Effectiveness
Findings
The WWC review of interventions for High School Math addresses student outcomes in one domain: mathematics achievement. The findings below present the authors’ estimates and WWC-calculated estimates of the size and the statistical significance of the effects of Carnegie Learning Curricula and Cognitive Tutor®Software on high school students.7
Mathematics achievement. Cabalo, Jaciw, and Vu (2007) reported a negative but not statistically significant effect of Carnegie Learning Curricula and Cognitive Tutor® Software on the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Algebra End-of-Course Achievement Level Test/Measures of Academic Progress. Campuzano et al. (2009) reported a negative but not statistically significant effect of Carnegie Learning Curricula and Cognitive Tutor®Software on the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Algebra I End-of-Course Assessment. Shneyderman (2001) reported a positive but not statistically significant effect of Carnegie Learning Curricula and Cognitive Tutor®Software on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Norm- Referenced Component. Smith (2001) reported a negative but not statistically significant effect of Carnegie Learning Curricula and Cognitive Tutor®Software on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) Algebra Assessment. None of the findings were large enough to be considered substantively important according to WWC criteria (i.e., an effect size of at least 0.25).
In sum, four studies showed indeterminate effects in the mathematics achievement domain.
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, the size of the difference between participants in the intervention and the comparison conditions, and the consistency in findings across studies (see the WWC Procedures and Standards Handbook, Appendix E).