The Ability to Place the Decimal Point in Division

Abstract

A number of investigators have given data to show that "ability" in arithmetic consists of several specific abilities rather than a single ability. It has been stated that there are as many different abilities as there are different types of examples. The purpose of this study was to analyze the ability to place the decimal point in the division of decimal fractions. The method of study was to construct a series of tests each of which called for the placing of the decimal point in slightly different types of examples. Since it was desired to test merely the ability to place the decimal point, the answers were given with the exception of placing the decimal point, as shown in the test which is reproduced below. Test I' is reproduced to illustrate the type of DECIMAL TEST I The correct answer for each example is given at the side immediately after the letters "Ans." Write it in its proper position and place the decimal point in its proper place.

100 Years of Curriculum History, Theory, and Research

“…The process was purely empirical: Once the desired performance (copying so many lines of text) was set out, the question of how well elementary school graduates should do so was settled by computing the average performance of recent graduates. This, as we shall see in the next paper as well (Monroe, 1917), is part of the “scientific” approach to education that was clearly being championed at the time. Just how scientific that approach was went unquestioned.…”

“…In many ways, the archived papers by AERA’s very first two presidents, Frank Ballou (1916) and Walter S. Monroe (1917), establish the curricular, methodological, and epistemological parameters that run through the history of American education research.…”

“…Walter Monroe’s (1917) research paper, “The Ability to Place the Decimal Point in Division,” sheds light on the ways that research provided analyses into thought processes in the early 20th century and, in many ways, long beyond. The big question at hand is, What are the “abilities” in arithmetic?…”

“…On the other hand, if there are large differences in the two sets of scores, there will be evidence that the ability which functioned in one test was not the same ability that functioned in the other test. (Monroe, 1917, p. 289)…”

“…Also largely invisible, except by implication, were any of the curricular conflicts or deeper rationales for curricular structure that have been a core aspect of education theory and research. We see indications of the pragmatic functions of curriculum, and the need for relevance, highlighted in some of the articles chosen for review—the skills orientation of Ballou (1916) and Monroe (1917), and Gray’s (1933, p. 162) call for “the development of those interests, insights and abilities which will enable all citizens to participate more intelligently and zealously in remoulding American life.” Such comments and orientations reflect the tip of the tip of the curriculum theory iceberg and the curricular battles over the century of AERA’s existence. In providing the deep context for the “math wars” of the 1990s, the anthropologist Lisa Rosen (2000) characterizes three “master narratives” (or myths) regarding education in America,each of which celebrates a particular set of cultural ideals: education for democratic equality (the story that schools should serve the needs of democracy by promoting equality and providing training for citizenship); education for social efficiency (the story that schools should serve the needs of the social and economic order by training students to occupy different positions in society and the economy); and education for social mobility (the story that schools should serve the needs of individuals by providing the means of gaining advantage in competitions for social mobility).…”