The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest and most ambitious study undertaken by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Forty-five countries collected data in more than 30 languages. Five grade levels were tested in the two subject areas, so that more than half a million…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in the United States know and can do in various academic subjects. The 1996 NAEP in mathematics assessed the current level of mathematical achievement as a mechanism for informing education reform. In 1996, 44…

This book is a collection of 30 "Schools in the Middle" newsletters that were published from 1981-90. These articles, which focus on the melding of theory and practice, reflect exemplary middle-level practices, issues, and concerns about early adolescents during the past decade. Among the articles contained in Part 1, titled "Successful Middle…

Describes an activity designed to help students understand the concept of a variable and the process of gathering like terms or simplifying algebraic expressions using egg cartons and plastic eggs. (MKR)

Presents problems from the Mathematics in Context (MiC) project with a central theme concerning the construction of a variety of formulas by students. (AIM)

Presents an activity that connects area with cutting brownies which are in different shapes for different numbers, uses algebraic equations, and fixes the exact dimensions of brownies. Concludes with four different solutions from six people for the class of 16 and a trapezoidal brownie. (ASK)

This profile is designed to be a recording sheet for monitoring an individual student's progress throughout the school year. Seventh grade assessment materials and the Strategies for Instruction in Mathematics suggest tasks and questions that can be used for on-going and summative assessment. Directions for use and descriptions of the four levels…

Presents building-up strategies and activities for preservice teachers to help students move from using informal strategies to expressing proportional relationships in algebraic terms. (ASK)

Describes a hands-on, guided-learning activity that forges vertical connections among grade levels and relies on physical models in the investigation of algebraic concepts. This lesson helps students discover that a given value can have multiple representations. Includes a sample student activity log. (AIM)

Describes how various projects helped middle school students build mathematical conclusions through algebraic thinking as they used number patterns and verbal rules to explore the interrelationships of representations. Suggests some topics for projects. (AIM)

Presents 12 questions related to a given real-life situation about a man shaving and the number of hairs in his beard in order to help students see the connection between mathematics and the world around them. (ASK)

Presents a modified version of the Wheel of Fortune game for mathematics classrooms that engages students in solving equations by using formal and informal methods. Encourages mental computation and estimation. (ASK)

Investigates four seventh-grade teachers' awareness of students' tendency to conjoin or "finish" open expressions and teachers' ways of coping with this tendency. Concludes that two experienced teachers were aware of this tendency, whereas the novices were not, and teaching approaches related to this tendency differed considerably. Contains 24…

Discusses the importance of toys in improving students' motivation and understanding of scale, proportions, and ratios by connecting toys with their real-life counterparts. Presents a unit that includes measurement activities in order to teach these topics by comparing toys and actual measurements for known and unknown scale toys. (ASK)

This study investigated the development of students' abilities to see connections between algebraic equations and life-situated relationships during an extended problem solving experience. The design problem required students to analyze some aspect of their socio-physical environment for cause and effect and to generate a dynamic model using the…