Mathematics Test Scores Research Articles

Is information and communication technology satisfying educational needs at school?

This paper assesses how the integration of ICT in education has affected the mathematics test scores for Italian students measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 data. The problem of endogeneity that affects survey data in this area, is addressed by applying the Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) methodology as in Cabras & Tena Horrillo (2016). The BART methodology needs a prior and likelihood functions using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm to obtain the posterior distribution. Controlling for socio-economic, demographic and school factors, the predicted posterior distribution implies an increase, on average, of 16 points in the test scores. The result indicates that the use of ICT at school has a positive and strong impact on mathematic test scores.

Change in Computer Access and the Academic Achievement of Immigrant Children

Background/Context Increased interest in the correlates of media devices available to children has led to research indicating that access to and use of technology are positively associated with children's academic achievement. However, the digital divide remains; not all children have access to digital technologies, and not all children can acquire technological literacy. Specifically, immigrant families are known to be slow to adopt new technologies in the increasingly digital society of the United States. Purpose/Objective This study examined whether the benefits of computer access observed in the general U.S. population were also applicable to children from immigrant families in the early 2000s. Research Design Using data on 2,139 children in immigrant families from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort, this study examined the association between children's gaining access to a computer at home and their reading and mathematics test scores between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Findings/Results We found that if children had access to a computer during the early elementary school years, they demonstrated increased mathematics test scores later on. Conclusions/Recommendations Three characteristics of computer access are discussed in terms of implications for media popular today, including type of media (old vs. new), featured functions of technology, and timing of availability to children. In particular, the computer's spatial and virtual functions may be likely to translate into improved mathematics skills, especially when access occurs early in kindergarten and first grade. Extra effort is needed to inform immigrant and minority parents about the benefits of new technologies so that their children can access them at home as much as children from nonimmigrant and nonminority families. To lessen the digital divide in children's education, timely financial support and educational information should be provided to parents to encourage early adoption of new media technologies, thus ensuring that immigrant and minority children are not left behind in the digital age.

The Gender Gap in Attitudes and Test Scores: A New Construct of the Mathematical Capability

In most OECD countries, girls outperform boys in all subjects except mathematics. Usually, only test scores are utilised as a measure of mathematical skills. In this paper, we argue that in order to measure children's capability in mathematics we need to include some indicators of the attitudes of children towards the subject. This is particularly important when we analyse gender gaps, because attitudes towards mathematics differ by gender. We first describe the differences by gender both in test scores and attitudes utilising a model including school fixed effects. Next, we estimate a quantile regression in order to analyse how the gender gap varies across the distribution of the attitudes. Lastly, in addition to the test scores in mathematics, we use indicators of attitudes towards maths to estimate a Structural Equation Model, which takes into account that maths capability is a latent construct of which we only observe some indicators (test scores and attitudes). We use data from the Italian National Test (Invalsi) for year 5 and year 10 in 2014 and 2015. Results confirm that when we measure mathematics capability including attitudes in addition to test scores, the gap between boys and girls is even wider with respect to the analysis of test scores alone, and therefore educational policies aimed at reducing the gender gap in mathematics should address both attitudes and test scores.

Mathematics gender gaps in Kenya: Are resource differentials between boys and girls to blame?

The Blinder-Oaxaca approach has been used to decompose the gender gap in mathematics test scores in private and public primary schools in Kenya. That is, the mathematics production functions are es...

The impact of internet access at home and/or school on students' academic performance in urban areas in Brazil

Using the propensity scores matching methodology, the paper assesses the impact of internet access at school and/or at home on standardised Portuguese and Mathematics tests of 9th graders in urban public schools in Brazil for years 2007 and 2009. The results suggest that internet access at home considerably improves Portuguese and mathematics test scores for both years. While internet access at school does not improve the academic performance of students in 2007, it has a positive effect in 2009, although of smaller magnitude when compared to the effect of internet at home. The sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of the results. The results along with previous research suggest that the efforts to increase internet access at schools can result in much higher magnitude of improvement of students' academic performance if they are combined with policy initiatives to increase home internet access and incorporate internet-based educational tools at schools.

Are Estimates of Intergenerational Mobility Biased by Non-Response? Evidence from the Netherlands

Intergenerational mobility is often studied using survey data. In such settings, selective unit or item non-response may bias estimates. Linking Dutch survey data to administrative income data allows us to examine whether selective responses bias the estimated relationship between parental income and children’s mathematics and language test scores in grades 6 and 9. We find that the estimates of these relationships are biased downward due to parental unit non-response, while they are biased upwards due to item non-response. In the analyses of both unit and item non-response, the point estimates for language and mathematics test scores point in the same direction but only one of the two relationships is significant. These findings suggest that estimates of intergenerational mobility based on survey data need to be interpreted with caution because they may be biased by selective non-response. The direction of such bias is difficult to predict a priori. Bias due to unit and item non-response may work in opposing directions and may differ across outcomes.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, PHYSICAL FITNESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Background.The purpose of this study is to estimate physical activity, physical fitness and assessment of mathematical achievements in primary schoolchildren. Methods. The study involved 1st grade students (N = 93), 45 of which were girls and 48 were boys. The flexibility test, the long jump test, 3 × 10 m speed shuttle run test, a medical (stuffed) 1 kg ball pushing from the chest test were used. Physical activity was measured using Children’s Physical Activity Questionnaire. Academic achievements were assessed using Mathematical diagnostic progress tests and mathematical learning achievements according to curriculum content. Results. It turned out that both boys (95.87 MET/min/week) and girls (91.30 MET / min/ week) were physically active in physical education lessons (p > 0.05). Long jump results ranged from 105.2 cm (girls) to 118.3 cm (boys), statistically significant differences were detected (p < 0.05) The best score of the girls’ shuttle running 3 × 10 m was 9.55 s, for boys it was 9.2 s, the worst performance time for boys was 13.68 s, for girls – 13.54 s (p < .05). Mathematics Diagnostic Progress Tests for both girls and boys indicated satisfactory levels. Conclusion. We should note that all 4 fitness tests had a positive, linear association with physical fitness tests and mathematics test scores.

The power of cognitive ability in explaining educational test performance, relative to other ostensible contenders

The paper examines the relationship between cognitive ability at thirteen years of age and children's academic performance assessments at aged nine. Alongside cognitive ability, other variables considered predictive of academic success were assessed including personality measures, birthweight, handedness, socio-economic background, parental education, home language, and child-rearing practices such as breast-feeding and access to video-games. The final sample comprised 7525 children who participated in both wave 1 and wave 2 of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) longitudinal study. Participants in the study were selected through the state school system using a 2-stage sampling method producing a large sample representative of the national population of nine-year-old children. Linear multiple regression identified five variables which significantly explained both reading and mathematics test scores: two cognitive ability measures, birthweight, wealthier households, and high attendance at parent-teacher meetings. Gender, parental education, and home language also made a contribution to reading test scores, while a general factor of personality was significant for mathematics. Overall the cognitive ability measures accounted for almost all of the explained variance, and other factors, while sometimes statistically significant, were of relatively minor importance.

Improvements in standardised test scores from a multi-component nutrition and healthy living intervention in a US elementary-school setting

Objective: The Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren (HOPS) intervention aimed simultaneously to change school policies regarding the nutritional content of school-provided meals, nutrition and healthy lifestyle curricula, and other school-based wellness activities. Researchers examined how HOPS affected students’ academic achievement, attendance and behaviour. Design: Longitudinal study of 23,335 elementary-school students aged 4–16 years enlisted in kindergarten to grade 8 in the 2005–2006 school year and followed through until the 2008–2009 school year. Setting: HOPS was implemented in 11 Buffalo (New York) public elementary schools at the start of 2007–2008 school year and concluded in January 2009; 34 other district elementary schools were chosen for comparison. Method: Administrative records were obtained containing student demographics, mathematics and English test scores, and attendance and disciplinary records. A difference-in-differences approach was used to measure the HOPS intervention’s effect on mathematics and English test scores and the proportion of days present or not suspended. Significance was tested at 1% and 5% levels. Results: Analysis comparing students in intervention and comparison schools revealed an increase in standardised mathematics test scores among all students ( p < .05), with particularly strong impacts on girls ( p < .01), African American and Hispanic students ( p < .01) and economically advantaged students ( p < .01). HOPS had an adverse impact on attendance and disciplinary referrals ( p < .01), although the effects were small. Conclusion: When considering the implementation of a school-based wellness programme, administrators should consider its academic benefits. Research into the effectiveness of programmes such as HOPS at improving cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes of school-aged children is particularly relevant given recent US Department of Agriculture rollback of whole grain, sodium and milk requirements.

Examining Estimates of Intervention Effectiveness Using Sensitivity Analysis

AbstractMaking causal inferences from a quasi‐experiment is difficult. Sensitivity analysis approaches to address hidden selection bias thus have gained popularity. This study serves as an introduction to a simple but practical form of sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation procedures. We examine estimated treatment effects for a school‐based support intervention designed to address student strengths and needs in academic and nonacademic areas by leveraging partnerships with community agencies. Middle school (Grades 6–8) statewide standardized test scores in mathematics and English language arts (ELA) were examined for students in a large urban district who participated in City Connects during elementary school. Results showed that the estimated treatment effects in both subjects were reduced slightly with the inclusion of U, a hypothesized unobserved binary variable. However, simulated effects fell within one‐sided 90% confidence intervals for original treatment effects, suggesting only a mild sensitivity to hidden bias. Moreover, almost identical estimated treatment effects were observed when the magnitude of the mathematical difference between each pair of the conditional probabilities of U given the treatment indicator Z was the same.

Human capital consequences of violence in schools: Estimating the impact of violence in schools on education outcomes in Brazil

AbstractImplementation of policies to reduce the incidence of violence in schools needs a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon and its consequences for the victims, perpetrators, and witnesses alike. However, much of the existing literature either focuses on the impact of violence on victim students or studies the specific cases of violent conflicts. Using Brazilian education data, this paper examines the impact of violence in schools on educational outcomes of the schooling system and emphasizes the human capital consequences of recorded violent incidents in schools. First, the paper establishes the psychological stress–threat mechanism by which violent incidents in schools directly impact students' mathematics test scores as well as school level average of these test scores. Thereafter, the paper demonstrates the reduced learning mechanism by which violence further detriments the quality of education, albeit indirectly, by disengaging the teachers and students from their professional responsibilities. The main results are tested for robustness and policy implications are discussed.

School Infrastructure Spending and Educational Outcomes in Northern Italy

We explore whether investment in public school infrastructure affects students' achievement. We use data on extra funding to public high schools after the 2012 Northern Italy earthquake and apply a quasi-experimental design and an instrumental variable strategy. We find that spending on school infrastructure increases standardized test scores in mathematics and Italian language, and the effect is stronger for lower-achieving students and in mathematics. These results provide evidence in favor of a positive impact of capital spending in improving the learning environment and performances of high school students.

Short Intervention, Sustained Effects: Promoting Students’ Math Competence Beliefs, Effort, and Achievement

The present study investigated the effectiveness of two short relevance interventions (writing a text or evaluating quotations about the utility of mathematics) using a sample of 1,916 students in 82 math classrooms in a cluster randomized controlled experiment. Short-term and sustained effects (6 weeks and 5 months after the intervention) of the two intervention conditions on students’ competence beliefs (self-concept, homework self-efficacy), teacher-rated individual effort, and standardized test scores in mathematics were assessed. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that students’ homework self-efficacy was higher in both intervention groups 6 weeks and 5 months after the intervention compared to the control condition. Students’ self-concept, teacher-rated effort, and achievement in mathematics were promoted through the quotations condition, partly in the long term.

Students' Behavioral and Emotional Participation in Academic Activities in the Mathematics Classroom: A Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis

ABSTRACTIn this research, the authors raised the issue that prior studies had failed to address the nested structure of data in examining the construct validity of an instrument measuring students' behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. To address this question, the authors illustrated the utility of the multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) approach to reexamine the construct validity of this instrument. The sample consisted of 2,041 students in 5th grade from 67 classes in Hong Kong. First, the results justified the requirement of MCFA and indicated that the 4-factor model tested with MCFA provided better fit to the data than that tested with a single-level confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Second, the study also provided adequate support for a multilevel second-order two-factor model that distinguished engagement from disaffection. Third, the factor structure was invariant across the student level and the classroom level for both the 4-factor model and the second-order two-factor model. Fourth, the results highlighted the presence of ambiguity in differentiating between the dimensions at the classroom level and supported the unidimensionality of the classroom-level construct. Fifth, student engagement was significantly and positively correlated with mathematics test scores, teachers' classroom-management practices, teacher support, and student order in the classroom. Finally, the authors discuss the implications of the study and its limitations and offer suggestions for model selection and explorations for future research.

Student-Perceived Mothers' and Fathers' Beliefs, Mathematics and English Motivations, and Career Choices.

According to Eccles and Jacobs' (1986) parent socialization model, parents' gendered ability and value beliefs influence girls' and boys' interpretations of those beliefs, and hence students' domain-specific valuing of tasks and competence beliefs and subsequent career plans. Studies have rarely analyzed how both student-perceived mothers' and fathers' beliefs affect girls' and boys' task values, success expectancies, and career plans across domains. This study analyzed survey data of 459 students (262 boys) assessed through Grades 9, 10, and 11 from three coeducational secondary schools in Sydney, Australia. Longitudinal structural equationmodels revealed gendered value transmission pathways for girls in mathematics. Although mathematics test scores did not vary statistically significantly, girls reported statistically significantly lower mothers' ability beliefs for them in mathematics than boys at Time 1, which led to their statistically significantly lower mathematics intrinsic value at Time 2 and mathematics-related career plans at Time 3. Such gendered pathways did not occur in English. Matched same-gender effects and gendered pathways in parent socialization processes were evident; perceived mothers' value beliefs were more strongly related to girls' than boys' importance values in English. Student-perceived fathers' ability beliefs positively predicted boys', not girls', importance value in mathematics. Implications for educational practice emphasize the need to target girls' and boys' interest when aiming to enhance their mathematical career motivations.

Your move: The effect of chess on mathematics test scores.

We analyse the effect of substituting a weekly mathematics lesson in primary school grades 1–3 with a lesson in mathematics based on chess instruction. We use data from the City of Aarhus in Denmark, combining test score data with a comprehensive data set obtained from administrative registers. We use two different methodological approaches to identify and estimate treatment effects and we tend to find positive effects, indicating that knowledge acquired through chess play can be transferred to the domain of mathematics. We also find larger impacts for unhappy children and children who are bored in school, perhaps because chess instruction facilitates learning by providing an alternative approach to mathematics for these children. The results are encouraging and suggest that chess may be an important and effective tool for improving mathematical capacity in young students.

Effects of Integrating Mathematical Concepts into a Nutrition Unit in the Animal Science Curriculum

Achievement test scores in mathematics have been a concern among educators for many years. Teaching contextualized mathematics has been found to be effective and includes providing a direct application to real-life scenarios rather than teaching linear equations and algebraic principles in isolation. This study measured the effects of integrating mathematical skills in one instructional unit in an animal science curriculum. Students from eight schools participated in the research study. Students completed a pretest measuring their existing mathematical skills and self-efficacy in math. All students were taught a unit of instruction about animal nutrition and feeding. The control group received a typical nutrition unit and the treatment group received the same unit of instruction with the addition of mathematical skill integration. Following the unit of instruction, students completed a posttest survey, which included a mathematics attitudinal scale, posttreatment self-efficacy scale, and posttreatment mathematics skills questions. No statistically significant difference was found in mathematics self-efficacy or mathematics skills between the control group and treatment. However, results indicated a strong positive relationship between students’ mathematics self-efficacy and their mathematics skills. Further, highest level of mathematics courses completed and overall grade point average were statistically significant factors in predicting mathematics self-efficacy.

The gender gap in mathematics achievement: Evidence from Italian data

Gender differences in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines are widespread in most OECD countries and mathematics is the only subject where girls tend to underperform with respect to boys. This paper analyses the gender gap in math test scores in Italy, which is one of the countries displaying the largest differential between boys and girls, according to the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). We use data from an Italian national level learning assessment, involving children in selected grades from second to tenth, and analyse the gender gap in mathematics test scores using OLS, school fixed effects, quantile regression, metric free and dynamic pseudo-panel models. Our results show that girls systematically underperform boys, even after controlling for an array of individual and family background characteristics. The average gender gap increases with children's age, is larger among top performing children, and girls keep losing ground relative to boys when progressing in the education system.

Human Capital Consequences of Violence in Schools: Estimating the Impact of Violence in Schools on Education Outcomes in Brazil

Implementation of policies to reduce the incidence of violence in schools needs a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon and its consequences for the victims, perpetrators, and witnesses alike. However, much of the existing literature either focuses on the impact of violence on victim students or studies the specific cases of violent conflicts. Using Brazilian education data, this paper examines the impact of violence in schools on educational outcomes of the schooling system and emphasizes the human capital consequences of recorded violent incidents in schools. First, the paper establishes the psychological stress–threat mechanism by which violent incidents in schools directly impact students' mathematics test scores as well as school level average of these test scores. Thereafter, the paper demonstrates the reduced learning mechanism by which violence further detriments the quality of education, albeit indirectly, by disengaging the teachers and students from their professional responsibilities. The main results are tested for robustness and policy implications are discussed.

Relative Value of Common Screening Measures in Mathematics

.Schools need evidence-based guidance on which measures in mathematics, administered under what particular set of conditions (e.g., time of year), provide the most useful prediction. The purpose of this study was to examine decision accuracy among commonly used screening measures with a priority toward identifying the least costly screening measures for predicting year-end mathematics failure. Predictors included existing demographic characteristics, the preceding year-end mathematics test score, and multiple measures administered during the study year including multiskill computation and concepts/applications measures, addition and subtraction for third grade, multiplication and division for fourth grade, and multidigit multiplication for fifth grade. Results supported the use of a single measure for screening. The preceding year's test score was superior or comparable in accuracy to current-year screening measures and was the lowest cost option (i.e., required no additional assessment time). Results cautioned against the use of multiskill computation and concepts/applications measures at all grade levels because of a high number of false-negative errors. The single-skill computation measures performed comparably to the preceding year-end test in overall accuracy. However, the single-skill probes outperformed all other measures in detecting students who would fail the year-end test, which is the most important function of a screening device. For most measures, the winter screening occasion offered the best predictive accuracy.