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An Evaluation of Number Rockets: A Tier 2 Intervention for Grade 1 Students At Risk for Difficulties in MathematicsAn Evaluation of Number Rockets: A Tier 2 Intervention for Grade 1 Students At Risk for Difficulties in Mathematics

Regional need and study purpose. US students lag behind students in other industrialized nations in mathematics. In the Southwest Region, specifically, several states rank very low in mathematics performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2007). Response to Intervention (RTI) instruction models have been increasingly popular since federal legislation began encouraging schools to intervene as soon as students are identified as at risk and allowing schools to use alternative methods to determine student eligibility for special education services. A recent study indentified only two studies evaluating impacts of Tier 2 mathematic interventions for Grade 1 students, only one of which was a Randomized Control Study (Fuchs et al., 2005). The current study is an effectiveness evaluation of the Fuchs et al. (2005) study of a small group tutoring intervention in mathematics for at risk students in grade 1 that demonstrated its effectiveness across several schools in a single district. The current study will provide rigorous causal evidence of whether the intervention is effective across urban districts in four states. If effective on this larger scale, the intervention will meet an important need for validated tier 2 mathematic interventions suitable for use in RTI models.

Intervention description. This small group intervention focuses on whole number understanding and operations that students need to acquire in grade 1 in order to progress to more advanced mathematical content in grade 2 and beyond. Small group tutoring incorporates systematic and explicit instruction that provides clear steps for students to follow and visuals and models for students to work with. The teacher describes and models the steps to solve the problem using examples before the students solve similar problems independently. Teachers also provide individual feedback to students on their work. In the Fuchs et al. (2005) study small group tutoring was estimated to have an effect of 0.57 standard deviations on the Woodcock-Johnson III calculation test, 0.67 standard deviation for concepts and applications, and 0.70 standard deviation for story problems—roughly equivalent to 10 months of at-risk student progress accomplished in 5 months of instruction.

Study design and period. One district was selected in each of four Southwest Region states (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas) to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fuchs et al. (2005) intervention in multiple populations. The study includes 76 schools (38 intervention, 38 control) from four urban districts. Of the nearly 3,000 students screened, 994 were identified as at risk (615 intervention, 379 control). In October and November 2008 all students in grade 1 who were receiving core mathematics instruction in English and whose parents provided signed consent were administered a mathematics screening test. Beginning in December 2008 and lasting until April- May 2009, intervention school students identified as at risk received the small group tutoring intervention.

Key outcomes and measures. The primary outcome of interest in this study is mathematics achievement as measured by the Test of Early Mathematics Ability–Third Edition (TEMA-3). The test was administered in spring 2009 to all students participating in the study.

Data collection approach. All data collection occurs over the course of a single academic year (2008/09). Students are assessed before implementation begins using a 25-minute, individually administered, six-subtest math screening test. Posttests were conducted in April and May. All students were individually administered one mathematics outcome assessment (TEMA-3), as well as the Woodcock-Johnson III Letter-Word subtest, to assess the impact of the intervention on reading achievement, which could have been affected when tutored students missed classroom instruction in areas other than mathematics.

Analysis plan. For each school pair (intervention-control) the performance of at risk intervention students on the TEMA-3 is compared with the performance of at-risk control students. An intervention effect is calculated for each of the 38 school pairs. These are then combined to calculate an overall intervention effect across all schools and districts.

Principal investigators. Eric Rolfhus, Ph.D., Research Scientist; Russell Gersten, Ph.D., Director of Research; Ben Clarke, Ph.D., Senior Researcher; Lauren F. Decker, Ph.D., Researcher; Chuck Williams, Ph.D., Director of Statistics and Evaluation; and Joseph Dimino, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate.

Additional Information. Region, contact information, and references

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