How Readability Factors Are Differentially Associated With Performance for Students of Different Backgrounds When Solving Mathematics Word Problems

The link between reading and mathematics achievement is well known, and an important question is whether readability factors in mathematics problems are differentially impacting student groups. Using 20 years of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, we examine how readability factors – such as length, word difficulty, and pronouns – interact with student background characteristics – such as race/ethnicity, mathematics achievement, and socioeconomic status. Textual features that make problems more difficult to process appear to differentially negatively impact struggling students, while features that make language easier to process appear to differentially positively impact struggling students. It is critical that readability along various dimensions be considered when designing instruction and assessment

A Framework for Evaluating Stopping Rules for Fixed-Form Formative Assessments: Balancing Efficiency and Reliability

Stopping rules for fixed-form tests with graduated item difficulty are intended to stop administration of a test at the point where students are sufficiently unlikely to provide a correct response following a pattern of incorrect responses. Although widely employed in fixed-form tests in education, little research has been done to empirically evaluate the stopping rules in these tests that often have important instructional and/or placement implications for students. In this manuscript, we propose and research a framework for evaluating stopping rules with respect to two important and sometimes conflicting criteria: (1) efficiency, and (2) reliability. Using this framework, we provide an example in which we apply three increasingly complex methods for evaluating efficiency and two methods for examining reliability

Developing and Refining Usable, Accessible, and Culturally Relevant Materials to Maximize Parent-Child Interactions in Mathematics

Research indicates that parent involvement in their child’s education is positively related to academic achievement. The purpose of this manuscript is two-fold. First, we describe a home-based intervention designed to support parents’ involvement with their children in mathematics. The intervention was implemented with parents of children in Grades 1 and 2 in two rural parishes in Jamaica. Key components of the intervention included (a) six sets of mathematics learning materials, each covering foundational early mathematics concepts, and (b) educator-led workshops to implement the mathematics learning materials intended to support parents’ conceptual understanding of the mathematics concepts. Second, we describe the iterative development process used to create the sets of mathematics learning materials. Research and development activities included focus groups conducted with parents, teachers, members from the Ministry of Education, and community members; an external review for mathematical accuracy and cultural relevancy; and a feasibility study implemented with a small group of Jamaican parents. We detail the process used to refine the materials after each of these research activities to improve their usability, accessibility, and cultural relevancy. We hypothesize that parents’ involvement with their children will increase if they have access to accessible and culturally relevant mathematics learning materials

Developing and Refining Usable, Accessible, and Culturally Relevant Materials to Maximize Parent-Child Interactions in Mathematics

Research indicates that parent involvement in their child’s education is positively related to academic achievement. The purpose of this manuscript is two-fold. First, we describe a home-based intervention designed to support parents’ involvement with their children in mathematics. The intervention was implemented with parents of children in Grades 1 and 2 in two rural parishes in Jamaica. Key components of the intervention included (a) six sets of mathematics learning materials, each covering foundational early mathematics concepts, and (b) educator-led workshops to implement the mathematics learning materials intended to support parents’ conceptual understanding of the mathematics concepts. Second, we describe the iterative development process used to create the sets of mathematics learning materials. Research and development activities included focus groups conducted with parents, teachers, members from the Ministry of Education, and community members; an external review for mathematical accuracy and cultural relevancy; and a feasibility study implemented with a small group of Jamaican parents. We detail the process used to refine the materials after each of these research activities to improve their usability, accessibility, and cultural relevancy. We hypothesize that parents’ involvement with their children will increase if they have access to accessible and culturally relevant mathematics learning materials