Chapter 9: Giving Voice to Success in Mathematics Class

Student achievement in high school mathematics has become the focus of many discussions in mathematics education. Factors such as high school exit examinations, international standardized tests, workplace preparation needs, and an increasingly technological society have raised awareness of student progress. Students, teachers, administration, parents, and the general public are concerned with student achievement in mathematics and, more specifically, with increasing student achievement. Much of the public focus is on examination scores as an indicator of achievement in high school mathematics. Defining success in terms of examination scores overlooks other aspects of success that may have more meaning to the teachers and students who live out the tensions of teaching and learning each day within a classroom.