Studied the effects of calculator use on performance on the Scholastic Assessment Test I through a questionnaire completed by 202,391 examinees in 1996 and 215,034 in 1997. Use of calculators was associated with higher performance, but the more able students were more likely to have calculators. Overall, the effects of calculators were found to be…

Studied the impact of changes in item difficulty on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) estimates over time through a Monte Carlo study that simulated the responses of 1990 NAEP mathematics respondents to 1990 and 1996 NAEP mathematics items. Results support the idea that these changes have not affected the NAEP trend line.…

Of 129 technical college freshmen who had self-identified as having a learning disorder, scores of 72 who used extended time for math placement testing were compared with those of 57 who did not. Extended time did not necessarily result in higher scores. (Contains 20 references.) (JOW)

Discusses the principal features, procedures for using, and procedures for scoring mathematics coursework. Presents sample material, solutions or the material, and test questions. (YP)

Discusses games using number tablets. Describes general advantages of the games over using pencil and paper. Provides needs, skills, players, rules, and variations for eight games. (YP)

This article explores an application of combinations, geometric series, and elementary probability that arises in a Biblical setting. Describes examples of the applications such as the use of "urim and thummin." (YP)

Reports the performance of grade six students in the Australian Primary Schools Mathematics Competition for 1990 to 1992 and provides general comparisons across states. Results showed that, overall, boys outperformed girls. Appendix contains selected competition questions. (MKR)

Over 5,000 students participated in a study of the dimensionality and stability of the item parameter estimates of a mathematics performance assessment developed for the Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning (QUASAR) Project. Results demonstrate the test's dimensionality and illustrate ways to examine use of the…

Explores the ongoing debate over quantitative versus qualitative research, arguing that qualitative research has evolved from a methodological approach into a social and political ideology. The current emphasis on narrative ways of sharing knowledge raises concerns about evaluation and hypothesis testing. (SLD)

Data on 13,881 students and their parents suggests that mother's time in the labor force is clearly only associated with amount of unsupervised time after school and whether parents volunteer at school. Students' gains in test scores over two years are generally independent of maternal employment status. (JPS)

Analysis of the American College Test (ACT) scores of 17,451 students applying for college admission between 1981 and 1985 found that high school students who studied a foreign language consistently scored higher on ACT English and mathematics components than did students who did not study a foreign language in high school. (nine references) (CB)

Discusses the use of multiple-choice mathematics test items to diagnose student misunderstandings. Properties of semi-dense items (response interpretability, response discrimination, rule discrimination, exhaustive rule set usage, and semi-density) are discussed and illustrated with an example and by using a refined item digraph. (18 references)…

Shares students' experiences with working geometrical proofs in cooperative groups. Presents an example of week-long group take-home test. (ASK)

Studied the psychometric characteristics of a developmental assessment in mathematics composed of 19 performance tasks for students in grades K-3. Reports convergent validity coefficients, internal consistency reliability, interrater reliability, and task orderings. (SLD)

Investigated the relationship between measures of mathematics teacher skill and student achievement in 795 California high schools. Results support the hypothesis that there is a shortage of qualified mathematics teachers in California, and that this shortage is associated with low student scores. (SLD)