The capacity to recognise, represent, and reason about relationships between different quantities, that is, to think multiplicatively, has long been recognised as critical to success in school mathematics in the middle years and beyond. Building on recent research that found a strong link between multiplicative thinking and algebraic, geometrical,…

Statistical terms are used in everyday language and, at times, used in non-statistical ways. It is often assumed students understand statistical terms because of their common use; however, research into their understanding of specific statistical terms is scant. This report focuses on 58 Year 3 students' responses to the basic question, "What…

Statistical literacy increasingly is considered an important outcome of schooling. There is little information, however, about appropriate expectations of students at different stages of schooling. Some progress towards this goal was made by Watson and Callingham (2005), who identified an empirical 6-level hierarchy of statistical literacy and the…

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) has recently drawn additional attention to "mathematical literacy" as an important influential factor for individuals' life chances. High levels of mathematical literacy have thereby been linked to using mathematics in daily and working life frequently. In this…

Many resources have been created with the aim of helping children and adults overcome difficulties with mathematics and to develop or improve their numeracy. However, these are only used once the individual has decided to act -- to do something to improve their mathematics and numeracy. Unfortunately, someone who knows that they need to improve…

Characterizing students' knowledge and skill upon kindergarten entry has implications for early learning and K-12 outcomes and systems alignment. Large-scale entry assessments measure skillsets shown important for later success, so that meaningful comparisons and appropriate decisions can be made. Consequently, it is important to document the…

The present review is in view of the endeavour of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in framing a national curriculum that is intended to equip all young Australians including those with special educational needs and disabilities. It presents some interesting findings on how teachers and parents engage with…

The term numeracy is used widely in schools today and brings with it the expectation that students will be taught both how to do the mathematics, alongside an understanding of the concepts associated with the procedural application. One issue, which has arisen with the terminology 'numeracy classroom', is how to best support teachers to enhance…

The field of Adult Literacy and Numeracy (ALN) has an evidence problem. This paper analyses that problem through the lens of three overarching types of evidence available to researchers and policymakers: Type 1 evidence, which provides descriptions of the scope of social problems; Type 2 evidence measuring the impacts of programmes addressing…

The numeracy capabilities of pre-service teachers are a recent focus in the Australian educational system. In this article, we discuss findings from an analysis of data from the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE), which is administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research. In our analysis, we…

The purpose of this study was to compare students' results in mathematics from a large-scale standardized assessment, the National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), with a set of teacher-developed, school-based assessments. A case study of an all-boys secondary school in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was conducted over…

The study aimed to calculate the evaluation of 9th grade female students and compare the development of the educational process in increasing mathematical literacy using the Malmquist Index at different time intervals. This educational process was accomplished by analysing and integrating realistic mathematical education and mathematical…

Low working memory (WM) capacity has been linked to poor academic performance and problem behavior. Availability of easy-to-administer screening tests would facilitate early detection of WM deficits. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Working Memory Power Test for Children (WMPT) in 170 Australian schoolchildren (8½-11…

Relatively little research has addressed whether conceptual frameworks of early learning generalize across different national contexts. This article reports on a cross-country measurement invariance analysis of the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA). The IDELA is a direct assessment tool for 3- to 6-year-old children,…

The overarching theme of this book can be simply stated: Building on a foundation of biologically based abilities, children construct number via sensorimotor and mental activity. In this chapter, we return to this theme, and we connect it to three additional themes that emerge across chapters: comparing competing models for conceptual change;…