Education Week reports on federal research study of early-grade math programs; some programs show more improvement

"Two years into the nation's largest experimental evaluation of commercial mathematics programs for early elementary school, the Institute of Education Sciences has found some curricula have an advantage over others, but so far there has been no decisive win in the ongoing battle over the best way to teach math." Education Week, S. Sparks, November 10, 2010.
WSU affiliates: Click here to read the whole story

Detroit Students Score Record Low on National Math Scores

"Sixty-nine percent of fourth-graders and 77 percent of eighth-graders scored below basic skill levels in math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a standardized test that serves as a nationwide yardstick in measuring student learning." Robert Bobb, DPS Emergency Financial Manager, blames "school principals and a failing curriculum that doesn't prepare students for the national test." (Detroit News, 12/8/09)

More about the NAEP, scores and the instrument at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/

International Comparison: Math & Science Achievement for US 4th and 8th Grade Students

This report from the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences summarizes the performance of U.S. fourth- and eighth-grade students on the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), comparing their scores with their peers internationally as well as documenting changes in mathematics and science achievement since 1995. The report also describes additional details about trends in the achievement of students within the United States, by sex, racial/ethnic background, and the poverty level of the schools they attend.

TIMSS is sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an international organization of national research institutions and governmental research agencies. The United States participate in all four TIMSS administrations: 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. (IES Newsflash 12/9/2008)

Cultural Attitudes Affect Girls' Math Performance

The article Culture, Gender and Math in the May 2008 issue of Science, reports on research which compared the results of more than 276,000 15-year-olds in 40 countries who took a test in 2003 run by the OECD. On average, girls scored 2 percent lower than boys in mathematics. When they compared the gaps in mathematics scores to various measures of gender inequality, they found a possible reason for those national variations. In the countries that had the greatest gender inequality, such as Turkey and Korea, girls tended to fare worse compared to boys. In countries with more equality, such as Norway, Sweden, and Iceland, the gender gap in mathematics test scores disappears. (As reported in the Choronicle of Higher Education, 5/30/2008).

New Joint Commission On Math And Science Education

Carnegie Corporation Of New York And Institute For Advanced Study recently announced the establishment of a Joint Commission On Math And Science Education Commission. The commission's members include Prominent Educators, Business Leaders, Current and Former Governors, and Academics. The group plans to assess the current state of teaching in science and mathematics at colleges and elementary and secondary schools, and to identify and analyze successes and failures.

National Center for Education Research "Best Practice" Guides

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recently published two practice guides in education. These guides are intended to sythesize the best available evidence and expertise on timely topics in education.

The two new guides are:
Encouraging Girls in Math and Science
Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning

Chronicle Reports "Universities fail to reward science and math professors for working with schoolteachers"

You'll need to be on the WSU campus to read the article.

"Science professors receive few professional rewards for joining projects financed by the Math and Science Partnerships program, the federal government's principal effort to improve math and science teaching in elementary and secondary schools, a recent report says. The report calls this "a major roadblock" for the program. "