This book discusses the calculus reform effort. The first essay captures the basic themes that should characterize a calculus course that is modern in its vision as well as its pedagogy and content. The next section contains essays on the vision of calculus reform: "Visions of Calculus" (Sharon Cutler Ross); "Nonalgebraic Approaches…

A smoothed version of standardization, which merges kernel smoothing with the traditional standardization differential item functioning (DIF) approach, was used to examine DIF for student-produced response (SPR) items on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) I mathematics test at both the item and testlet levels. This nonparametric technique avoids…

This document describes a database of information for those who want to learn more about current efforts to redesign assessment to match changing goals for students and instruction. The database contains descriptive information on alternative assessments in science and mathematics that cover all grade levels, levels of assessment (classroom to…

The special characteristics of the data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) that affect the validity of conventional techniques of statistical analysis are considered. In contrast to the assumptions underlying standard methods of statistical analysis, the NAEP samples are obtained via a stratified multi-stage probability…

An experimental test battery (the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation battery) designed to measure numerical facility was administered to 1,451 subjects at 12 testing centers across the United States over a 5-month period. Five work samples were included: (1) arithmetic; (2) counting backwards; (3) number reasoning; (4) rule learning; and (5)…

This workbook is designed to be used as a review at the end of a college level course in algebra and trigonometry. Four review sheets containing 117 problems provide hints and detailed solutions for each problem. (YP)

Results of 120 studies were combined by meta-analysis to determine effects on mathematics test performance of factors other than knowledge of content. Conditions that enhanced performance included testwiseness training, praise, word problem pictures, and frequent testing. Conditions depressing or not affecting performance were also noted. (MNS)

This study examined the impact of oral presentation of a mathematics test on the performance of disabled and nondisabled students. Sixty-five learning disabled and 54 nondisabled fourth graders took two matched forms of a mathematics assessment based on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) items. Order of presentation for the…

This paper describes a collaborative research study designed to determine whether well-constructed tasks in mathematical inquiry with the use of methods in dialogic discourse help students' retention of mathematical concepts in probability. The paper reports on an experiment conducted in two classrooms in an urban school district in the Pacific…

This study aimed at finding criteria like within-method stability rates or between-method agreement rates that could help to choose a powerful and low-cost differential item function (DIF) detection method. The study tried to verify the within-method stability of item response theory (IRT) based over non-IRT-based procedures in two different…

Whether the internal consistency reliability of a test changes as the quality of the scoring of the test changes was studied with data from reading and mathematics short-answer and extended-response assessments administered in grades 3 to 8 in the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools. There were about 9,000 students in each grade, with data…

This study showed that almost all of the students brought calculators to the administration of the SAT I test in November 1996 and 1997 and continue to do so today. The number who actually used the calculators on the test and the extent to which they used them varied across students. Performance on the math sections of the exam was associated with…

This study explored whether the addition of the items with more advanced math content to the SAT Reasoning Test™ (SAT®) would impact test-taker performance. Two sets of SAT math equating sections were modified to form four subforms each. Different numbers of items with advanced content, taken from the SAT II: Mathematics Level IC Test (Math IC),…

Ninety-eight participants from 5 age groups with mean ages of 6, 8, 10, 22, and 72 years were tested in a series of speeded number discriminations. Found that response time slope as a function of number size decreased with age for numbers in the 1-4 range. (MDM)

Studied reasons for the decline in mathematics and science achievement shown by Hungarian students who participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in comparison with student achievement before 1991. Findings suggest an emphasis on items requiring awareness of traditional disciplines in the Hungarian curriculum,…