ERIC Number: ED499546
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jan
Pages: 94
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Mathematics Coursetaking and Achievement at the End of High School: Evidence from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002). Statistical Analysis Report. NCES 2008-319
Bozick, Robert; Ingels, Steven J.
National Center for Education Statistics
Recent research shows that U.S. 15-year-olds are behind their international counterparts in problem solving and mathematics literacy, ranking 24th of 29 nations (Lemke et al. 2004). Therefore, a key concern among policymakers and educators is improving the quantitative and analytical skills of American youth, who face job prospects in an economy that increasingly values a strong foundation in mathematics and science. As a means to improve proficiency in this area, many states have increased their course requirements for graduation. This study, which uses data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), improves upon past research by using information from high school transcripts to identify the exact course sequences students take and links them with achievement test scores that have been scaled to indicate different levels of mathematics proficiency. This linkage provides a more detailed understanding of the curricular pathways students travel and the types of proficiencies they acquire along the way. Chapter 1 provides a brief background description of the pattern of mathematics coursetaking in the United States and lists the research questions. Chapter 2 describes the ELS:2002 data and the measures used in the analysis. Chapter 3 provides the results of the analysis. Chapter 4 concludes with a discussion of the findings and their limitations. Appended are: (1) Technical Notes and Glossary; and (2) Standard Error Tables for Estimated Means and Proportions, with Weighted Standard Deviations and Raw Sample Sizes for Means. (Contains 32 tables.)
Descriptors: High School Students, Achievement Tests, Mathematics Achievement, Course Selection (Students), Mathematics Skills, Correlation, Enrollment Trends, Scores, Institutional Characteristics, Student Characteristics, Longitudinal Studies, Secondary School Mathematics, Grade 11, Grade 12, Gender Differences, Racial Differences, Family Influence, Academic Aspiration
National Center for Education Statistics. Available from: ED Pubs. P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Tel: 877-433-7827; Web site: http://nces.ed.gov/help/orderinfo.asp
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: Teachers; Researchers; Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
IES Cited: ED560919; ED565643
IES Publication: http://ies.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008319