Results from the Brazilian Maths on the Street Project, conducted in Recife, Brazil in 1982, indicated that mathematical problems solved in the streets were solved more easily then mathematical problems solved in the classroom. When children were asked to solve a problem that pertained to their daily life, these problems were solved more easily then when the same problems were taken out of context.

The Brazilian researchers found that when children used their own mathematical strategies to calculate mentally, they often "decomposed" or split the numbers into convenient components (350 to 300 and 50), deal with the large numbers first, and then bring back the smaller numbers. This procedure provides a useful initial approximation and demonstrates a flexibility that relies on a clear understanding of the meaning of the numbers. However, the same children were unable to consistently add or subtract with written numbers when they attempted to use the procedures taught in school. Sometimes, the children recognized that their written computations were incorrect because they knew the correct answers using their own informal strategies. However, they were still unable to make their written computations come out right. They applied the school rules and procedures but in inappropriate ways, indicating that they had memorized the rules but were unsure of their meaning.

Correct responses in the study's informal test, conducted as a normal sales transaction on the street, were 98%. In the formal test, conducted using paper and pencil to more closely replicate the classroom setting, correct responses were 74% for word problems and 37% for mathematical computations.

Transferring procedures between the mathematics of the street and of school is difficult. Street mathematics relies on meaning and flexibility. School mathematics allows the application of rules and procedures in an automatic way without requiring sensemaking and does not have an embedded context. As a result of this project, teachers are being challenged to respect, value, and take into account all that children know about numbers from outside of schooling. Teachers are raising their expectations of the street traders as they recognize the skills the children have developed. When they present instructional activities that are embedded in the familiar and meaningful context of money they can help children bridge the gap between the mathematics of the street and school. The children then are better able to represent and extend their understanding and knowledge.

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