Criticizes the "Five New Basics" proposal on the basis of the Educational Testing Service's Growth Study, which found that completion of core curriculum enhances test performance only if the student's course performance is very high. Concludes that the National Commission did not comprehensively evaluate current educational conditions…

This book provides practical guidance for parents, teachers, and other early years workers who want to give children a good start in mathematical development. Showing how competent children are as mathematicians from an early age, the book offers an overview of young children's mathematical behaviour at home and in early years settings. This book…

An ideal companion to "Academic Skills Problems, Third Edition," this user-friendly workbook offers numerous opportunities for practicing and mastering direct assessment and intervention procedures. Practice exercises and forms--some of which are reprinted from the text--are presented in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" format with…

The mathematical growth of a pre-service elementary teacher over the period of a semester is detailed. This student had an unusual combination of very poor basic computational skills and a capacity for higher level problem solving involving algebraic notation. The extent to which one or two semesters of mathematics content, however…

In this paper we report an analysis of a teaching sequence in which Grade 11 students were asked to produce some graphs corresponding to the relationship between time and distance of a cylinder moving up and down an inclined plane. The students were also asked to carry out the experience using a TI 83+ graphic calculator equipped with a sensor,…

Designed as a reference for teaching mathematics in the workplace, this manual presents teaching strategies and activities for beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners in four mathematics-related topics. Following an overview of the manual's purpose, definitions are provided of the three skill levels targeted by the activities. Strategies…

This book explores the ways in which fourth-grade students use story, metaphor, and language to develop mathematical thinking skills and strategies. Replete with children's stories and illustrations, the book looks at children as sense-makers, storytellers, language creators, and problem-posers. It focuses on how to create a classroom community…

This study examined whether reading and mathematics performance of New York City Schools Under Registration Review (SURR) elementary and middle schools with extended time differed from performance of SURR schools without extended time in 1999-00. It also examined whether extended-time schools attracted more certified teachers and relationships…

Several studies have examined the effects of music instruction on children's abilities in other disciplines. Other studies have explored the effects of listening to music on adults' spatial abilities. Noting that these two sets of findings have been confused, leading to claims that listening to music can improve children's academic abilities, this…

Several studies have examined the effects of music instruction on children's abilities in other disciplines. Other studies have explored the effects of listening to music on adults' spatial abilities. Noting that these two sets of findings have been confused, leading to claims that listening to music can improve children's academic abilities, this…

In 1999, Colorado's Denver Public schools initiated the Pay for Performance pilot, which links teacher compensation to student achievement. Researchers examined its impact on achievement by comparing three measures of student achievement across pilot and control schools; teacher objectives; school, teacher, and student factors which impact…

This essay traces the history of two standards--estimation and mental calculation--devised by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). It is hoped that the history of these standards will illustrate the difficulties encountered by other proposed standards and by the standards movement as a whole. The essay provides an overview of…

This study examined North Carolina schools serving large numbers of poor and minority students, emphasizing nine schools where black student achievement was especially high, where black students had made strong gains, or where the black-white achievement gap was closing faster than the state average. Between 1999-00, research teams visited each…

This study examined transitions into and out of poverty and welfare across 4-year time periods and their implications for math and reading skills and behavior among 10- and 11-year-olds. Analyses of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Supplement indicate that even with controls for factors that select families into poverty,…

A mathematics teacher shares a family discussion about Pythagorean triples as her child discovers new ideas about generating a triple. This idea can be useful for introducing students to the Pythagorean theorem. Observes that middle school students tend not to share creative insights in spite of supportive families and teachers. Presents…