The impact of a supplementary preschool mathematics curriculum on children's early mathematics learning [Numbers Plus Preschool Mathematics vs. business as usual (HighScope)]
Wakabayashi, T., Andrade-Adaniya, F., Schweinhart, L. J., Xiang, Z., Marshall, B. A., & Markley, C. A. (2020). Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53, 329–342.
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examining417Students, gradePK
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: April 2022
- Practice Guide (findings for Numbers Plus Preschool Mathematics)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a cluster randomized controlled trial with low cluster-level attrition and individual-level non-response.
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
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Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS): Birthday Party (BP) Assessment |
Numbers Plus Preschool Mathematics vs. Intervention |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
No |
-- | |
|
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III) Applied Problems Subtest |
Numbers Plus Preschool Mathematics vs. Intervention |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
N/A |
N/A |
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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7% English language learners -
Female: 51%
Male: 49% -
Rural, Suburban, Urban
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Maine, Michigan, Ohio
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Race Asian 3% Black 22% Other or unknown 9% White 66% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 1% Not Hispanic or Latino 99%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in various preschool programs in the United States that used HighScope as their primary curriculum. The sample consisted of tuition-based classrooms in Michigan, public school-based classrooms in Maine, and federally funded Head Start classrooms in Ohio. The study was conducted across three years with year 1 in Michigan, year 2 in Maine, and year 3 in Ohio.
Study sample
Students in the sample were 4 years old on average during the study. 49% were male and 7% were English Language Learners. Almost half, 42%, were receiving reduced or free price lunch. Sixty-six percent were White, 22% were Black, 9% were multiracial, and 3% were Asian. Less than 1% of the sample had Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.
Intervention Group
Number Plus consists of 120 small- and large- group activity cards that teachers can implement based on their students' needs and interests. The cards focus on 5 key content areas in mathematics: number sense and operations, geometry, measurement, algebra, and data analysis. Teachers receive instructions for how to conduct activities in each card. These activities were then implemented within the HighScope mathematics curriculum in the study. Each teacher conducted around 7 to 8 Numbers Plus small-group activities per month, consistent with the intended frequency of the developers of the program.
Comparison Group
The comparison condition was business-as-usual. Students in this condition received the HighScope curriculum.
Support for implementation
Teachers received Numbers Plus training and coaching. Training consisted of modules delivered face-to-face for a total of 6 days, and online segments. Teachers were assigned coaches who monitored their progress and helped them implement their goals and activities. Coaches visited classrooms once every 2 weeks in the study, and recorded around 20 coaching contacts per classroom as intended by developers of the program.
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.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).