Overview1
Program Description2
Scott Foresman–Addison Wesley Elementary Mathematics is a core curriculum for students at all ability levels in prekindergarten through grade 6. The program supports students’ understanding of key math concepts and skills and covers a range of mathematical content across grades. The curriculum focuses on questioning strategies, problem-solving skills, embedded assessment, and exercises tailored to students of different ability levels. It provides explicit problem-solving instruction, hands-on activities, and opportunities to extend students’ mathematical understanding through reading and writing connections. According to its developer, Scott Foresman–Addison Wesley Elementary Mathematics is aligned to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards for the elementary grades.
Research3
Two studies of Scott Foresman–Addison Wesley Elementary Mathematics that fall within the scope of the Elementary School Math review protocol meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards, and one study meets WWC evidence standards with reservations. The studies included more than 2,800 elementary students from grades 1 through 5 in 49 schools. The schools were located in a mix of urban, suburban, and rural settings in Connecticut, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.4
Based on these three studies, the WWC considers the extent of evidence for Scott Foresman–Addison Wesley Elementary Mathematics on elementary students to be medium to large for math achievement.
Effectiveness
Scott Foresman–Addison Wesley Elementary Mathematics was found to have mixed effects on math achievement for elementary students.
| Math achievement | |
|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | Mixed effects |
| Improvement index5 | Average: –2 percentile points Range: –10 to +6 percentile points |
1 This report has been updated to include reviews of seven studies that have been released since 2005. Of the additional studies, three were not within the scope of the protocol and two were within the scope of the protocol but did not meet evidence standards. A complete list and disposition of all studies
reviewed are provided in the references.
2 The descriptive information for this program was obtained from a publicly available source: the program’s website (http://www.pearsonschool.com; downloaded June 2010). The WWC requests developers to review the program description sections for accuracy from their perspective. Further verification
of the accuracy of the descriptive information for this program is beyond the scope of this review. The literature search reflects documents publicly available by March 2009.
3 The studies in this report were reviewed using WWC Evidence Standards, Version 1.0 (see the WWC Standards), as described in protocol Version 1.1.
4 The evidence presented in this report is based on available research. Findings and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.
5 These numbers show the average and range of student-level improvement indices for all findings across all studies.