Essential Skills in Mathematics

A Comparative Analysis of American and Japanese Assessments of Eighth Graders

Presents a comparison of 8th grade math students in the U.S. and Japan, combined with an accompanying analysis of the curricular intents for students in each country. The study makes use of data drawn from the Japanese National Institute of Educational Research's Special Study on Essential Skills in Math and data from U.S. student performance on the 1990 and 1992 NAEP math assessment. Each of the studies described examined content achievement assessments, students' and teachers' beliefs and attitudes, as well as environmental characteristics of the classroom, school, and community. Tables and graphs.

A prolonged focus on a smaller set of content topics in a given grade may allow
for teachers to observe students' knowledge ... student knowledge and ability to
apply that knowledge allows for greater opportunity for the teacher to assess,
plan, ...