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This study was conducted to investigate differences in spatial visualization abilities and effects of instruction on spatial visualization skills of fifth through eighth grade students by grade, sex, and site. About 1,000 students from three sites, representing a wide range of socioeconomic status, participated in the study. The spatial visualization unit engaged students in concrete activities, building and drawing solids made of cubes. The instrument used was the MGMP Spatial Visualization Test, with a test-retest reliability of .79, and Cronbach’s reliability coefficients for various groups of students ranged from .72 to .86 on the pretest and from .82 to .88 on the posttest. Before instruction, there were significant differences in spatial visualization performance by grade (increasing with age), by sex (favoring boys), and by site (increasing with socioeconomic status). After instruction, fifth through eighth grade students profited considerably from instruction, and the gain was similar for boys and girls despite initial sex differences. Retention of effects persisted after a 4-week period and after 1 year.

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Glenda Lappan received her Ed. D. in mathematics and education from the University of Georgia in 1965 and has since worked at Michigan State University. From 1989–91 she took leave to serve as the program director for Teacher Preparation at the National Science Foundation. From 1997–2001 she is on leave to serve as president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Her research and development interests are in the connected areas of students' learning of mathematics and mathematics teacher professional growth and change at the middle and secondary levels. She has published over a hundred scholarly papers and numerous books for middle grades students and teachers. She is currently the codirector of the Connected Mathematics Project II, which is funded by the National Science Foundation to revise and continue development of a complete middle school curriculum for teachers and for students. She served as the chair of the middle school writing group for the NCTM Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989), and as Chair of the Commission that developed the NCTM Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (1991). She served on the NCTM Board of Directors from 1989 to 1992 and from 1997–2001. She has been a member of many national advisory boards, including the following: Glenn T. Seaborg Center for Teaching and Learning Science and Mathematics, the Ford Foundation/University of Pittsburgh QUASAR Project, the NSF/University of Maryland Teacher Preparation Collaborative, and the NSF/San Diego State University Mathematics for Elementary Teacher Preparation Materials Development Project.

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The development of a paper-and-pencil spatial-visualization test for middle school students is reported. The test consists of 32 multiple-choice items of 10 different types. The basic figures for the stimuli and the responses for the items vary from flat views, to numerical data, to corner views of "buildings" constructed from small cubes. The test was administered to a sample of 674 boys and 676 girls in Grades 5 through 8 from three sites representing a broad range of socioeconomic background. The reliability coefficients for various groups of students ranged from .72 to .86. The test-retest reliability coefficient for 73 students was .79. Site, grade, and sex differences, consistent with many other reports, were found. For additional 582 students in Grades 8 to 12 at two sites scores correlated .61 and .66 with scores of the Differential Aptitude Space Relations Test.