Essential Skills in Mathematics: A Comparative Analysis of American and Japanese Assessments of Eighth-Graders.

This document is a comparative report based on data that enables a different form of comparison to be made between Japanese and American eighth-graders. The data is drawn from assessments given in each country using tests developed via governmental agencies that were designed to mirror the basic curricula currently being offered to students in the two countries. This report compares the nature of these examinations, the expectations based on the curriculum, and student performance on the test items. This comparison, combined with an accompanying analysis of the curricular emphases, provides a picture of the differences in student performance that mark this study. Each of the studies examined content achievement assessments; students' and teachers' beliefs and attitudes; and environmental characteristics of the classroom, school, and community. The Japanese test items tend to present the mathematics assessed in forms that are more verbally intensive, more focused on strategies for problem solving, and more involved than the mathematics forms used in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Sample test items, a content matrix for the U.S. test, and the framework for the Japanese test are included. Contains 29 references. (DDR)