WWC Quick Review of the Report "Achievement Effects of Four Elementary School Math Curricula PDF Download

Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
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Languages : en
Pages : 1

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"Achievement Effects of Four Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools" examined the relative effectiveness of four widely-used early elementary school math curricula: (1) "Investigations in Number, Data and Space" ("Investigations"); (2) "Math Expressions" ("ME"); (3) "Saxon Math" ("Saxon"); and (4) "Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics" ("SFAW"). The study included about 1,300 first graders from 39 schools in four school districts in Connecticut, Minnesota, New York, and Nevada. The relative effectiveness of the four curricula was measured by comparing end-of-year test scores on a nationally normed math assessment developed for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K). The research described in this report is consistent with What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. Highlights of the study are presented herein. [The following study is the focus of this "Quick Review": Agodini, R., Harris, B., Atkins-Burnett, S., Heaviside, S., Novak, T., & Murphy, R. (2009). "Achievement effects of four elementary school math curricula: Findings from first graders in 39 schools" (NCEE 2009-4052). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education (ED504418).].

Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2

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The study examined the relative effectiveness of four early elementary school math curricula: Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. The study analyzed data on more than 8,000 first- and second-grade students in 110 schools in 12 districts in 10 states. In each of the participating school districts, schools were randomly assigned to use one of the four curricula. A random sample of approximately 10 students per classroom was included in the analysis. The study measured the relative effects of the four curricula by comparing end-of-year test scores on a nationally normed math assessment developed for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K) for first graders and on a similar assessment adapted for this study for second graders. For first graders, the authors found no statistically significant differences in student math achievement among the curricula after adjusting results for multiple curricula comparisons within the same analysis. For second graders, one difference was statistically significant after taking multiple curricula comparisons into account. Second-grade students attending Saxon Math schools scored 0.17 standard deviations higher than students attending Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics schools, roughly equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 57th percentile in math achievement. The research described in this report meets WWC evidence standards. This was a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. [The following study is reviewed in this intervention report: Agodini, R., Harris, B., Thomas, M., Murphy, R., Gallagher, L., & Pendleton, A. (2010). Achievement effects of four early elementary school math curricula: Findings for first and second graders (NCEE 2011-4001). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. A copy of this study can be accessed at ED512551. An earlier report in this series focused on one cohort of first graders: "Achievement effects of four elementary school math curricula: Findings from first graders in 39 schools (NCEE 2009-4052)." This report may be found at ED504418.

Author: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (ED)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 4

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Many U.S. children start school with weak math skills, and children from poor households lag behind those from affluent ones. These differences grow over time, resulting in substantial differences in math achievement by the time students reach grade 4. The federal Title I program provides financial assistance to schools with a high number or percentage of students from low-income households, to help all students meet state academic standards. Under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, these schools must make adequate yearly progress in meeting state-specific targets for proficiency in math and reading, with the goal of ensuring that all students are proficient in math and reading by 2014. To provide educators with information that may contribute to making adequate yearly progress, this large-scale national study examines whether some math curricula for early elementary school are more effective than others at improving student math achievement. A small number of curricula, based on different theories for developing math skills, dominate elementary school math instruction--seven math curricula make up 91 percent of the curricula used by K-2 educators. Although the NCLB Act emphasizes the importance of adopting scientifically based education practices, there is little rigorous research evidence to support one theory or curriculum over another. This study aims to help fill that knowledge gap. After one year this study demonstrated that math achievement for grade 1 students was significantly higher among schools using the Math Expressions and Saxon Math curricula than among those using Investigations in Number, Data, and Space and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. (Contains 1 figure.) [For the full report, "Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools. NCEE 2009-4052," see ED504418.].

Author: Roberto Agodini
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Languages : en
Pages : 18

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National achievement data show that elementary school students in the United States, particularly those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, have weak math skills (National Center for Education Statistics 2009). In fact, data show that, even before they enter elementary school, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are behind their more advantaged peers in basic competencies such as number-line ordering and magnitude comparison (Rathburn and West 2004). Furthermore, after a year of kindergarten, disadvantaged students still have less extensive knowledge of mathematics than their more affluent peers (Denton and West 2002). This study examines whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. A small number of curricula, which are based on different approaches for developing student math skills, dominate elementary math instruction--7 curricula make up 91 percent of those used by K-2 educators, according to a 2008 survey (Resnick et al. 2010). Little rigorous evidence exists to support one approach over another, however, which means that research does not provide educators with much useful information when choosing a math curriculum to use. The key findings in this report include the following: (1) Teachers used their assigned curriculum, and the instructional approaches of the four curriculum groups differed as expected; (2) Math instruction varied in other notable ways across the curriculum groups; (3) In terms of student math achievement, the curriculum used by the study schools mattered; and (4) The curriculum used in different contexts also mattered, and some of these findings are consistent with findings based on all students whereas others are not. (Contains 1 figure and 6 endnotes.) [For the full report, see ED512551.].

Author: Roberto Agodini
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of first grade in 39 schools participating in the evaluation during the 2006-2007 school year, with the goal of determining the relative effects of different early elementary math curricula on student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. The report also examines whether curriculum effects differ for student subgroups in different instructional settings. A competitive process was used to select four curricula Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics) that represent many of the approaches used to teach elementary school math in the United States. An experimental design randomly assigned schools in each participating district to the four curricula, setting up an experiment in each district. The relative effects of the curricula were calculated by comparing math achievement of students in the four curriculum groups. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) techniques were used to conduct statistical tests to assess the significance of all the results. Curriculum implementation findings include: (1) All teachers received initial training from the publishers and 96 percent received follow-up training; combined training varied by curriculum and ranged from 1.4 to 3.9 days; (2) Nearly all teachers reported using their assigned curriculum as their core math curriculum and about a third reported supplementing their curriculum with other materials; (3) Eighty-eight percent of teachers reported completing at least 80 percent of their assigned curriculum; and (4) On average, Saxon Math teachers reported spending one more hour on math instruction per week than did teachers of the other curricula. Achievement findings include: (1) Student math achievement was significantly higher in schools assigned to Math Expressions and Saxon Math, than in schools assigned to Investigations in Number, Data, and Space and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics; and (2) Math achievement in schools assigned to the two more effective curricula was not significantly different, nor was math achievement in schools assigned to the two less effective curricula. Another 71 schools joined the study during the 2007-2008 school year and curriculum implementation occurred in both the first and second grades in all participating schools. A follow-up report is planned that will present results based on all 110 schools participating in the evaluation, and for both the first and second grades. The study also is supporting curriculum implementation and data collection during the 2008-2009 school year in a subset of schools, in which implementation will be expanded to the third grade. A third report is planned that will present those results. Four appendixes are included; (1) Data Collection and Response Rates; (2) Teacher-Reported Frequency of Implementing Other Curriculum-Specific Activities; (3) Glossary of Curriculum-Specific Terms; and (4) Constructing the Analysis Samples and Estimating Curriculum Effects. (Contains 66 footnotes, 10 figures and 43 tables.) A table of acronyms is included. [For Executive Summary of this report, see ED504419.].

Author: Roberto Agodini
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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The purpose of this large-scale, multi-year, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress. The main questions being addressed by the study are: (1) What are the relative effects of different early elementary school math curricula on student math achievement in disadvantaged schools?; (2) Under what conditions is each math curriculum most effective?; (3) What is the relationship between teacher knowledge of math content/pedagogy and the effectiveness of the curricula?; and (4) Which math curricula result in a sustained impact on student achievement? The study is addressing these questions by examining the relative effects of four diverse curricula, by recruiting schools without prior experience using the study's curricula, having publishers provide schools and teachers with curriculum materials and training, and evaluating the effects of the curricula (including materials, training, content, and pedagogy) on student achievement.

Author:
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Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Author: What Works Clearinghouse (ED)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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The study featured in this What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Quick Review examined whether exposure to "Odyssey[R] Math," a web-based mathematics curriculum and assessment tool, improved mathematics achievement of fourth-grade students. The study analyzed data from 2,456 fourth-grade students in 122 classrooms in 32 elementary schools in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The study randomly assigned all fourth-grade classrooms in 32 elementary schools to intervention or comparison conditions. Intervention classrooms used "Odyssey[R] Math" for 60 minutes each week during the entire school year as a partial substitute for the regular curriculum; comparison classrooms used their school's standard mathematics curriculum for the total math instructional time. The study assessed the effectiveness of "Odyssey[R] Math" by comparing the mathematics achievement of students in the intervention and comparison groups in the spring of the implementation year. The study found no discernible effects of "Odyssey[R] Math" on mathematics achievement in the spring of the implementation year. The estimated effect size of 0.02 is not statistically significant or substantively important. The research described in this report meets WWC evidence standards without reservations. Appended are: (1) Study details; (2) Outcome measure for the mathematics achievement domain; and (3) Study findings for the mathematics achievement domain Mean. A glossary of terms is included. (Contains 3 endnotes.) [The following study is the focus of this "Quick Review": "A Multisite Cluster Randomized Trial of the Effects of CompassLearning Odyssey[R] Math on the Math Achievement of Selected Grade 4 Students in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Final Report. NCEE 2009-4068" (ED507314).].

Author:
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Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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