Skill performance comparability of two algebra programs on an eighth-grade population.
Peters, K. G. (1992). Dissertation Abstracts International, 54(01), 77A. (UMI No. 9314428).
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examining36Students, grade8
Saxon Algebra I Intervention Report - Secondary Mathematics
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2016
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for Saxon Algebra I.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orleans-Hanna Algebra Prognosis Test |
Saxon Algebra I vs. University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) Algebra |
9 Months |
Grade 8 (math-talented);
|
95.63 |
95.06 |
No |
|
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Female: 56%
Male: 44% -
Rural, Suburban
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- B
- A
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- I
- H
- J
- K
- L
- P
- M
- N
- O
- Q
- R
- S
- V
- U
- T
- W
- X
- Z
- Y
- a
- h
- i
- b
- d
- e
- f
- c
- g
- j
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- y
Nebraska
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in one junior high school in Nebraska. The district borders two large cities (Lincoln and Omaha) and has a mix of students living in rural and suburban locations.
Study sample
Of the total sample, 56% were female (58% intervention and 53% comparison) and 44% were male (42% intervention and 47% comparison).
Intervention Group
Students in the intervention group were taught using Saxon Algebra I (1981) during the 1991–92 school year. Students participated in daily math lessons for one academic year. In each lesson, the teacher introduced a new concept, and students had opportunities to practice the new concept and past concepts. Students were assessed every fifth lesson with study-specific tests of the material covered in the past few sessions.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group were taught using the UCSMP Algebra curriculum. The UCSMP Algebra program was developed based on National Council of the Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) objectives that emphasized problem-solving skills, reading comprehension, use of technology, and relevant lessons with real-world applications. Each lesson is organized into an introduction of the concept, a reading section that explains the process, and real-life problem situations.
Outcome descriptions
The primary outcome measure was the Orleans-Hanna Algebra Prognosis Test.19 This measure was administered as a pretest in August 1991 and as a posttest in May 1992. For a more detailed description of this outcome measure, see Appendix B.
Support for implementation
The teacher who taught both study groups did not have prior experience with the intervention or comparison curricula but had read extensively about both instructional approaches. The teacher participated in a 1-week summer workshop on UCSMP Algebra, and in two 1-day workshops given by local consultants on both curricula used in the study. The study author also conducted weekly monitoring to help maintain implementation integrity.
University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) Algebra Intervention Report - Secondary Mathematics
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2016
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Please see the WWC summary of evidence for University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) Algebra.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orleans-Hanna Algebra Prognosis Test |
University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) Algebra vs. Saxon Math |
9 Months |
Grade 8 (math talented);
|
95.02 |
95.63 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
-
Female: 56%
Male: 44% -
Rural, Suburban
-
- B
- A
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- I
- H
- J
- K
- L
- P
- M
- N
- O
- Q
- R
- S
- V
- U
- T
- W
- X
- Z
- Y
- a
- h
- i
- b
- d
- e
- f
- c
- g
- j
- k
- l
- m
- n
- o
- p
- q
- r
- s
- t
- u
- v
- x
- w
- y
Nebraska
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in one junior high school in Nebraska. The district borders two large cities (Lincoln and Omaha) and has a mix of students living in rural and suburban locations.
Study sample
Of the total sample, 56% were female (58% intervention and 53% comparison) and 44% were male (42% intervention and 47% comparison).
Intervention Group
Students in the intervention group were taught using UCSMP Algebra during the 1991–92 school year. UCSMP Algebra was developed based on National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) objectives. It emphasizes questioning and problem-solving skills, use of technology, use of non-algebraic mathematic topics (e.g., geometry and probability concepts), reading comprehension, and lessons with real-world applications. Lessons are organized into three sections: an introduction of a concept, a reading section with an explanation, and real-life problems.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group were taught using Saxon Math Algebra I. Students participated in daily lessons from the curriculum for 1 academic year. In each lesson, the teacher introduced a new concept incrementally, and students had opportunities to practice new and past concepts. Each lesson was structured to allow 30 minutes of teacher instruction followed by 30 minutes of practice.
Outcome descriptions
The primary outcome measure is the Orleans-Hanna Algebra Prognosis Test. The pretest administration occurred in August 1991, and the posttest administration occurred in May 1992. For a more detailed description of this outcome measure, see Appendix A2.
Support for implementation
The teacher who taught both study groups did not have prior experience with the intervention or comparison curricula, but had read extensively about both teaching formats. The teacher participated in a 1-week summer workshop on UCSMP Algebra, and in two 1-day workshops given by local consultants on both of the curricula used in this study. The author also conducted weekly monitoring to help maintain implementation integrity
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
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The mean score of students in the comparison group.
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