The "Programme for Government" is the Welsh Government's plan of action for this term of the Assembly. At the forefront of the programme is growth and sustainable jobs. As a small economy, still recovering from the decline of manufacturing and the coal industry, Wales' economic and social outcomes are inextricably linked. Certainly, the…

A computer adaptive test (CAT) is a delivery methodology that serves the larger goals of the assessment system in which it is embedded. A thorough analysis of the assessment system for which a CAT is being designed is critical to ensure that the delivery platform is appropriate and addresses all relevant complexities. As such, a CAT engine must be…

Previous research has suggested a positive intergenerational relationship between a parent's childhood cognitive skill level and their own children's skill levels. Yet we also know that individuals' skill levels change during childhood and into adulthood, not least as a result of their education, training and work experience. Thus parents' adult…

There has been a major and growing international focus on improving the quality of teaching for decades. In Australia, there have been numerous key national initiatives introduced since 2007 with the aim of improving school, teacher and student performance. These include national testing and reporting of student achievement, national professional…

What would be one of the most sensible ways for a country to invest to achieve maximal economic growth? A recent study (Chetty, Friedman, & Rockoff, 2011) by economists at Harvard and Columbia Universities shows that better teacher quality results in significantly higher students' lifetime earnings. And investing in public school teachers…

There has been a significant policy shift from parallel systems of special and mainstream education in the Republic of Ireland towards provision underpinned by enabling legislation with a presumption for inclusion. The role of teachers in establishing inclusive learning environments is critical and it is generally accepted that inclusive practice…

This paper summarises part of a longitudinal study to investigate the possibility of establishing an Index that would indicate the appropriate starting point for instruction for students entering high school and reports on the first group of students to sit the Index tests in 2005, comparing the predictive nature of the tests with other state and…

While the notion of numeracy as the capacity to make use of mathematics within contexts associated with personal and public life, as distinct from basis mathematical competence, is broadly accepted, forms of professional teacher learning that lead to the effective teaching of numeracy are still the subject of ongoing research. This paper reports…

Although most high schools espouse school-wide literacy initiatives, few schools place equal emphasis on numeracy, or quantitative literacy. This lack of attention to quantitative skills is ironic in light of documented deficiencies in student mathematics achievement. While significant research exists regarding best practices for mathematics…

Preschoolers' conceptual understanding and procedural skills were examined so as to explore the role of number-words and concept-procedure interactions in their additional knowledge. Eighteen three- to four-year-olds and 24 four- to five-year-olds judged commutativity and associativity principles and solved two-term problems involving number words…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between early mathematical skills and cognitive processing abilities for two samples of children in Italy (N = 40) and the Netherlands (N = 59) who completed both a cognitive test that measures Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive (PASS) processing and an early mathematical…

Paying particular attention to older workers, this report examines the relationship between the skills of workers and the skill requirements of the jobs in which they work. The findings show that workers (in all age groups) with higher literacy and numeracy skills tend to use these skills more often than those with lower skill levels.…

Quantitative literacy involves a set of skills necessary to reason about data. Such skills are imperative in our increasingly data-oriented world. Despite the importance of such skills, assessment of quantitative literacy has not been a focus in education and there is a lack of assessment tools that specifically address these skills. This study…

Children's number competencies over 6 time points, from the beginning of kindergarten to the middle of 1st grade, were examined in relation to their mathematics achievement over 5 later time points, from the end of 1st grade to the end of 3rd grade. The relation between early number competence and mathematics achievement was strong and significant…

School librarians occupy a space rich in resources and numeracy. They are thus positioned to offer resources and standards that promote inquiry, drawing conclusions, real world connections, and aesthetic enjoyment. Part of their task with teachers is to create those connections with curriculum and students. School librarians' collections are aswim…