Study: 88782

The effects of the Elevate Math summer program on math achievement and algebra readiness (REL 2015-096)

Snipes, J., Huang, C.-W., Jaquet, K., & Finkelstein, N. (2015). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

Department-funded evaluation

Review Details

Reviewed: September 2019

At least one finding shows promising evidence of effectiveness

At least one statistically significant positive finding

Meets WWC standards without reservations

For:

Department-funded evaluation (findings for Elevate Summer Math Program)

Using:

Rating:

Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.

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

Algebra outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index	Evidence tier
Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP) Algebra Readiness Test	Elevate Summer Math Program vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample; 349 students	20.81	16.80	Yes	25
Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project (MDTP) Algebra Readiness Test - passed 3 or more topic areas	Elevate Summer Math Program vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample; 349 students	29.00	12.00	Yes	20

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: 44%
Male: 56%
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California

Study Details

Setting

The study took place across eight middle schools in six districts located in California. These schools were located in suburban communities and students attended the summer school program of their normal campus or a nearby campus.

Study sample

Of the 461 students who indicated their gender, 56% were male and 44% were female. Based on the math portion of the California Standards Test they completed in the prior school year, 53% of the students fell into the target range of the intervention (35% high basic and 18% low proficient). The remainder of the students either scored below the target range for the intervention (29%) or above the range (17%).

Intervention Group

Elevate Math is a math support program for students in middle school to help them succeed in math and science. The core of the program is a 75-hour summer preparatory course taught by a certified teacher, offered over a 4-week period during the summer before 8th grade. The content aligns with the Common Core State Standards in math and targets students in 7th grade who scored at the high basic level or the low proficient level on the grade 6 math California Standards Test. Students receive 19 days of four hours of blended learning classroom instruction. One hour each day is spent on Khan Academy. The program covers four math content modules: properties and operations, linear equations, ratios and multiple representations, and transformational geometry.

Comparison Group

The comparison condition received the Elevate Math intervention during the second 4-week summer session.

Support for implementation

Credentialed teachers and their college-level assistants received 40 hours of CCSS-based professional development. The first 24 hours included training on curriculum understanding and implementation, instructional strategies aligned with the standards, math practices, technology integration in the classroom, and student engagement. The next 16 hours were spent in a professional learning community setting.