Low Performance In Mathematics Research Articles

Understanding the low mathematics achievement of Chilean students: A cross-national analysis using TIMSS data

The low performance of Chile in the TIMSS 1998/99 international study of mathematics and science achievement was a great disappointment for that country. To investigate the likely causes for low performance in mathematics, this study (1) compared Chile to three countries and one large school system that had similar economic conditions but superior mathematics performance, and (2) examined how important characteristics of the Chilean educational system could account for poor student achievement in mathematics. The study finds that, compared to South Korea, Malaysia, the Slovak Republic, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools: (a) Chilean 8th graders had parents with fewer years of schooling and with fewer educational resources at home; (b) the Chilean mathematics curriculum covered less content and fewer cognitive skills; and (c) the meager official curriculum translated into a weaker curricular implementation. Hierarchical linear models found that, in Chile, school assets were unequally distributed across social classes, with schools in socially advantaged areas more likely to have their own mathematics curriculum and better prepared teachers who emphasized more advanced mathematics content. Schools with their own mathematics curriculum and whose teachers covered more advanced content had significantly higher student achievement in mathematics.

La prediction du risque de decrochage scolaire au secondaire : facteurs personnels, familiaux et scolaires.

Research indicates that students at-risk of dropping out of school have learning difficulties, behaviour problems, and come from low income families. It is likely that a high percentage of students at-risk of dropping out of school cannot be identified. The objective of this multidimensional study is to identify personal, familial and schooling variables associated with students at-risk of school dropout. A sample of 235 students at-risk and 567 students not at-risk of dropping out of school were assessed on several personal, family, and schooling variables. At-risk students differentiated themselves from controls and from dropout students on most of the variables. Logistic regression analysis indicated seven factors better classify at-risk students: depression affect, low family cohesion and organisation, low student involvement, negative teacher attitudes, low performance in mathematics and French. Results showed gender differences.

A Twin Study of Teacher-Reported Mathematics Performance and Low Performance in 7-Year-Olds.

The authors' investigated the etiology of low mathematics performance in 7-year-olds in the context of normal variation. The lowest 15% were selected from a representative U.K. sample of 2,178 same-sex twin pairs rated by their teachers according to National Curriculum criteria in 3 domains of mathematics. Model-fitting analyses of mathematics performance and low performance yielded remarkably similar results. The heritability estimate for the teacher-reported mathematics performance composite is .66, whereas the group heritability estimate for low performance is .65. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the same genetic and environmental factors are largely responsible for low mathematics performance as for normal variation in mathematics. The limitations of the present study and further directions for research are discussed.

Identification of self-verification in the formation of children's academic self-concept.

From a self-verification perspective, individuals strive to maintain a consistent self-concept, even if that self-concept is negative. However, most of the research has involved adults and social relationships. In contrast, this study evaluated whether self-verification was also present with children and in the formation of academic self-concept. This was done with a sample of preadolescent students with low and high reading and mathematics performance. There was support for the self-verification notion that individuals with low achievement in one academic domain reduce their self-concept in another.

Effects of teaching metacognitive skills to students with low mathematics ability

This report presents two studies investigating the effects of metacognitive instruction in mathematics on low-ability sixth-grade students. The first study was conducted in three classes that had scored below average on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) in an elementary school district having a Hispanic population. Two of these classes were randomly assigned to the experimental group and one to the control group. In this study the experimenter was the instructor. A second study was designed as a follow-up to eliminate possible confounded effects between the experimenter and the treatment. Thirty-two additional students were added to the sample of the first study as a new control group. These students had the same characteristics as the students in the first sample. In addition to learning outcomes, sources of errors were examined using Mayer's model of problem solving. Results from both studies showed significant main effects favoring the experimental group on achievement in mathematics and attitudes toward mathematics. A lack of linguistic, strategic, and procedural knowledge seemed to be the major source of errors students experienced in solving mathematics problems. The intervention used in this study could be tailored to regular classrooms where a majority of students have demonstrated low performance in mathematics.