This article outlines a general, argument-based approach to validation, develops an interpretive argument for a placement test as an example, and examines some key properties of interpretive arguments. Validity is associated with the interpretation assigned to test scores rather than with the test s

An argument-based approach to validity.

The learning and teaching of school algebra.

Algebraic symbols do not speak for themselves. What one actually sees in them depends on the requirements of the problem to which they are applied. Not less important, it depends on what one is able to perceive and prepared to notice. It is this last statement which becomes the leading theme of this article. The main focus is on the versatility and adaptability of student’s algebraic knowledge

The gains and the pitfalls of reification — The case of algebra

Algebra instruction has traditionally been postponed until adolescence because of historical reasons (algebra emerged relatively recently), assumptions about psychological development (“developmental constraints” and “developmental readiness”), and data documenting the difficulties that adolescents have with algebra. Here we provide evidence that young students, aged 9–10 years, can make use of algebraic ideas and representations typically absent from the early mathematics curriculum and thought to be beyond students’ reach. The data come from a 30–month longitudinal classroom study of four classrooms in a public school in Massachusetts, with students between Grades 2–4. The data help clarify the conditions under which young students can integrate algebraic concepts and representations into their thinking. It is hoped that the present findings, along with those emerging from other research groups, will provide a research basis for integrating algebra into early mathematics education.

L. R. Booth

Papers

Children's Difficulties in Beginning Algebra