Rational Number Relations and Proportions

This chapter presents examples and some general results from a written test on “relations and proportions” that has been used in our Rational Number (RN) and Proportional Reasoning (PR) projects. The RN and PR projects have included: (1) instructional components in which whole classes of fourth through eighth graders have been carefully observed, tested, and interviewed during “teaching experiments” lasting as long as 20 weeks; and (2) evaluation components in which several thousand second through eighth graders have been tested at a variety of schools in California, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Utah.