Students make errors in mathematics for a variety of reasons. It is the job of the educator to identify the source of these errors and to assist students in correcting them. The purpose of this monograph is to help identify, analyze, and evaluate students' computational proficiency. This monograph is divided into four sections: "Whole Numbers";…

This survey reflects new developments in the mathematics curriculum as emphasized in the curriculum frameworks and state-adopted textbooks. The first section describes the procedure for the development of the survey and the rationale for the topics and types of questions included on the mathematics portion of the test. The second section describes…

This study explored the relationship between students' high school mathematics courses and grades; the affective variables--mathematics anxiety, effectance motivation, and attitude toward success; and performance in the first quarter developmental studies algebra course. The study reports significant differences between males and females on…

The purpose of this project is to help teachers of mathematics get started using the computer to aid the teaching and learning of many mathematical concepts in a meaningful way. To this end, commercially available software packages are described which are versatile, cost effective, and easy to use. A review and several lessons, including homework…

This report presents an analysis of the content validity of a series of secondary school mathematics tests designed by university mathematicians in California to help improve the articulation between secondary and postsecondary mathematics instruction. The purpose in conducting this analysis was to improve understanding of what it means to…

Information is presented about the grade 9 mathematics examination to be administered in 1988. Contents include: (1) Introduction; (2) General Information (including Purpose of the Achievement Testing Program, Nature of the Achievement Testing Program, Exemptions from the Achievement Testing Program, Students Receiving Instruction in French,…

Examination of 99 mathematics teachers' ratings of item difficulty indicated that the ratings were influenced by the teachers' attitudes and characteristics and their interpretation of the skills measured by the items. Teachers who rated items as relatively easy tended to favor tougher standards, grade students in relation to other students, and…

Eight randomly equivalent samples of high school seniors were each given a unique form of the ACT Assessment Mathematics Usage Test (ACTM). Signed measures of differential item performance (DIP) were obtained for each item in the eight ACTM forms. DIP estimates were analyzed and a significant item category effect was found. (Author/LMO)

This study assessed the differences in standardized test scores resulting from curricular differences in two school systems. The degree of curriculum-test match for reading and math in grades three and six was based on ratings of that match by qualified district personnel. (Author/LMO)

There are a variety of situations in which low-stakes achievement tests--which are defined as those having few or no consequences for examinee performance--are used in applied measurement. A problem inherent in such testing is that we often cannot assume that all examinees give their best effort to their test, which suggests that the test scores…

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there are any significant differences in the mathematical attainment of pupils' grade one of primary school in Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A) between those pupils who had attended kindergarten and their peers who had not, and whether this effect continued into the second and third grades in…

Inside this issue are: (1) Questions Tool; (2) NAEP Support; (3) NAEP Writing Assessment; (4) Grade 12 Results; (5) Background Questions: (6) NAEP Scale Scores and Achievement Levels; and (7) Grade 8 Math Comparisons by Ethnic Group. This publication notes several points of interest. 170,000 students at each grade and subject will be selected to…

High school graduation exams are in place in nearly half the states, and more than half the nation's high school students have to pass them to earn a diploma. After a detailed analysis of the mathematics and English language arts exams in Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas, Achieve reached three conclusions: (1) Tests are…

This paper explores the role of open-ended realistic division problem in the development of algebraic reasoning. A written test was administered to 672 students. From the results of this test students were selected for semi-structured interviews. The students were interviewed in pairs and were asked to explain to each other how they would solve…

Girls consistently out perform boys in mathematics in Hawai'i. Starting from the premise that literacy is a prerequisite for mathematics learning, a causal model was proposed to account for gender differences in mathematics on multiple choice (MC) and constructed response (CR) items in conjunction with the effects of reading and writing. Two…