The Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) has been administered to 15-year- olds every three years since 2000. Since then, the U.S. has performed below average in mathematics, with no significant changes in performance. The objective of this study was to examine the alignment of the content students in the U.S. are assessed on in…

The authors recently conducted a randomized controlled trial that showed a significant impact of teachers' lesson study, supported by mathematical resources, on both teachers' and students' understanding of fractions. The research and mathematical resources are described in the second part of this article. First the authors examine some of the…

Statistical association between two variables is one of the fundamental statistical ideas in school curricula. Reasoning about statistical association has been deemed one of the most important cognitive activities that humans perform. Students are typically introduced to statistical association through the study of the line of best fit because it…

Instead of reserving the study of probability and statistics for special fourth-year high school courses, the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) takes a "statistics for all" approach. The standards recommend that students in grades 6-8 learn to summarize and describe data distributions, understand probability, draw…

Consistent with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSI 2010), the authors write that they have asked students to do statistics projects with real data. To obtain real data, their students use the free Web-based app, Census at School, created by the American Statistical Association (ASA) to help promote civic awareness among school…

Students' development of conceptual understandings is a central goal of mathematics education (CCSS-Mathematics, 2010). Such a challenging, yet ambiguous, goal cannot be achieved without empowering teachers with the knowledge and tools critical for their ability to adequately convey the content, and assess and interpret students' performance. This…

Considerable discrepancies between the mean and median often occur in data sets that are skewed left, skewed right, or have other unusual features. In such cases, it is important to analyze the data and context carefully to decide how best to describe centers of distributions. The importance of this type of statistical thinking is acknowledged in…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent a shift in the American education system. Included in the CCSS are opportunities for agriculture teachers to integrate math and English language arts content into their curriculum. Using the theory of planned behavior, we sought to identify Oregon agriculture teachers' attitudes, familiarity with,…

Prospective elementary teachers at three universities engaged in online modules called the Virtual Field Experience, created by the Math Forum. The prospective teachers learned about problem solving and mentoring elementary students in composing solutions and explanations to nonroutine challenge problems. Finally, through an asynchronous online…

Some statisticians have pointed out that the field of statistics essentially exists to study the variability seen in everyday life. Because variability is so foundational, the "Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education" (GAISE 2007), published by the American Statistical Association (ASA), recommend that teachers…

This study examined the efficacy of a kindergarten mathematics intervention program, ROOTS, focused on developing whole-number understanding in the areas of counting and cardinality and operations and algebraic thinking for students at risk in mathematics. The study utilized a randomized block design with students within classrooms randomly…

Measurement literature supports the utility of alignment models for application with state standards and large-scale assessments. However, the literature is lacking in the application of these models to curriculum-based measures (CBMs) and common core standards. In this study, I investigate the alignment of CBMs and standards, with specific…

The Common Core State Standards (2010) involve the demonstration of conceptual knowledge of numbers and operations. For students who struggle with mathematics and have not responded to instruction, it is important that interventions emphasize this understanding. In order to address conceptual understanding of numbers and operations in meeting the…

Mathematics education in the elementary schools has experienced many changes in recent decades. With the curriculum becoming more complex as a result of each modification, immense pressure has been put on schools to increase student proficiency. The Common Core State Standards is the latest example of this. These revisions to the mathematics…

The Common Core State Standards Initiative will enter a critical period during the 2014-15 school year. Several states have recently reversed course on adoption of the mathematics and English/language arts standards, as vocal opposition gains prominence elsewhere. Despite fraying of the two national consortia developing assessments tied to the new…