ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the research about Standards-based middle school mathematics curricula. Because not all students in a given grade in middle school take the same mathematics courses, the chapter provides a brief description of middle school mathematics course offerings. It summarizes results of research on students’ achievement in middle school mathematics that were reported in the 1980s. The chapter describes recommendations made for reforming the middle school mathematics curriculum in the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) and other documents. It also describes the call from the National Science Foundation for proposals to develop new curricula to embody the vision outlined in the Standards, and that ultimately led to the curriculum projects. Many other research studies conducted during the 1980s dealt with issues related to teaching and learning middle school mathematics.
