In this dissertation, I present an examination of the economics of education through three chapters. In the first paper, I study the overrepresentation of elite university graduates in senior positions in public administration. Using rich administrative data from Chile, I employ a stacked fuzzy regression discontinuity design to estimate the…

Sixteen middle school students ranked the lengths of various paths in problem-solving interviews. Every student invoked at least one of four intuitions that originated from their everyday experiences: compression, detour, complexity, and straightness. Students continued to use their inadequate intuitions in the posttest before applying learned…

Interesting mathematical questions that require computations involving fractions, percentages, and decimals are presented. The material is designed for students in the middle school grades, but many of the ideas could be used with higher or lower level pupils. (MP)

This study examined factors related to survey response rate, particularly for teachers who participated in a nationwide survey. Using a newly developed statistical technique, the classification tree algorithm (CART), this study classified the lowest response rate and highest response rate groups based on their school demographic characteristics.…

Describes how open-ended writing prompts provide a window into student understanding and mathematical thinking. (YDS)

Presents a problem that requires solving a card problem by exploring patterns that will lead to a logical solution. Involves students in developing and analyzing their own algorithms as well as discussing their reasoning with peers. (ASK)

Computational strategies and estimating abilities of 466 Japanese students were tested and interviews with a subsample of that group were used to compare with a theoretical model based on a sample from the United States. Results of the comparison of computational and estimating abilities are presented. (CW)

Seventh-grade students were tested to uncover arithmetic errors. Answers and intermediate steps were analyzed and models to represent students' behavior were developed. Certain errors were common across students. Others were tied to the format of the test item. Some superficial understandings of mathematical concepts were exposed. (Author/DC)

Presents a series of solution methods to the Eight Queens Problem of placing eight queens on a chess board so that no one queen can capture another. Solution methods progress from empirical approaches to the use of computer algorithms. Geometric transformations are used to find other solutions. (MDH)

Using data from 135 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders between 11 and 15 years old attending a middle school in a suburban Southwest Ohio school district, two hypothesized models of the factor structures for the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory were tested. One model represents the original Coopersmith factor structure, and the other model is…