Twenty-seven studies reviewed by the WWC investigated the effects of I CAN Learn® Pre-Algebra and Algebra. One study (Kirby, 2006) was a randomized controlled trial that meets WWC evidence standards. Four studies (Kerstyn, 2001; Kerstyn, 2002; Kirby, 2004a; Kirby, 2004b) are randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs that meet WWC evidence standards with reservations. The remaining 22 studies do not meet either WWC evidence standards or eligibility screens.
Kirby (2006) assessed the impact of the I CAN Learn® system on math achievement in Orleans Parish schools in New Orleans, LA that randomly assigned students to I CAN Learn® or control classes during the 2003–04 school year. The study included 2,400 eighth-grade regular education students from 13 schools (1,082 I CAN Learn® students and 1,318 traditional mathematics students). I CAN Learn® classes were compared with classes using a traditional curriculum.
Kerstyn (2001) conducted a classroom matched-pairs quasi-experimental design to investigate the effect of the first year of implementation of the I CAN Learn® system on math achievement of eighth-grade students in Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida. At the beginning of the 2000–01 school year, 58 I CAN Learn® classes (1,222 students) were matched with 58 traditional mathematics classes (1,314 students). The I CAN Learn® system was implemented with four separate samples of students enrolled in four math courses: Algebra 1 (8 classes, 175 students), Algebra 1 Honors (8 classes, 150 students), MJ-3 pre-algebra (32 classes, 678 students), and MJ-3 Advanced (10 classes, 219 students). The effectiveness of the I CAN Learn® system is reported separately for each of the four study samples in the Findings section.
Kerstyn (2002) continued the investigation of the I CAN Learn® system during the second year of implementation in Hillsborough County Public Schools with a quasi-experimental study of a different sample of 1,871 eighth-grade students in 129 I CAN Learn® classes compared to 9,254 eighth-grade students in 468 traditional classes. The I CAN Learn® system was implemented with four separate samples of students enrolled in four math courses: Algebra 1 (18 classes, 231 students), Algebra 1 Honors (10 classes, 188 students), MJ-3 pre-algebra (64 classes, 1,028 students), and MJ-3 Advanced (37 classes, 424 students). The students in these I CAN Learn® classes were compared to students enrolled in four corresponding math courses that were taught using a traditional instruction method: Algebra 1 (48 classes, 964 students), Algebra 1 Honors (81 classes, 1,706 students), MJ-3 pre-algebra (264 classes, 4,929 students), and MJ-3 Advanced (75 classes, 1,655 students). The effectiveness of the I CAN Learn® system is reported separately for each of the four study samples in the Findings section.
Kirby (2004a) assessed the impact of the I CAN Learn® system on math achievement in a California middle school that randomly assigned students either to I CAN Learn® classes or comparison classes during the 2003–04 school year. The study included 204 eighth-grade students (91 students taught by one intervention teacher and 113 students taught by two comparison teachers) in Bret Harte Middle School in Alameda County, CA.5The intervention teacher used the pre-algebra I CAN Learn® mathematics curriculum. The comparison teachers used the state-adopted Glencoe pre-algebra textbook. Because there was only one I CAN Learn® teacher, it is not possible to separate the effect of the teacher from the effect of the I CAN Learn® system. This study meets WWC standards with reservations because of this confound.
Kirby (2004b) assessed the impact of I CAN Learn® on math achievement in a northwestern Georgia middle school that randomly assigned students either to I CAN Learn® classes or comparison classes during the 2003–04 school year. The study included 254 eighth-grade students (91 students in I CAN Learn® classes and 163 students in traditional classes) in the Gilmer County School District. In the I CAN Learn® classes, one teacher facilitated instruction using the computerized curriculum. Students in the comparison classroom used a traditional math curriculum delivered by their teachers. Because there was only one I CAN Learn® teacher, it is not possible to separate the effect of the teacher from the effect of the I CAN Learn® system. This study meets WWC standards with reservations because of this confound.
The WWC categorizes the extent of evidence in each domain as small or medium to large (see the What Works Clearinghouse Extent of Evidence Categorization Scheme). The extent of evidence takes into account the number of studies and the total sample size across the studies that meet WWC evidence standards with or without reservations.6
The WWC considers the extent of evidence for I CAN Learn® Pre-Algebra and Algebra to be medium to large for math achievement.
|Institute of Education Sciences
