Understanding and misunderstanding the Third International Mathematics and Science Study: What is at stake and why K-12 education studies matter

The technical portion of this paper concerns a videotape classroom study of eighth grade mathematics lessons in Japan, and how methodological design errors led to conclusions that are refuted by the actual video data. We document these errors, and trace their distillation into one- and two-sentence education policy recommendations articulated in U.S. government position papers, implemented in classrooms across the U.S. and imported by countries around the world. We also present the historical context needed to understand the misrepresentations cited in support of questionable education policy.