The German national educational standards state explicitly that students should be enabled to successfully interact with dynamic geometry software. In a feasibility study on providing a standardized assessment instrument by digital means, in order to assess students' mathematical competencies, the implementation of a task with such a dynamic…

This paper provides evidence on the effect of local prescription opioid use on academic achievement of 3rd-8th graders between 2009 and 2018. Using county fixed effects models, I find that when counties have higher levels of prescription opioid use, students score lower on standardized assessments two to three years later, with variation by…

In many countries, standardized math tests are important for achieving academic success. Here, we examine whether content of items, the story that explains a mathematical question, biases performance of low-SES students. In a large-scale cohort study of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS)--including data from 58…

As highlighted in the literature, one of the main difficulties in mathematics is the management of different semiotic representations. This difficulty occurs in verticals throughout schooling and is often an obstacle to the proper learning process of mathematics. The present study aims to investigate the different facets of these difficulties with…

Montessori is a highly individualized pedagogy that prioritizes following each child's individual interests over standardized test scores. This quasi-experimental study compares groups of Montessori students (treatment groups, N = 535-710) with control groups of non-Montessori students, matched through the simple matching method, which controls…

The evolution of U.S. secondary school mathematics requirements throughout the 20th century included a significant shift towards more rigorous standards by the end of the century. Initially, many states required minimal or no mathematics for high school graduation. However, reforms led most states to adopt a 3-year mathematics requirement, with…

Educators rely on a conglomeration of assessment instruments to appraise, measure, monitor, and document evidence of students' academic readiness, learning progressions, acquisition of interdisciplinary knowledge, and extensive educational needs. The Mississippi Academic Assessment Program for Mathematics (MAAP-M) and the i-Ready Assessment…

This quasi-experimental study aimed to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in student test scores when a modified instructional sequence in middle school science is used versus the instructional sequence suggested by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Grade 8 science cumulative Standards of Learning (SOL) test results from…

National and International standardized assessments have shown sharp differences between native and foreign students' performance in both text comprehension and mathematics. Based on the data gathered yearly by the INVALSI (Italian National Institute for the Evaluation of Educational Systems) at the national level, we performed a two-step…

In this article, we examine eighth graders' incorrect responses to a specific task on a national standardized assessment of mathematics. The task asked students to write the formula for the perimeter of a given figure as a function of a variable. We focus on incorrect responses to better understand students' difficulties with the algebraic…

This paper examines the relationship between teacher pay and students' academic achievement, using nationally representative, district-level linked data between districts' performance on standardized tests and average teacher base salary. By employing state fixed effects and multilevel mixed effects models, we find that both mathematics and…

The long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is an important consideration given the trend of dedicating more resources to these programs. However, long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is not well-understood and recent studies have shown preschool effectiveness can vary across states and programs. A state run prekindergarten program in…

This quantitative study is primarily intended to examine whether district level performance results from Grade 8 ELA state assessments can help to predict future passing rates on AP exams. The participants for the study are all 218 K-12 school districts in New Jersey, all of which generated results across score levels and passing rates for PARCC…

This study examined the heterogeneity of literacy profiles for adolescents with and without a specific learning disability (SLD) in the U.S. state of Florida Student subgroups displaying common patterns of performance in word-level skills and reading comprehension were identified through latent profile analysis. Results indicate most of the total…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the demographic characteristics of middle school students on their mathematics performance on the STAAR examination. More specifically, this study examined the effect of the variables gender, ethnicity, and at-risk status, separate and collectively, on the four mathematics components…