The Role That Mathematics Plays in College and Career Readiness: Evidence From PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2012

• In Event: 54.029 - The Role of Real-World Contexts for Learning Mathematics

Abstract

PISA2012 data is used to address the central question: to what extent is the cumulative exposure to rigorous mathematics content associated with mathematics literacy as assessed in PISA? More specifically we explore three related research questions: 1) What is the relationship of the amount of exposure to school mathematics content to performance on the PISA literacy test in the US, OECD countries, and other PISA2012 participating countries/economies?, 2) What is the relationship of how frequently students in their classroom instruction are exposed to real world applications (including traditional “word problems”) of mathematics and their performance?, and 3) What is the interplay between the three types of mathematics learning opportunities measured in PISA2012: school mathematics, word problems, and applied mathematics?

Authors

• Leland S. Cogan, Michigan State University

• William H. Schmidt, Michigan State University

• Richard T. Houang, Michigan State University