Scaling up the Implementation of a Pre-Kindergarten Mathematics Intervention in Public Preschool Programs
Starkey, Prentice; Klein, Alice (2012). Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED622610
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examining669Students, gradePK
Pre-K Mathematics Intervention Report - Preparing Young Children for School
Review Details
Reviewed: July 2023
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with high individual-level non-response, but provides evidence of effects on individuals by satisfying the baseline equivalence requirement for the individuals in the analytic intervention and comparison groups.
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 Pre-K Mathematics.
Findings
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Test of Early Mathematics Ability, Third Edition, (TEMA-3) |
Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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14.84 |
12.49 |
Yes |
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III) Letter-Word Identification Subtest |
Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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340.63 |
339.52 |
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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9% English language learners -
Female: 54%
Male: 46% -
Rural, Urban
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California, Indiana, Kentucky
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Race Asian 3% Black 17% Other or unknown 18% Two or more races 9% White 52% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 18% Other or unknown 82% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Other or unknown 100%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in 94 pre-kindergarten classrooms in 63 Head Start and state-funded preschool program sites in the Sacramento and greater Louisville metropolitan areas. Preschool sites were located in urban and rural areas in California, Kentucky, and Indiana.
Study sample
The researchers randomly assigned 32 preschool program sites to the intervention group and 31 preschool program sites to the comparison group. A total of 669 pre-kindergarten students were included in the study in these 63 preschool sites. Forty-six percent of the children were male, and 9% were English learners. Approximately 52% were White, 17% were Black, 3% were Asian, 9% were two or more races, and 18% did not report race. Approximately 18% were Hispanic or Latino.
Intervention Group
Pre-K Mathematics is a published early mathematics curriculum that includes both classroom and at-home activities. Teachers present 26 small-group mathematics lessons over the same number of weeks. Each week’s math lesson was conducted with groups of approximately 4–6 children over two sessions for approximately 15–20 minutes per session. Each child received two group sessions per week for a total of 52 small-group sessions per child over the course of the school year. The mathematics units covered in small group sessions included 1) counting and numbers, 2) understanding mathematics operations, (3) spatial sense, (4) patterns, and (5) measurement and data. Sixteen at-home activities, which were linked to the content and schedule of the in-class lessons, were sent every 1–2 weeks to parents over the course of the school year in a kit with instructions. Additionally, students were encouraged to use a math learning center set up in the classroom during free time and were required to complete a computer activity in class at least once per week.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual pre-kindergarten mathematics instruction.
Support for implementation
Teachers received training in the Pre-K Mathematics curriculum prior to the school year from preschool or school district staff (internal trainers) and curriculum developer trainers (external facilitators). Internal trainers were trained by external facilitators to provide on-site support and monitor implementation. Teachers’ introductory training was offered over 2 days. In addition, throughout the school year, teachers continued to meet every other week with internal trainers for on-site support and to monitor implementation fidelity. Teachers also received multi-day workshops over the school year for 4 days in the fall and 3 days in the winter. The external facilitators conducted visits with internal trainers to monitor the quality of the on-site training they provided to teachers.
Additional Sources
In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.
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Starkey, P., Klein, A., & DeFlorio, L. (2014). Promoting math readiness through a sustainable mathematics intervention. In Bierman, K. L. & Boivin, M. (Eds.) Promoting school readiness and early learning: Implications of developmental research for practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Grant Competition
Review Details
Reviewed: September 2018
- Grant Competition (findings for Pre-K Mathematics)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a randomized control trial with cluster level inferences and joiners, but it demonstrates baseline equivalence.
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.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Letter-Word Identification subtest |
Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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340.63 |
339.52 |
No |
-- |
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3) |
Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
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14.86 |
12.49 |
Yes |
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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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13% English language learners -
Female: 52%
Male: 48% -
Rural, Suburban, Urban
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California, Indiana, Kentucky
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Race Asian 3% Black 17% Other or unknown 9% White 52% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 18% Not Hispanic or Latino 82%
Study Details
Setting
The setting for this study was public pre-K classrooms, located in either the Sacramento metro area of CA or in rural KY and IN counties near Louisville. Participating preschools included both Head Start and state-funded preschool programs. Some preschools were single-classroom sites, while other centers had multiple preschool classrooms.
Study sample
"Of the 387 students selected from the intervention condition, 51.7% were female. The average age was 4.43 years old, and 93.5% spoke English fluently. Of the 357 students selected from the comparison condition, 56.3% were female. The average age was 4.45 years old, and 86.8% spoke English fluently. All students in the sample were in their pre-K year of preschool, becoming eligible for Kindergarten in the year after intervention. The ethnic composition of the entire sample of students selected for the study was 52.3% Caucasian, 18.0% Hispanic/Latino, 17.3% African American, 3.0% Asian American, and 9.4% multi-racial or other."
Intervention Group
The intervention included a published mathematics curriculum. The curriculum, Pearson's Pre-K Mathematics, included activities for both the classroom and at home, in addition to computer software and materials for a math learning center. Classroom activities occurred primarily in small groups, with students scheduled to complete 52 activities lasting 15-20 minutes each over the course of the school year. At-home activities included a kit with instructions to parents and were sent every 1-2 weeks over the course of the school year. Additionally, students were encouraged to use the math learning center during free time and were required to complete a computer activity at least once per week.
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison condition received business-as-usual education, with no formal mathematics curriculum in use in comparison classrooms.
Support for implementation
Implementation supports for the intervention included professional development for teachers and tools to complement the curriculum. Professional development began in the school year prior to curriculum implementation. External trainers provided training to internal facilitators, who were preschool school or district professionals. Throughout the implementation school year, internal facilitators met bi-weekly with each teacher. Each teacher was also required to participate in 9 days of workshops taught by both the internal facilitators and external trainers, where teachers would learn about the classroom activities they would use in the curriculum. Other tools to complement the curriculum were also provided, focusing on formative assessment and tracking the progress of each student.
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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Study findings for this report.
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