Starkey, Prentice; Klein, Alice (2012). Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED622610
Reviewed: July 2023
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.
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Test of Early Mathematics Ability, Third Edition, (TEMA-3) |
Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
14.84 |
12.49 |
Yes |
|
|
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ-III) Letter-Word Identification Subtest |
Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
340.63 |
339.52 |
No |
-- |
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Asian | 3% | |
| Black | 17% | |
| Other or unknown | 18% | |
| Two or more races | 9% | |
| White | 52% |
| Hispanic | 18% | |
| Other or unknown | 82% |
| Other or unknown | 100% |
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.
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.
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.
Students in the comparison group received business-as-usual pre-kindergarten mathematics instruction.
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.
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.
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.
Reviewed: September 2018
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.
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ-III): Letter-Word Identification subtest |
Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
340.63 |
339.52 |
No |
-- |
|
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;
|
14.86 |
12.49 |
Yes |
|
|
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Asian | 3% | |
| Black | 17% | |
| Other or unknown | 9% | |
| White | 52% |
| Hispanic | 18% | |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 82% |
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.
"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."
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.
Students in the comparison condition received business-as-usual education, with no formal mathematics curriculum in use in comparison classrooms.
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.
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).
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