Our study focused on the 6th grade level. Sixth grade was selected because it is the final grade level of elementary school in the Portuguese educational system, and students complete a national standardized exam in mathematics at the end of the school year
(June), which counts for 30% of the students’ overall mathematics grade. Sixth-graders have three mathematics lessons per week for 90 minutes each and typically spend a large portion of the school year reviewing concepts and skills that were taught in elementary school in preparation for the national exam in June. Each year, elementary schools are ranked according to their students’ results. Thus, school administrators and teachers from the mathematics department seek to understand practices that could enhance their students’ results on the exam. School administrators and teachers also want to learn how to best prepare their students for junior high school, where students are expected to learn higher-level mathematics concepts.