Cross-classified random effects modeling (CCREM) is used to model multilevel data from nonhierarchical contexts. These models are widely discussed but infrequently used in social science research. Because little research exists assessing when it is necessary to use CCREM, 2 studies were conducted. A real data set with a cross-classified structure…

This report describes the derivation and evaluation of a method for comparing the performance standards for public school students set by different states. It is based on an approach proposed by McLaughlin and associates, which constituted an innovative attempt to resolve the confusion and concern that occurs when very different proportions of…

Reports consistently demonstrate that the attainment of a high school diploma is not simply of value to the individual student, but that the benefit of a high school diploma is reaped by the graduate's community as well. Most educators readily acknowledge the importance of dropout prevention and the significance of a high school diploma. A…

Teachers play a key role in the identification and training of talented mathematicians, and their attitudes are important in improving math instruction for gifted students. We surveyed secondary mathematics teachers from South Korea, Turkey, and the United States. These teachers completed a survey instrument called the Teachers' Judgments of…

The present study examines the effect of three different structured methods, traditional, independent and problem-solving, of teaching children arithmetic in the beginning of 7th grade in Sweden, age 13 years. The progress made by these students is presented by measures of their arithmetic ability, calculation and quantitative concept, as well as…

This paper assesses the magnitude of the non-indigenous/indigenous test-score gap for third-year and fourth-year primary school pupils in Peru, in relation to the main family, school and peer inputs contributing to the test-score gap using the estimation method of feasible generalized least squares. The article then decomposes the gap into its…

In this paper, we will focus on an innovative way to teach some of the engineering fundamentals at the freshman level in an introductory engineering class. Unfortunately, today many students graduate without a good grasp of these fundamental concepts--concepts that every engineer, regardless of his or her area of specialization, should know. In…

Two strands of research motivate this study. One is the interest in school students' development of understanding of the concept of average, historically part of the mathematics curriculum and prominent in the statistics curriculum introduced in the early 1990s. The other is the belief of some educators that students learn meaningfully when…

This article describes a multisensory method for teaching students how to multiply and divide as well as add and subtract integers. The author uses sidewalk chalk and the underlying concept of integers to physically and mentally engage students in understanding the concepts of integers, making connections, and developing computational fluency.…

Many students in U.S. schools have trouble understanding fractions and Algebra II, the one difficultly occurring at the end of elementary school, the other in high school. One reason is that schools generally focus on one aspect of mathematics--calculation--and often fail to address the second aspect--interpretation. Also responsible is the…

This article describes a mathematics lesson taught by a 5th grade teacher who engages her class in an in-depth examination of one student's incorrect solution to a problem. Because the teacher consistently asks her students to devise alternative calculation strategies and explain how those strategies work, the students have come to expect that…

The aim of this study is to describe and analyze students' levels of understanding of exponents within the context of procedural and conceptual learning via the conceptual change and prototypes' theory. The study was conducted with 202 secondary school students with the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The results suggest…

An exercise to compute LLE data is presented to illustrate the problems that can arise when the isoactivity equilibrium condition is used in the LLE calculations. A much more efficient condition is obtained when isoactivity is combined with the common tangent line criterion, avoiding false solutions that correspond with very low values of the…

In the "Sydney Morning Herald" of 23 March 2005, Ross Gittins argued that the funding arrangements for private schools positively encourage parents to move their children from the state system. The then Federal Minister for Education, Dr Brendan Nelson, in a letter to the "Herald" of 25-27 March, responded by saying that 68% of…

In this paper we present new evidence on the impact of school characteristics on secondary student achievement using a rich dataset from rural Bangladesh. We deal with a potentially important selectivity issue in the South Asian context: the non-random sorting of children into madrasas (Islamic faith schools). We do so by employing a combination…