of integrated media. A teacher applied the findings from her master's thesis by collaborating with an instructor of elementary mathematics methods courses and an experienced teacher on a lesson…