Mathematics is an increasingly important aspect of education because of its central role in technology (Kuenzi, 2008). Mathematical achievement tests are universally applied throughout schooling in the US to assess yearly progress. The middle school years (e.g., Grade 6-Grade 8) are especially crucial to success in mathematics because students…

Using an innovative recruitment tool, the social network site Facebook, survey data were gathered from samples of the Australian general public and from around the world. Views on the gendering of mathematics, science, and ICT were gathered. In this paper we report the findings from six of the 15 questions on the survey, and only from respondents…

The performance of a school system can be evaluated through the learning levels of the pupils, usually summarized by school mean scores. The variability of the mean scores among schools is rarely studied in detail, though it is a crucial issue especially in primary schools: in fact, a high variability among schools raises doubts on the capacity of…

It has long been suggested that, in a bilingual setting, the proficiencies achieved in the first (L1) and second (L2) language may have a bearing on a subject's cognitive and, consequently, academic functioning. The study is set in Malta, a country in which Maltese (L1) and English (L2) are learnt simultaneously at school from age 5. It…

In its mathematics standards, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) states that problem solving is an integral part of all mathematics learning and exposure to problem solving strategies should be embedded across the curriculum. Furthermore, by high school, students should be able to use, decide and invent a wide range of strategies.…

The algebra-based introductory statistics course is the most popular undergraduate course in statistics. While there is a general consensus for the content of the curriculum, the recent Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) have challenged the pedagogy of this course. Additionally, some arguments have been made…

The middle school level is of particular concern to educators because of poor standardized test performance. This study evaluated change in academic achievement in public middle school students practicing the Transcendental Meditation[R] program compared to controls. A total of 189 students who were below proficiency level at baseline in English…

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…

Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the extent to which school instructional calendar configuration (i.e., year-round or traditional) influenced Grade 5 student academic performance as reflected on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test as a function of student ethnicity (i.e., Hispanic, White, and Black)…

There are a limited number of studies that examine the predictors of academic success in charter schools (Lawton, 2009). This study utilized a multiple regression analysis to identify the best predictors of academic success in language arts literacy (LAL) and math on state assessments in New Jersey charter schools. This study included four student…

This action research study, set in a community college in the southwestern United States, was designed to investigate the effects of implementing cooperative learning strategies in a developmental mathematics course. Introductory algebra was formerly taught in a lecture based format, and as such regularly had a low course completion rate. To…

This dissertation examines the student academic achievement through various mechanisms, put in place by the public school district, classroom student behavior, and negative external shocks to the students' living environment. I examine the impacts of various treatments on student short and long run academic outcomes such as math and English test…

This report contains the findings of the Oregon Applied Academics research and development project which spanned three academic years from 2010 through 2013. The overall purpose of the project was to develop and implement a technical math course that would meet graduation requirements and improve student performance. The State of Oregon has been…

This study uses a multi-level multivariate propensity score matching approach to examine the synthetic cohort design (SCD) in estimating the schooling effect on mathematics proficiency of the focal cohort 2 (8th graders). Collecting 7th and 8th graders at the same time point, the SCD is sufficient in estimating the schooling effect under the…