An investigation of the relationship between five categories of mathematics errors and future mathematics achievement of eighth grade students in South Carolina

This study focuses on the degree to which mathematics errors made at grade eight relate to the mathematics performance achieved two years later at grade ten. The study also looked at gender and race/ethnicity differences in these error categories.; The context of the study was the South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP). Two BSAP mathematics tests were used, one taken at grade eight and the other at grade ten (the High School Exit Examination, HSEE). Mathematical errors were defined in five categories: quantitative, verbal, logic, visual-spatial, and others. The study used three cohorts of students who took the HSEE spring 1997, 1998, and 1999. These students had been at grade eight spring 1995, 1996, and 1997 respectively.; The following three research questions were addressed: (1) Are there gender differences in terms of grade 8 mathematics errors? (2) Are there race/ethnicity differences in terms of grade 8 mathematics errors? and (3) To what extent do these errors predict mathematics achievement two years later in grade ten?; Differences were detected between African-American and white students in all five categories of mathematics errors. Differences were also found between females and males in the four categories of mathematics errors labeled “quantitative,” “verbal,” “logic,” and “others,” but not in the “visual-spatial” error category.; In addition to mathematics achievement at grade eight, gender, and ethnicity, the use of categories of mathematics errors made at the earlier grade provided a significant increase in the power to predict HSEE mathematics achievement. The additional prediction power was most visible for students who would eventually fail the mathematics HSEE.