Enhancing Student Achievement on Performance Assessments in Mathematics

Abstract

This article is part of a program of iterative research involving students with learning disabilities in reform mathematics classrooms at the intermediate grade levels. The study reports the findings from a larger, yearlong case study focusing on ways to improve problem solving through classwide performance assessment tasks and ad hoc tutoring for students with learning disabilities. The purpose of these interventions was to enhance a student's deeper understanding of mathematics and to develop the kind of strategic knowledge needed to solve complex problems. A quantitative analysis of the results indicate that these two interventions led to demonstrable differences over time and when compared to a limited number of students with learning disabilities who did not receive this kind of instruction. Qualitative analyses of student performance show two distinct trends in the improvement of the students in the intervention group. Findings from this study have implications for special educators interested in mathematical problem-solving instruction, as well as policymakers who are interested in performance assessment.