Research on the effectiveness of teaching mathematics in form four

In recent years during international and national researches, carried out in Lithuania on pupils' achievements (e.g., TIMSS, CIVIC, COMPED) much reliable information has been obtained on the existing situation of education in comprehensive schools of Lithuania. The researches have not only identified the results of teaching and learning of core subjects (native Lithuanian language, mathematics, natural sciences and social training) but also established relationships between pupils' achievements in the process of learning and some factors of their development (self-development): type of school, pupils self perception , teachers' qualification, motivation in learning, etc. However, there is still a lack of information on how the results of pupils's learning depend upon teaching methods applied by the teacher, work organization in the classroom, use of teaching aids and other aspects of the teacher's professional competence. No works in which the dependence learning results of pupils from different learning home environment and the teacher's professional competence could be evaluated exist. This article, based upon the data obtained from the national research carried out in 2003 on learning achievements of pupils of forms IV, analyzes dependence of the results of learning mathematics upon the indicator of the teacher's work effectiveness. Attention is concentrated on a comparative analysis of effective and ineffective aspects of teachers' professional competence.The research has identified: interval of learning achievements gaps in mathematics by pupils taught by ineffective teachers is very big, the results of mathematical tests of the majority of pupils of this group are lower than the national average; effectively working teachers are capable of reducing the differences in pupils' achievements which have been conditioned by unequally favourable learning environment at home; teaching methods of effectively and ineffectively working teachers differ in general, however, these differences do not concentrate in some one area of work and they become more conspicuous only while analysing the aspects of profesional competence of teachers having unequal indicator of effectiveness are related to the assessment of pupils' achievements and progress and the selection of tasks performed in the lesson