The Impact of a Comprehensive Tier I Core Kindergarten Program on the Achievement of Students at Risk in Mathematics
Clarke, Ben; Smolkowski, Keith; Baker, Scott K.; Fien, Hank; Doabler, Christian T.; Chard, David J. (2011). Elementary School Journal, v111 n4 p561-584. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ963695
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examining999Students, gradeK
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2023
- Single Study Review (findings for Early Learning in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a compromised randomized controlled trial, but the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3) |
Early Learning in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
33.67 |
32.59 |
No |
-- | |
|
Early Numeracy Curriculum-Based Measurement (EN-CBM) |
Early Learning in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
155.13 |
149.03 |
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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38% English language learners -
Other or unknown: 100% -
Race Asian 5% Black 2% Other or unknown 43% White 50% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 36% Not Hispanic or Latino 64% -
Eligible for Free and Reduced Price Lunch Free or reduced price lunch (FRPL) 56% No FRPL 44%
Study Details
Setting
The study took place in general education kindergarten classrooms in three school districts in unnamed states and regions of the United States.
Study sample
The researchers randomly assigned 33 classrooms to the intervention group and 33 classrooms to the comparison group across the school districts. A total of 999 students were included in the study. Approximately 56% were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 38% were English learners, and 8% received special education services. Fifty percent were White, 5% were Asian or Pacific Islander, 2% were Black, and 43% did not report race. Thirty-six percent were Hispanic or Latino.
Intervention Group
Teachers in intervention classrooms used the Early Learning in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum, a comprehensive, core kindergarten mathematics program designed to address the learning needs of all students, including at-risk students in general education or Tier I classroom settings. The program consists of 120 45-minute lessons with supplemental 15-minute calendar activities. Each lesson, on average, contains four to five activities focused on one of ELM’s three areas or strands: number and operations, measurement, and geometry. Vocabulary, the fourth strand, is embedded across the other three strands. The first activity of each lesson typically introduces or reviews a math concept or skill central to the strand covered in that lesson. The second and third activities typically involve either an extension of the first activity or a review of previously learned material. The fourth activity typically targets previously learned material from a different content area. Each strand reflects the critical math content identified in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Focal Points for kindergarten (NCTM, 2006) and aligns with the recommendations of the National Math Advisory Panel (NMAP, 2008) as well as other experts in the field. ELM was constructed around two main principles that specifically target at-risk students: 1) it was designed to cover the most essential mathematics knowledge kindergarten children need to develop; and 2) it includes the use of research-based instructional design principles found to be effective with at-risk students in mathematics.
Comparison Group
Classrooms in the comparison group continued to use their existing kindergarten math curricula, such as Harcourt Math and Scott Foresman. Three comparison classrooms used only teacher-made materials rather than a published curriculum.
Support for implementation
The teachers in the intervention group received three four-hour ELM curriculum trainings led by the lead author of the ELM curriculum, a math teacher-educator from the University of Oregon. During the trainings, teachers received the ELM curriculum materials; and learned about the program’s key components, concepts, instructional strategies, and objectives. Teachers received continued professional development throughout the school year.
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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Doabler, Christian T.; Clarke, Ben; Kosty, Derek B.; Baker, Scott K.; Smolkowski, Keith; Fien, Hank. (2016). Effects of a Core Kindergarten Mathematics Curriculum on the Mathematics Achievement of Spanish-Speaking English Learners. School Psychology Review, v45 n3 p343-361.
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 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.
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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.
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Study findings for this report.
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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).