Homogeneous grouping of mathematics students, the practice of grouping students of similar ability or achievement, is most prevalent at the high school level, often occurs at the middle and junior high school levels in schools that offer algebra, and occurs at the elementary school level as part of general groupings. This digest summarizes…

This issue of ENC Focus serves as a guide to 29 instructional materials that utilize some form of alternative assessment. These materials focus on mathematics, science, and integrated topics. The products included utilize one or more of the following means of student assessment: (1) portfolios; (2) journals; (3) interviews; (4) surveys; (5)…

The findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) are approached from the perspective of mathematics educators and education decision makers at state and local levels. Some key findings are highlighted to show problems and successes in mathematics teaching and…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of test motivation on estimated ability, test anxiety, and attitudes toward computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Korean college students (n=208) were given the Math Aptitude Test, Math Self-Concept Scale, Math Test Anxiety Scale, Computer Competence Instrument, Computer Anxiety Scale, and…

The usefulness of the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT) as a predictor of student achievement in secondary mathematics courses was studied. Subjects were 977 students from 7 Iowa schools in grades 6 through 9. Data collected included their IAAT scores and Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) mathematics skills test scores, as well as data about…

This study reports the results of the implementation of Project SEED, a mathematics program for urban elementary school students, in five urban districts: Camden (New Jersey); Dallas (Texas); Detroit (Michigan); Indianapolis (Indiana); and the West Contra Costa Unified School District in Richmond and San Pablo (California). Students exposed to at…

This study assessed whether providing examinees with a choice between computerized adaptive testing (CAT) and self-adaptive testing (SAT) affects test performance in comparison with being assigned a CAT or SAT, and evaluated variables influencing examinee choice of either test form. The relative influences of test type and test choice on examinee…

This study investigated the role of problem structure and metacognitive control in the analogical transfer of performance of 40 13- and 14-year-old gifted and highly gifted math students. Average and above average 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds served as comparison groups. Students were given three algebra problems with solutions, followed by two…

This study involving 29 students enrolled in an 8-week summer Algebra II class for minority students was undertaken to determine the relationship between the kinds of symbolic forms used in problem-solving instruction and students' problem-solving processes and performance. All subjects were Black or Hispanic and were about to enter grade 11. For…

With this volume, the Council of Chief State School Officers introduces a new 2-year format for state education indicators. The first section of this report is an analysis of state-level data related to the first-ever state-by-state achievement results from the 1990 mathematics assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).…

This volume is a compilation of digests produced by the 16 Clearinghouses that constitute the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). Each ERIC Clearinghouse covers a specific area of education, selects materials for an education database, develops publications, and responds to requests for information on education topics. The 80 ERIC…

This study compared the academic math achievement of two homogeneous classes of gifted and talented sixth graders, with one group attending year-round school (N=22) and the other group following the traditional school calendar (N=26). Both groups were taught the same pre-algebra math program in the 1991-1992 school year, and data were gathered…

President Clinton, like President Bush before him, has challenged the nation's schools to participate in a rigorous national test of each student's reading skills at grade 4 and mathematics skills at grade 8. Tests would be voluntary and administered by private testing companies. They would allow parents to judge the adequacy of their child's…

Issues related to between-class and within-class decomposition of achievement variance and the change of this decomposition over the course of the eighth-grade were examined using the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS, 1985), a study in which there was a nested or hierarchical data structure of students within classes, within schools,…

In 1990, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) included a Trial State Assessment (TSA); for the first time in the NAEP's history, voluntary state-by-state assessments (37 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) were made. The sample was designed to represent the 8th grade public school population in a state…