This article utilizes the 1999 TIMSS-R data from U.S. states and districts to explore the consequences of variation in opportunities to learn specific mathematics content. Analyses explore the relationship between classroom mathematics content coverage and student achievement as measured by the TIMSS-R international mathematics scaled score.…

This article examines the teacher preparation program learning opportunities afforded future lower secondary mathematics teachers and future elementary teachers who may teach mathematics. Data from U.S. participation in the recent international Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics are explored against international profiles to…

In this article the authors set out to examine the effect of tracking in mathematics. Previous analyses have shown it to be quite prevalent at 8th grade unlike much of the rest of the world. The US practices both between- and within-school tracking, leading to very different content coverage for different students. Without judging the merits of…

This paper examines the effect of content coverage on mathematics achievement and studies its relationship to eighth grade tracking. Previous analyses have shown tracking to be quite prevalent at eighth grade unlike much of the rest of the world. The U.S. practices both between- and within-school tracking, leading to very different content…

Examined the range of mathematics learning opportunities in the U.S., drawing on data gathered for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Analyses reveal a mismatch between the course title and the textbook used for nearly 40% of eighth graders. Significant relationships found were not significant enough to account for the…

In recent years, US curriculum policy has emphasized standards-based conceptions of curricula in mathematics and science. This paper explores the data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to argue that the presence of content standards is not sufficient to guarantee curricula that lead to high-quality instruction and…

Contends that individual teachers have ultimate control over what content is taught in their classrooms. Reports a study of the factors which influenced the curriculum decision-making of 18 elementary teachers. (BSR)

Judgments on content emphasis reflect on the commitments that teachers have to course content, their attitudes toward teaching certain areas of the curriculum, and teacher's assessment of their own competence in teaching these areas. Three questions were considered: (1) What relationship, if any, is there between an internal factor and the actual…