Indicators of Precollege Education in Science and Mathematics A Preliminary Review (1985) / Chapter Skim
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4. The Schooling Process: Instructional Time and Course Enrollment
4. The Schooling Process: Instructional Time and Course Enrollment
Pages 83-109
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From page 83... ...
The teacher behaviors that are thought to make a difference include frequency of interaction with students, frequency of feedback, small-group versus large-group instruction, and providing for independent work suited to individual student learning style and progress. Here again, research is not sufficiently far advanced to provide unequivocal conclusions (Berliner, 1980; Gage, 1978)
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From page 84... ...
. INSTRUCTIONAL TIME AND STUDENT LEARNING The effect of time spent on a subject is particularly evident in mathematics instruction.
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From page 87... ...
changed from 4.07 in favor of Asians to 1.26 in favor of whites. The strong relationship between enrollment in high school mathematics courses and test scores is likely, in part, to result from the choices of high achievers to
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From page 88... ...
measurement of this variable is not simple. tions include: __ discrepancies between time schedules For a subject in school and time actually devoted to instrucLion; time used for homework; and the different organization of elementary and secondary education, requiring different approaches to measuring time spent on a subject.
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From page 89... ...
In addition to the data from High School and Beyond, evidence on its relationship to student performance also comes from the first TEA mathematics assessment. Husen (1967)
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From page 90... ...
Studies done on high school seniors in 1972 and
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From page 91... ...
For elementary school, studies have been made of the time spent on specific subjects, documented by classroom observation to determine actual versus allocated instructional time. The method to be used for tracking time for grades 7 and 8 varies depending on their organization.
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From page 93... ...
. Similar information, including time spent on specific topics, was collected in 1981-1982 during the Second International Mathematics Study.
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From page 94... ...
5 6 a GRADE LEVEL FIGURE 2 Total hours of instruction by grade per year in Title I schools.
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From page 95... ...
95 160 140 120 6 100 LL CQ LL By 80 60 40 20 o 160 140 120 100 LL ~ 80 U UJ 60 40 20 o \ \ Reading and Language Arts Mathematics Other Academics - Breaks and Recess \ 1862-1872 1904 1914 1926 1976-1979 GRADE 2 Reading and Language Arts ——-— Mathematics .....
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From page 96... ...
and information from high school transcripts for some 12,000 of the 1982 seniors; student records or interview data from 1972 seniors who made up a sample of students being followed by NCES over several years after graduation; a 5-year National Longitudinal Survey sponsored by the Department of Labor to study labor force behavior of a sample of youths aged 14 to 22 as of 1 January 1979; and occasional surveys supported by NCES or NSF. For students planning to attend college who participate in the Admissions Testing Program of the College Board, high school course enrollment data are available from this source.
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From page 97... ...
Preliminary data for 1982 seniors (Wisconsin Center for TABLE 18 Cumulative Percentage of 1980 and 1982 High School Seniors Reporting Varying Amounts of Mathematics and Science Coursework Taken, by Sex -- Grades 10-12 Amount of Mathematics Coursework All Male Female Sc fences All Ma le Femal e Total, including those with no coursework 100 (100)
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From page 99... ...
: : ~~ 1972 1 982 —; .......................................... -.~ ~ ~ , ~ 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 NUMBER OF SEMESTERS FIGURE 4 Courses reported taken in grades 10-12 by 1972, 1980, and 1982 high school seniors.
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From page 100... ...
Since about three-fourths of all students take a science course in grade 9, high school graduates report that on average they will have taken nearly 2-1/2 years of science. Some of the increase in mathematics enrollment may be due to the fact that, from 1972 to 1980, high school remedial mathematics courses increased from 4 to 30 percent (National Center for Education Statistics, 1984b)
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From page 101... ...
A recent study (Welch et al., 1983) of enrollment in science courses in grades 7-12, including private schools, found that 56 percent of students in grades 10-12 were
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From page 102... ...
While recent trends may be encouraging, science enrollments are still much lower than they were in the early 1960s, when science and mathematics was emphasized in the schools in response to the launching of Sputnik by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Total enrollment in eight science courses-general science, biology, botany, zoology, physiology, earth science, chemistry, and physics -- in grades 9-12 between 1949 and 1982 as a percentage of all students enrolled is shown in Figure 5; these courses make up about three-fourths of the total science enrollments in these grades.
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From page 103... ...
. Males still enroll in more mathematics courses than do females, although the gap, at least for college-bound students, has been narrowing: in 1973, 60 percent of males and 37 percent of females taking the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs)
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From page 104... ...
104 100 80 60 20 o 100 80 60 L1J cat 40 20 o Northeast 1 00 80 60 UJ cat 40 20 o Southeast r I I I I I 7 8 9 10 11 12 7 8 9 10 11 12 G RAD E G R AD E Central 1 00 80 60 LL cat `< ~ 40 20 I _ - \/\ West 1 1 1 1 1 1 o 1 1 1 1 1 7 8 9 10 11 12 7 8 9 10 11 12 G RADE G RAD E FIGURE 6 Percentage of grade enrolled in science courses, by region; special survey of 16,000 students in 600 secondary schools.
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From page 105... ...
105 3.70 3.60 3.50 3.40 3.20 en cr a: us 3 10 r LL O ~ 111 ~ m 2.00 1.90 1 .80 1.70 1.60 1 .50 1.40 1.30 Mathem: Biological Sciences 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1 984 YEAR FIGURE 7 Number of years of selected subjects studied by college students taking scholastic aptitude tests. SOURCE: Admissions Testing Program of the College Board (1973-1984)
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From page 106... ...
. Measuring Instructional Time Elementary School · For elementary schools, not enough data are available to discern clear trends over the last 20 years with respect to amount of instructional time spent on mathematics and science.
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From page 107... ...
· Efficiency of instruction should be assessed by comparing allocated time with instructional time and with time that is actually spent on learning tasks that appear to engage students, as established by observation. · Time spent on science and mathematics instruction in elementary school should be tracked on a sample basis at the national, state, and local levels.
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From page 108... ...
· The disparities in mathematics and science enrollment among various population groups warrant continued monitoring, so that distributional inequities can be addressed. National data on student enrollments collected in connection with the periodic surveys recommended above may be insufficient for this purpose.
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From page 109... ...
Assessing the Effects of Policy Changes · Many states are increasing requirements for high school graduation; some state university systems are increasing requirements for admission. The effects of these policy changes on student enrollment in high school mathematics and science courses and on the content of these courses should be monitored.
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