Effectiveness

Findings

The WWC review of interventions for elementary school math addresses student outcomes in one domain: mathematics achievement.

The Beck Evaluation & Testing Associates (2005) study reported a statistically significant positive effect of the Progress in Mathematics © 2006 program on the Terra Nova Mathematics Test (referred to in the study as Part 1); however, this effect was not statistically significant according to WWC analysis. The study reported no statistically significant effect on the Terra Nova Mathematics Computation Test (referred to in the study as Part 2). The average effect size across the two student outcomes was neither statistically significant nor large enough to be considered substantively important according to WWC standards (at least 0.25). In sum, one study of Progress in Mathematics © 2006 found no discernible effects on students' math achievement.

Rating of effectiveness

The WWC rates the effects of an intervention in a given outcome domain as: positive, potentially positive, mixed, no discernible effects, potentially negative, or negative. The rating of effectiveness takes into account four factors: the quality of the research design, the statistical significance of the findings,⁵ the size of the difference between participants in the intervention and the comparison conditions, and the consistency in findings across studies (see the WWC Intervention Rating Scheme). The WWC found Progress in Mathematics © 2006 to have no discernible effects for math achievement.