The research reported in this article sought to develop a taxonomy of grade 11 students' levels of understanding in algebraic problem-solving tasks. The student sample was from high schools in the province of Ontario in Canada. Problems from four areas in algebra namely, variables, expressions, equations and word problems were chosen to be…

This paper discusses a K-12/university collaboration in which students participated in a four-day scenario-based summer STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) camp aimed at making difficult scientific concepts salient. This scenario, Jumpstart STEM-CSI: Chocolate Science Investigation (JSCSI), used open- and guided-inquiry…

This article shows how students confront offensive language head-on by researching its history and reconsidering its use in contemporary conversation. It describes an assignment in which students study the histories and social reception of words (in some cases considered obscenities) used to insult people of various social categories. Students…

This document is part of a series of materials meant to promote understanding of the knowledge and skills students must have and the kinds of work they must produce to be successful on the Graduation Exit Examination for the 21st Century (GEE 21). For GEE 21, student scores are reported at five achievement levels: advanced; mastery; basic;…

This summary for administrators describes the Cultural Literacy Test, which is designed to help monitor students' progress in attaining essential general knowledge and to serve as a rational means for assessing education in one of its most important dimensions: the achievement of functional literacy. Summary topics include test development,…