A yearlong experimental study showed positive effects of a professional development project that involved 19 urban elementary schools, 180 teachers, and 3735 students from one of the lowest performing school districts in California. Algebraic reasoning as generalized arithmetic and the study of relations was used as the centerpiece for work with…

Performance of first and second graders on measurement problems indicated that they are unable to relate the measurements of objects using different units to visual comparisons of quantities. (SD)

The effects of numerical and visual cues, equality or inequality of initial volumes, size of measurement unit, and order of cue presentation on conservation of liquid volumes by first- and second-graders were investigated. Some findings extend, and others contradict, those of Piaget. (SD)

The Report of the Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test Score Decline was reviewed and some shortcomings pointed out. Changing standards and changes in the composition of the SAT-taking population are discussed. (MN)

The study investigated children's ability to write number sentences for simple addition and subtraction word problems. The results suggest that open number sentences may provide mathematical symbolism that allows young children to build on informal strategies for presenting and solving simple word problems. (Author/PK)

Solutions to addition and subtraction word problems were studied in a three-year longitudinal study that followed 88 children from grades one to three. They solved problems using a variety of strategies before formal instruction and used invented strategies several years after formal instruction. Four levels of problem-solving ability were found.…

This article indicates some needed research suggested from examining NAEP mathematics assessment data. (DT) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Results (Interpretation).

First-grade children's solution processes for addition and subtraction were studied. Their processes tended to represent the relationships or actions described in individual problems. (MP)

Presents a three-year longitudinal study investigating the development of children's (n=82) understanding of multidigit number concepts and operations in grades one through three by using interview processes. Provides an existence proof that children can invent strategies for adding and subtracting and illustrates both what that invention affords…

Forty first-grade teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of children's solutions of addition and subtraction word problems was investigated. Most teachers could identify many of the critical distinctions between problems, and the primary strategies used to solve them, but did not have a coherent organizational scheme. (MNS)

After a year of instruction, 70 kindergarten children were individually interviewed as they solved basic, multistep, and nonroutine word problems. Thirty-two used a valid strategy for all 9 problems, and 44 correctly answered 7 or more problems. Modeling provided a unifying framework for thinking about problem solving. (Author/MDH)