Students must leave elementary school with a firm understanding of fractions and decimals in order to make satisfactory progress in advanced mathematics. Firm understanding includes manipulation of rational numbers using different models of representation such as area and length. Research has demonstrated that a graduated sequence such as…

The article provides a report on the comparison of Opportunities to Learn algebra and eighth grade students' algebra achievement in three countries: Botswana, Singapore and the United States. The study used student and teacher data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (2011 and 2015). By using a multilevel regression…

Currently Australian pre-service teachers' levels of personal numeracy are under a great deal of scrutiny. There are calls for universities to raise entry standards into teaching degrees and counter-calls that the output of universities should be gauged rather than inputs. In 2015, doubts about the ability of graduate teachers to convey the…

The contribution investigates opportunities that an educational tool called Concept Cartoons can offer in future teachers' education, namely in comparison with word problems in standard written tests. The referred empirical study was conducted in two separated consecutive stages, with two groups of future primary school teachers (the first one…

Computer-assisted assessment (CAA) is widely used in modern university courses in many different fields. It can be used both in formative and summative assessments and with different emphasis on (self-)training, grading, and feedback generation. This article reports on experiences from using the CAA tool "JACK" to support a university…

Numeracy activities in early childhood have been linked to children's mathematical performance in subsequent years. However, few studies have examined associations between early numeracy play and children's subsequent attitudes towards mathematics. This study draws on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011…

In Hong Kong, pupils at Grades 3, 6 and 9 are required to take the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA). TSA is a low-stakes standardized assessment, tracking pupils' attainment of the basic competence levels in English, Chinese and Mathematics. By design, TSA does not constitute part of individual pupils' school results, but generates…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate Hispanic students' mathematics achievement growth rate in Inclusive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) high schools compared to Hispanic students' mathematics achievement growth rate in traditional public schools. Twenty-eight schools, 14 of which were Texas STEM (T-STEM) academies…

The aim of this study was to investigate the interplay between test anxiety and working memory (WM) on mathematics performance in younger children. A sample of 624 grade 3 students completed a test battery consisting of a test anxiety scale, WM tasks and the Swedish national examination in mathematics for grade 3. The main effects of test anxiety…

This study sought to provide a framework for evaluating machine score-ability of items using a new score-ability rating scale, and to determine the extent to which ratings were predictive of observed automated scoring performance. The study listed and described a set of factors that are thought to influence machine score-ability; these factors…

School bullying is a complex social phenomenon that negatively impacts the psychosocial well-being of students, as well as the overall culture and climate of schools. Designing appropriate interventions to combat bullying in South African schools requires nuanced information about this phenomenon. This paper examines the extent and nature of…

Homework is generally one factor that has been discussed and claimed to have a relationship with achievement; it has a central role in providing students with opportunities to continue learning out of the school. This study forms one of cross-cultural investigations that analyze the links between homework variables and achievement in mathematics.…

In an attempt to broaden participation in STEM, a new type of high school is emerging, high schools which include a focus on engineering, have few or no academic admission criteria, and actively involve students of all levels of ability, known as Inclusive STEM High Schools (ISHSs). One aspect of successful ISHSs includes the intentional and…

Writing multiple-choice test items to measure student learning in higher education is a challenge. Based on extensive scholarly research and experience, the author describes various item formats, offers guidelines for creating these items, and provides many examples of both good and bad test items. He also suggests some shortcuts for developing…

The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers' perceptions of inquiry-based learning in middle school mathematics. The lack of literature related to inquiry-based learning in the middle school mathematics classroom creates a need for an investigation of its use, the various ways teachers incorporate it, and the possible barriers to using…