Concern about poor mathematics achievement in U.S. schools has increased in recent years. In part, poor achievement may be attributed to a lack of attention to early instruction and missed opportunities to build on young children's early understanding of mathematics. This study examined the development and feasibility testing of a kindergarten…

A large scale observational study by educational psychologists of 141 UK primary classrooms used a partial interval time-sampling observational schedule to record the frequency and type of verbal behaviour of teachers and whether students were "on-task" (following the teacher's directions) or "off-task" (not following the…

This submission contains the Proceedings of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG), held at Laval University in Québec City, Québec. The CMESG is a group of mathematicians and mathematics educators who meet annually to discuss mathematics education issues at all levels of learning. The aims of the Study…

Kindergarten to third grade mathematics achievement scores from a prospective study of mathematical development (n = 306) were subjected to latent growth trajectory analyses. The four corresponding classes included children with mathematical learning disability (MLD, 6% of sample), and low (LA, 50%), typically (TA, 39%) and high (HA, 5%) achieving…

This teacher guide helps build a solid foundation in algebra for students in grades 3-5 in which students gain essential understanding of properties of numbers, variables, functions, equations, and formulas. Throughout the problem solving activities, students use computational skills and gain a deeper understanding of the number system. Students…

Analyzes the contribution of numeracy and literacy to earnings. Finds that numeracy has a highly significant effect on earnings, while literacy has a smaller, less significant effect. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure, 24 references.) (PKP)

A recent survey comparing numeracy levels in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Japan, Australia, and Denmark found that 22% of UK respondents could answer 5 or fewer of 12 questions. Another British study found that 25% of 1,1714 adults had very low numeracy skills. (SK)

Studied accuracy and use of sequence number string in hearing 3- to 5-year-olds and in deaf 4- to 6-year-olds using the Belgian French Sign Language. Found that deaf children exhibited age-related lags in knowledge of the number sequence, and made different errors from those of hearing children, reflecting the rule-bound nature of sign language.…

Two experiments explored effects of intervention and test conditions on preschoolers' use of counting to compare two sets. At mean age of 4 years 4 months, children in two intervention groups were more likely to use counting to compare sets than those in control group. Use of counting to compare sets was closely related to counting performance.…

Outlines three approaches to numeracy instruction: (1) traditional positivism, the transfer of knowledge from teacher to student; (2) constructivism, in which learning is contextual and culturally meaningful; and (3) critical constructivism, which enables students to reflect on learning and its social context. (SK)

Provides evidence of a decline in basic numeracy skills among first-year bioscience undergraduate students. Tests conceptualized numeracy skills which form a component of an introductory microbiology module. (Contains 23 references.) (Author/YDS)

The research reported in this paper is based on a survey carried out jointly by UNESCO and UNICEF with the collaboration of the Government of Mauritius. This survey involves 1800 fourth-grade pupils who were taken from 60 primary schools. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the home-related factors, which influence Numeracy performance at…

The "Playing for Success" (PfS) initiative is targeted on underachieving young people. It aims to contribute to raising educational standards, especially in numeracy and literacy, bringing the attainment levels of lower achieving pupils closer to the average expected for their age. This study set out to consider whether there was any evidence of…

In this article, Steenken conveys some thoughts about when parents and our citizenry will believe that today's students know mathematics. It will be when students have significant Quantitative Literacy (QL) skills as set forth in AMATYC's new standards, Beyond Crossroads. He supports the strong call for QL to be embedded across all curricula and…

The Numeracy Project, as implemented in New Zealand, aims to enhance the numeracy achievement of all students and to foster parental involvement in their children's mathematics learning. This paper reports the findings of a study that took place at a high socioeconomic status (SES) primary school in New Zealand with teachers and parents of Years 1…