Assessment is a tool used in the classroom as a way to deepen students' learning and to allow the educator to make informed decisions regarding instruction. In this article, the authors focus on the role of assessment, both in terms of teachers and students, while developing students' understanding of geometry. In particular, the authors are…

When students are asked to write original story problems about fractional amounts, it can illustrate their misunderstandings about fractions. Think about the situations students would describe to model 1/2 + 2/3. Three elements, in particular, challenge students: (1) Which of three models (region, or area; measure; or set) is best suited for a…

Describes analyzing phases of the assessment sequence to determine future instruction. Illustrates how an assessment event might occur in a classroom. (YDS)

Describes the impact of a performance assessment project on six teachers' teaching at Borel Middle School in the San Mateo/Foster City School District in California. Reports positive gains in student performance on the tasks over three years. (YDS)

Describes a three-step process--exploring, inventing, and discovering--that helps students derive concepts actively from problem solving. (YDS)

Describes an action research project aiming to improve student understanding of decimal numbers through an instrument. (YDS)

This article describes how a mathematics teacher uses literature and creative writing in her ninth-grade classes to motivate, instruct, and assess her students. (Contains 4 figures.)

Describes the results of a classroom trial activity to encourage communication in mathematics. Students were asked to write a short story or a joke or to create a cartoon about an aspect of mathematics, which was in this case isolating the variable or property of negative 1. The activity revealed creativity and allowed the teacher to determine how…