A study involving 916 students spanning grades 5-8 was conducted to investigate indicators that may contribute to enjoyment and confidence in mathematics. For this group of middle school students, mathematics enjoyment, mathematics confidence, and attitudes toward school were found to generally decline across grade levels. Mathematics enjoyment…

This study analyzed data from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Study of secondary education teachers to investigate differences in instructional practices of mathematics and science teachers in relation to the percentage of English learners (EL) they instruct. The study used a series of regression models to examine if EL class…

Nine years of results on 4.2 million of Indiana's Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) mathematics (math) exams (grades 3-10) taken after the implementation of No Child Left Behind have been used to determine gender gaps and their associated trends. Sociocultural factors were investigated by comparing math gender gaps and gap…

A variety of factors contributes to student achievement in mathematics, including but not limited to student behaviors and student, teacher, and school characteristics. The purpose of this study was to explore which of these factors have an impact on student mathematics achievement. The target population for this study was North Carolina Algebra…

This paper discusses one step from the scientific method--that of identifying independent and dependent variables--from both scientific and mathematical perspectives. It begins by analyzing an episode from a middle school mathematics classroom that illustrates the need for students and teachers alike to develop a robust understanding of…

Using data from 503 inservice elementary teachers, this study investigated the relationship between teachers' background characteristics, teachers' beliefs about manipulatives, and the frequency with which teachers use manipulatives as part of their mathematics instruction. Findings from the study show that teachers' grade level and beliefs about…

The goal of this study was to identify variables related to success and resilience in an undergraduate, high school mathematics teacher education program. Over a five-year period, we tracked the academic performance and achievement motivation goals of multiple cohorts of students. Students who successfully completed their degrees had higher grade…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers' perceptions about the influence of scholarship on their decision to teach and to teach in a high-needs school were examined using cluster analysis. Three hundred and four STEM scholars, who were currently teaching, and who received funding from 45 institutions located throughout…

Presents a study to investigate the prevalence of mathematics anxiety in Navajo middle school students (n=358) and to explore possible relationships between learning styles and mathematics anxiety and achievement. Multiple regression procedures indicated that spatial ability and mathematics achievement were negatively correlated to mathematics…

Reports a correlational study to determine whether teacher's mathematics anxiety might inhibit the introduction of more problem solving and abstraction in elementary schools to enable more ninth graders to enroll in algebra. Correlations on 19 variables for 116 teachers indicated that anxiety decreased with increased mathematics content studied…

Reported is a two-part study to identify factors that contribute to student success in a remedial mathematics course for first-year college students. Data from 263 students testing into remedial algebra was collected on 3 academic variables, 2 affective variables, and class attendance. Multivariate analysis results failed to find moderate…

A study of 30 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade teachers and 300 of their students showed that a teacher's age, sex, and years of experience did not relate to students' mathematics achievement, but that more effective teachers showed greater "freedom from defensive behavior" than did less effective teachers. (DT)

Personality variables and teachers' ratings will explain more than 50 percent of the variance, with the latter being the most significant and economical method for predicting mathematical achievement of seventh graders. (MP)

This research examined the strategy of writing a mathematics problem on the chalk board and asking "who in the class can solve it?" as a means of assessing the mathematics achievement or attitude of a sixth-grade mathematics class. The strategy was found to be unreliable. More evidence is needed. (Author/MA)

Described is an activity designed to make the concepts of experimentation, independent variables, and dependent variables easy to understand by using observable characteristics of several rods to illustrate these concepts. (DS)