Education policy shapers in Vermont are engaged in a statewide innovative assessment of fourth and eighth graders' mathematics and writing progress. The portfolio assessment of mathematics uses student work to assess problem solving and communication skills using seven criteria. This article describes institutes and other training provided for…

Describes the development of a placement test specifically designed for students entering Pembroke State University. Includes question construction and suitable test standards in discussing the features of a good placement test. Concludes that the test provides a reliable measure of students potential success. (MDH)

Studied invariance of ratio through an investigation of 16 sixth graders' understanding of taste constancy. Results showed an absence of taste constancy among the children and that they based their judgment of the relative strength of the taste of two samples from the same mixture on extraneous variables. (21 references) (Author/MKR)

Nineteen gifted students and 11 average students, age 11, completed Einstellung Test problems and were queried about their metacognitive knowledge. A three-way interaction among giftedness, speed, and flexibility was found, with metacognitive knowledge as the criterion. Regardless of speed, inflexible children had less metacognitive knowledge than…

A literature review identified issues about math tests for 11-year olds in the British National Curriculum: layout of test questions, vocabulary and language used, illustrations, and readability of text. More data are needed about how students read and process the information in test questions. (SK)

This theme issue deals with internal and external factors that influence student achievement in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Internal factors are those related to the test material; external factors include socioeconomic level and educational background, school climate, language background, and students' attitudes…

Analyzes results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for Australia and discusses variations found across the country. Considers curriculum issues related to TIMSS results and notes that the importance of student attitudes toward mathematics is reinforced by TIMSS findings. (SLD)

Assessed whether performances of 5- and 6-year olds in arithmetic tests can be predicted from their performances in neuropsychological tests. Participants completed neuropsychological, drawing, and arithmetic tests at 5 and 6 years of age. Findings at older age were correctly assumed by conclusions of first evaluation. (LBT)

A study examined the effects of providing the accommodation of reading the mathematics items to 115 fourth-grade students, 38 with learning disabilities, on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. Students with learning disabilities benefited from having the mathematics items read to them, although typical students had higher test scores.…

Developed a procedure for defining achievement levels on continuous scales using aspects of Guttman scaling (L. Guttman, 1950) and Item Response Theory. Using data from high school mathematics tests for about 6,000 students, found the new procedure to have higher reliability, higher classification consistency, and lower classification error than…

This study examined the contributions of the different components of the working memory (WM) model to a range of mathematical skills in children, using measures of WM function that did not involve numerical stimuli. A sample of 148 children (78 Year 3, mean age 8 years and 1 month, and 70 Year 5 pupils, mean age 9 years and 10 months) completed WM…

Starting in March 2005, the SAT, taken annually by more than 1.4 million college-bound students, will undergo its most significant change since 1994, when the College Board, which sponsors the test, first allowed calculators into test rooms, added open-ended math questions, and eliminated antonyms and added more critical-reading passages in the…

The purpose of this study was to explore cognitive process used by selected preservice elementary teachers on basic types of problems involving number sense. The sample was selected from students in six intact entry-level mathematics sections of a course populated by preservice elementary school teachers. In the beginning of the semester, the…

The NAEP testing over the past decade shows gradual improvement of test scores at the eighth-grade level, contrary to what many say about stagnant scores. However, by 2000, only one-fourth of eighth graders performed at the proficient level. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)

To examine the predictive utility of three scales provided in the released database of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (international plausible values, standardized percent correct score, and national Rasch score), information was obtained on the performance in state examinations in mathematics and science in 1996…