Standardized Mathematics Test Research Articles

The Relation Between Mathematics and Working Memory in Young Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

The goal of this study was to examine the relation between mathematics and working memory in young children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Children with FASD and comparison children (4 to 6 years old) completed standardized tests of mathematics and working memory. Children with FASD showed impairments on mathematics (applied problems and quantitative concepts) as compared to comparison children. The FASD group also performed less well than the comparison group on measures of phonological working memory. Math performance was highly correlated with phonological working memory in both groups and with central executive working memory only in the FASD group. The mathematics deficits in children with FASD appear to be associated with underlying working memory impairments.

The Effects of Stereotype Threat on Standardized Mathematics Test Performance and Cognitive Processing

Although research has extensively documented sources for differential item functioning and stereotype threat—especially among women and black college students—little is known about group differences in test-taking strategies among black adolescent students. In this article, Arbuthnot presents findings from two studies that seek to explore how stereotype threat affects standardized test performance in mathematics among black eighth-grade students. The author contextualizes the studies in a discussion of prior research and presents findings from an analysis of black students'test performances on standardized mathematics exam questions that do and do not include differential item functioning. Arbuthnot complements this work by exploring the strategies test-takers use to process test items. Findings from the two studies suggest that stereotype threat may have a negative impact on black adolescent students'test-taking strategies and achievement on mathematics standardized tests. The author concludes the article by posing implications for new test development that takes into consideration the potential impact of stereotype threat.

THE RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF CHARTER SCHOOLS

**: This analysis compares the technical efficiency of charter school primary and secondary campuses with that of comparable campuses in traditional Texas school districts. Charter schools are hybrids—publicly funded, but not required to meet all the state regulations releant for traditional schools. Student performance is measured using value added on standardized tests in reading and mathematics, and efficiency is measured using the input distance function. The analysis suggests that at least in Texas, charter schools are substantially more efficient than traditional public schools.

Gender Differences in Gifted and Average-Ability Students

This article investigates gender differences in 181 gifted and 181 average-ability sixth graders in achievement, academic self-concept, interest, and motivation in mathematics. Giftedness was conceptualized as nonverbal reasoning ability and defined by a rank of at least 95% on a nonverbal reasoning subscale of the German Cognitive Abilities Test. Mathematical achievement was measured by teacher-assigned grades and a standardized mathematics test. Self-concept, interest, and motivation were assessed by questionnaire. In both ability groups, boys earned significantly higher test scores but there were no gender differences in grades. Girls scored lower on measures of academic self-concept, interest, and motivation. Gender differences were larger in gifted than in average-ability students. Ability group differences for self-concept and interest were only found for boys in favor of the gifted. Results support the assumption that gender differences in self-concept, interest, and motivation in mathematics are more prevalent in gifted than in average-ability students.

The effects of environmental and classroom noise on the academic attainments of primary school children

While at school children are exposed to various types of noise including external, environmental noise and noise generated within the classroom. Previous research has shown that noise has detrimental effects upon children's performance at school, including reduced memory, motivation, and reading ability. In England and Wales, children's academic performance is assessed using standardized tests of literacy, mathematics, and science. A study has been conducted to examine the impact, if any, of chronic exposure to external and internal noise on the test results of children aged 7 and 11 in London (UK) primary schools. External noise was found to have a significant negative impact upon performance, the effect being greater for the older children. The analysis suggested that children are particularly affected by the noise of individual external events. Test scores were also affected by internal classroom noise, background levels being significantly related to test results. Negative relationships between performance and noise levels were maintained when the data were corrected for socio-economic factors relating to social deprivation, language, and special educational needs. Linear regression analysis has been used to estimate the maximum levels of external and internal noise which allow the schools surveyed to achieve required standards of literacy and numeracy.

Classroom peer effects and academic achievement: Quasi-randomization evidence from South Korea

Endogenous formation of peer groups often plagues studies on peer effects. Exploiting quasi-random assignment of peers to individual students that takes place in middle schools of South Korea, we examine the existence and detailed structure of academic interactions among classroom peers. We find that mean achievement of one's peers is positively correlated with a student's performance (standardized mathematics test score). Employing IV methods, we show that such a relationship is causal: the improvement in peer quality enhances a student's performance. Quantile regressions reveal that weak students interact more closely with other weak students than with strong students; hence their learning can be delayed by the presence of worst-performing peers. In contrast, strong students are found to interact more closely with other strong students; hence their learning can be improved by the presence of best-performing peers. We also examine the implications of these findings for two class formation methods: ability grouping and mixing.

Patience among children

Recent policy initiatives offer cash payments to children (and often their families) to induce better health and educational choices. These policies implicitly assume that children are especially impatient (i.e., have high discount rates); however, little is known about the nature of children's patience, how it varies across children, and whether children can even make rational inter-temporal choices. This paper examines the inter-temporal choices of 5- to 16-year-old children in an artefactual field experiment. We examine their choices between varying levels of compensation received in 2 or 4 months in the future and in 0 or 2 months in the future. We find that children's choices are consistent with hyperbolic discounting, boys are less patient than girls, older children are more patient and that mathematical achievement test scores, private schooling and parent's patience are not correlated with children's patience. We also find that although more than 25% of children do not make rational inter-temporal choices within a single two-period time frame, we cannot find variables that explain this behavior other than age and standardized mathematical achievement test scores.

Psychological Processes Underlying Stereotype Threat and Standardized Math Test Performance

The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) articulates a vision emphasizing the attainment of high achievement for all students. This legislation has defined a vital role for large-scale assessment in determining whether students are learning. However, standardized mathematics test performance by females and Black students continues to be a source of concern and controversy. While females' math grades are often higher, their math test scores begin to differ from those of males in early adolescence. Blacks score lower than Whites on standardized math tests and these differences remain, even when researchers consider background variables. Although many explanations have been offered for these findings, there is a growing appreciation that societal stereotypes, not solely mathematical proficiency, impair standardized test performance of female and Black students. Negative stereotypes (i.e., Blacks do poorly on achievement tests) can create a situational pressure that depresses their performance. The article integrates stereotype threat research and achievement goal research to better understand the motivational, affective, and cognitive processes involved in stereotype threat and math performance.

The lingering academic deficits of low birth weight children.

To estimate the influence of low birth weight (LBW; < or =2500 g) on academic achievement in reading and mathematics in 12th grade in 2 socioeconomically and racially disparate, geographically defined communities. Representative samples of LBW and normal birth weight (NBW) children who were born in 1983-1985 and were from the inner city of Detroit and nearby middle class suburbs were assessed longitudinally. Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised standardized tests of reading and mathematics were used at ages 11 and 17 (n = 773). Multiple regression analysis applying generalized estimating equations was used to assess the independent effects of LBW on test scores. Compared with NBW children, LBW children manifested deficits of 3 to 5 points in age-standardized tests of academic achievement at age 17 that had persisted with little change from age 11. LBW-related deficits were similar in urban and suburban communities and were independent of family factors. At age 17, LBW children were approximately 50% more likely than NBW children to score below the standardized population mean in both reading and mathematics. The LBW-related deficits in academic achievement in adolescence were largely accounted for by LBW-related deficits in general cognitive abilities, measured by IQ tests at age 6. Interventions to address the lingering effects of LBW on the acquisition of core academic skills during the school years should focus on preschool LBW children in both inner city and suburban communities.

Spotlight on the Principles: The Equity Principle through the Voices of African American Male Students

Calvin is a sixth-grade African American male student in a school district in the southeastern United States. As an elementary school student, Calvin earned the highest level of achievement on his state's standardized mathematics test in grades 3, 4, and 5. In addition, he scored in the 98th percentile on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in mathematics. On all objective measures in mathematics, Calvin performed well and, in most cases, excelled. In addition, he earned A's and B's consistently in mathematics. Calvin stated that mathematics is his favorite subject and that mathematics comes naturally to him and is easy. He loves challenging mathematics problems and mathematics puzzles.

A Cognitive-Process Taxonomy for Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities

Females and males show different average patterns of academic achievement and scores on cognitive ability tests. Females obtain higher grades in school, score much higher on tests of writing and content-area tests on which the questions are similar to material that was learned in school, attain a majority of college degrees, and are closing the gap in many careers that were traditionally male. By contrast, males score higher on standardized tests of mathematics and science that are not directly tied to their school curriculum, show a large advantage on visuospatial tests (especially those that involve judgments of velocity and navigation through three-dimensional space), and are much more knowledgeable about geography and politics. A cognitive-process taxonomy can shed light on these differences.

Extended Time as a Testing Accommodation: Its Effects and Perceived Consequences

This investigation examined the effect of an extended time testing accommodation on the performance of students with disabilities, students educationally at risk in math, and students without disabilities. Ninety-seven eighth-grade students completed two equivalent forms of a standardized mathematics test, each under different testing conditions (standard time 20 mins.; extended time 40 mins.). It was predicted that both disability status and mathematical skill level would interact with the effectiveness of the extended time accommodation, such that students with disabilities and students with low math skills would benefit significantly from the extended time accommodation, but students without disabilities would not. Outcomes indicated that there were no significant differences by disability status; however, there was evidence to support differences between the three student groups in the amount of change in their performance in the two time conditions. Follow-up surveys indicated that the vast majority of students reacted more positively to the accommodated or extra time condition than to the nonaccommodated condition. These results are discussed within a validity framework and future research is outlined on extended time as an accommodation.

Comparing performance of pupils with high spatial-low numerical and high numerical-low spatial scores on a standardized mathematics test in the United Kingdom.

Questions from a national mathematics test taken by over a 1,000 12- and 13-yr.-olds in the United Kingdom were perused for heavily loaded spatial and numerical items. Pupils' answers to the two types of item were examined, and those who answered well in one of the categories but poorly in the other were selected to form two groups, those high in spatial thinking but low in numerical thinking and those high in numerical thinking but low in spatial thinking to assess whether the approaches to solve the item used by each group were different. The two groups did indeed utilize different thinking strategies to solve the questions. For example, questions involving angle and volume, items thought to require a high spatial facility, were answered correctly by the predominantly numerical thinkers as often as by the predominantly spatial thinkers. This would indicate that one of the samples, i.e., numerical thinkers, used a different strategy than the other, i.e., spatial thinkers. This was verified by examination of students' work in the test booklets and personal interviews of them. Also, the same proportion of boys in each group was recorded, but a higher percentage of girls was recorded in the spatial group than in the numerical. This reflected the large number of boys who scored high on the spatial measures also doing moderately well on the numerical items and so, being moved out of the solely spatial group. Since the tests used by mathematics educators to assess learning are so heavily laden with linguistic/analytical rather than holistic/spatial types of questions, pupils high in spatial but low in numerical thinking face a severe handicap in schools.

Instructional Innovation in Summer School: Outcomes for Urban Students

In this paper, we present evaluation findings from a high stakes summer school program intended to help students failing Grade 8 in June 2000 meet promotion requirements by mid-August. Program components included: teacher professional development, an interdisciplinary curriculum, a Classroom, Inc. computer simulation and a related student workbook, and weekly on-site support visits. Over 300 students and 27 teachers in an urban district’s nine middle schools participated in the program. The district and a not-for-profit organization (Classroom, Inc.) collaborated to offer the program. We used a pre-/post- design with traditional and non-traditional measures to examine student outcomes. The program fostered positive outcomes, including improvements in attendance, disciplinary referrals, and academic engagement. Performance in four core subjects—mathematics, reading, science, and social studies—was enhanced. District students made a greater than average improvement in standardized mathematics test scores, and reading gains comparable to the citywide Grade 8 results. Overall, scores on problem-solving performance assessments improved modestly between the pre- and post-testing; the scores of the lower two-thirds of the sample improved significantly. Students and educators deemed the program valuable; they would recommend it to others. Educators would use the program again—for Grade 8 and other levels. Implications for a larger scale implementation are discussed. The program was scaled up tenfold in 2001.

Within‐class Ability Grouping: Placement of pupils in groups and self‐concept

Abstract With the introduction of the literacy and numeracy hours, children are being grouped by ability within the primary classroom. Within‐class ability grouping is seen as a means of raising attainment that avoids the social and emotional disadvantages of streaming. This research examined within‐class grouping for mathematics in six classes in one primary school. The aim of the research was to examine whether pupils' placement in ability groups was consistent with their ability, as indicated by a standardised test, and to explore the relationships between pupils' self‐concepts, their mathematical ability and their placement in groups. The sample consisted of 145 children in years 3 to 5. Standardised mathematics test scores and a measure of self‐concept were collected for each child. Teachers provided information about the ability groups in their classes. Seven children were selected for interview on the basis of their mathematics self‐concept scores. The analysis revealed considerable overlap between the standardised test scores of children in the high‐, middle‐ and low‐ability groups. There was a significant but weak correlation between mathematics ability and mathematics self‐concept. The interviews revealed that children whose self‐concept scores were consonant with their ability group thought they had been correctly placed, but those with discrepant scores were less happy. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation the salience of ability grouping within the classroom.

Effects of Testing Accommodations on Standardized Mathematics Test Scores: An Experimental Analysis of the Performances of Students With and Without Disabilities

The study examined the effects of testing accommodations on the mathematics test scores of a sample of 86 fourth-grade students, which included 43 students with disabilities (SWD) and 43 students without disabilities (SWOD). This study featured a 2 × 2 × 2 mixed design in which all participants were tested under a treatment condition (i.e., accommodations during test) and a control condition (i.e., no accommodations during test) using equivalent forms of a mathematics test used in many statewide assessment programs. Testing conditions were randomized to counteract possible order effects. Primary analyses indicated that SWDs experienced a larger effect in the accommodated condition than did SWODs. The SWDs profited more than SWODs on the multiple-choice items, but not on the constructed-response items. Similar numbers of students with and without disabilities experienced either (a) a beneficial effect in the accommodated test condition resulting in an increased proficiency level, (b) a detrimental effect in the accommodated test condition resulting in a decreased proficiency level, or (c) a minimal effect resulting in no change in proficiency levels. These results and several limitations to the study are discussed along with implications for practice and future research.

Screening for learning disabilities in preadolescents using psychosocial disability markers—a pilot study

PURPOSE: Learning disabilities (LD) are among the most common developmental and psychiatric disorders encountered by pediatricians, yet many children are not adequately diagnosed or treated in elementary school when intervention is most effective. Because of the well-known co-morbidity between psychosocial problems and LD, this pilot study sought to utilize psychosocial “markers” to screen for unidentified LD among all fifth graders in three urban/suburb Connecticut elementary schools.METHODS: 115 fifth graders, representing a 71% response rate, agreed to participate in the study and were screened using standardized psychosocial questionnaires administered to parents (Child Behavior Checklist), students (Youth Self Report), and teachers (Teacher Report Form). Psychosocial symptom scores and associated t-scores were obtained for three types of problems; “internalizing,” “attention” and “externalizing.” 28 students with high levels (t > 60) of internalizing or attention problems, were selected along with a sample of 22 “normal” students with no evidence of psychosocial impairment. These 50 students were given an individually administered battery of ability, performance and cognitive processing tests to determine the presence of unidentified LD. Performance tests included standardized tests of reading, writing and mathematics. All test scores were normed with a mean of 100 and a SD of 15. LD was determined to be present if the student had a 1.5 SD or greater discrepancy between ability and performance in any of the three academic areas, and evidence of a cognitive processing deficit.RESULTS: The results indicated that 14 of the 50 students tested (28%) had evidence of undiagnosed LD. No significant difference was found in the proportion of undiagnosed LD among psychosocially impaired versus normal students. However regression analysis suggested that this finding was misleading. Controlling for ability, attention problems reported by the parent, were found to be significant (p < 0.05) predictors of lowered test scores, whereas internalizing problems were found to be predictive of increased test scores. Students with both internalizing and attention problems did not differ significantly from psychologically unimpaired students.CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study indicates that better screening methods are needed to identify the likely high proportion of elementary school children with undiagnosed learning difficulties and co-morbid psychosocial problems.

Reading as an Access to Mathematics Problem Solving on Multiple-Choice Tests for Sixth-Grade Students

The effect of providing middle school students with a video accommodation for a standardized mathematics test was examined. Two hundred forty-seven students were asked to solve 60 word problems. One half of the questions were presented in standard form, while the other half were read by an actor on a video monitor. Students were grouped according to mathematics and reading ability. A test accommodation effect was found for students possessing below-average mathematics skills. The problems were identified as having relatively high reading difficulty according to word count, number of verbs, and word familiarity. Students with above-average mathematics proficiency but low reading skill performed better when the questions were presented in video format. This accommodation may be useful on specific test items for students with certain reading deficiencies.

Effects of 4X4 Block Scheduling

The effects of a 4 X 4 block scheduling program in a middle school on a variety of student measures were investigated. These measures included standardized achievement tests in mathematics, reading, and writing, cumulative and semester grades in middle school and high school, attendance rates, and enrollment rates in advanced high school courses (in mathematics only). The block scheduling program had been in effect for four years allowing analyses of current middle and high school students who had experienced a minimum of one and one-half years of block scheduling while in middle school. The primary research design was a post-test only, matched pairs design. Students were matched on school characteristics, gender, ethnicity, grade level, and 5th grade standardized reading scores. Results were relatively consistent with the extant literature and generally positive.

Educational characteristics of students with high or low self‐concept

In response to methodological concerns associated with previous research into the educational characteristics of students with high or low self-concept, the topic was re-examined using a significantly more representative sample and a contemporary self-concept measure. From an initial screening of 515 preadolescent, coeducational students in 18 schools, students significantly high or low in self-concept were compared using standardized tests in reading, spelling, and mathematics, and teacher interviews to determine students' academic and nonacademic characteristics. The teachers were not informed of the self-concept status of the students. Compared to students with low self-concept, students with high self-concept were rated by teachers as being more popular, cooperative, and persistent in class, showed greater leadership, were lower in anxiety, had more supportive families, and had higher teacher expectations for their future success. Teachers observed that students with low self-concept were quiet and withdrawn, while peers with high self-concept were talkative and more dominating with peers. Students with lower self-concepts were also lower than their peers in reading, spelling, and mathematical abilities. The findings support the notion that there is an interactive relationship between self-concept and achievement. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.