Study: 85520

IES Performance Measure

Review Details

Reviewed: November 2017

At least one finding shows strong evidence of effectiveness

At least one statistically significant positive finding

Meets WWC standards without reservations

For:

IES Performance Measure (findings for Pre-K Mathematics)

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

General Mathematics Achievement outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index
Child Math Assessment (CMA)	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	Full sample: M Only vs. BaU; 343 students	0.61	0.52	Yes	23
Child Math Assessment (CMA)	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU; 346 students	0.58	0.52	Yes	17
Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3)	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	Full sample: M Only vs. BaU; 343 students	14.34	12.82	Yes	9
Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3)	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	Full sample: M+ATT and M Only vs. BaU; 518 students	14.93	13.80	Yes	7
Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3)	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU; 346 students	12.51	12.82	No	--

Social-emotional development outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Cued Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU and M Only; 516 students	0.87	0.83	Yes	9
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Un-cued Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU and M Only; 516 students	0.85	0.82	Yes	7
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Incongruent Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU and M Only; 516 students	0.77	0.72	No	--
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Congruent Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU and M Only; 516 students	0.96	0.94	Yes	5
Show Supplemental Findings
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Congruent Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU (supplemental); 345 students	0.96	0.93	Yes	12
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Cued Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU (supplemental); 345 students	0.87	0.83	Yes	10
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Cued Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. (Not applicable)	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. M Only (supplemental); 345 students	0.87	0.83	Yes	10
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Congruent Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. (Not applicable)	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. M Only (supplemental); 345 students	0.96	0.94	Yes	10
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Un-cued Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU (supplemental); 345 students	0.85	0.82	No	--
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Un-cued Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. (Not applicable)	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. M Only (supplemental); 345 students	0.85	0.82	No	--
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Incongruent Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. (Not applicable)	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. M Only (supplemental); 345 students	0.77	0.71	No	--
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Incongruent Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M+ATT vs. BaU (supplemental) ; 345 students	0.77	0.72	No	--
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Congruent Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M Only vs. BaU (supplemental) ; 342 students	0.94	0.93	No	--
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Cued Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M Only vs. BaU (supplemental); 342 students	0.83	0.83	Yes	0
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Un-cued Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M Only vs. BaU (supplemental); 342 students	0.82	0.82	Yes	0
Child Attention Networks Test (Child-ANT) Incongruent Trial Accuracy	Pre-K Mathematics vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample: M Only vs. BaU (supplemental); 342 students	0.71	0.72	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.

Female: 47%
Male: 53%
Urban
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California, Texas

Race
Black		18%
White		2%

Ethnicity
Hispanic		72%
Not Hispanic or Latino		28%

Study Details

Setting

The study was implemented in pre-kindergarten classrooms in Houston, Texas, and San Jose, Santa Clara, and Contra Costa, California.

Study sample

The initial randomized sample was 46.7% female, 71.7% Hispanic, 17.9% African American, 2.2% Caucasian, and was an average 4.5 years old.

Intervention Group

The study examined the effects of the Pre-Kindergarten Mathematics Tutorial (PKMT) intervention. The intervention was implemented in two different ways, either in combination with an attention training intervention (M+ATT group) or in combination with an unnamed placebo activity (listening to books-on-tape) (M only group). The PKMT intervention was implemented over a 24-week period, with 15- to 20-minute daily sessions four times a week (with one day a week for review or make-up sessions). The intervention consisted of 20 activities to support students’ learning of numbers, arithmetic, space, geometry, and measurement. Trained tutors delivered the intervention to pairs of students within each classroom (one student from the M+ATT condition and one student from the M only condition). The tutors introduced one new activity a week for 20 of the 24 weeks. The remaining four weeks were dedicated to review. Tutors monitored progress and adjusted instruction to each child’s knowledge. Students in the M+ATT condition also received an attention intervention, which was composed of vigilance and conflict attention training video games. The vigilance games required students to sustain attention and the conflict games required students to choose between two stimuli. Tutors delivered the intervention over a 16-week period to each student individually, with one eight-minute session per week (eight vigilance game sessions and eight conflict games sessions). Students received reward stamps based on their time spent on task. Students in the M only condition also received a books-on-tape intervention, which involved listening to a recorded audio book while looking at the text of the book. The intervention occurred in eight-minute sessions once per week for 16 weeks. Students received reward stamps based on their time spent on task.

Comparison Group

Students in the comparison condition (referred to as the business-as-usual or BaU group) participated in unspecified math instruction without tutoring. All Texas classrooms were full day, while a majority of California classrooms were half day.

Support for implementation

The tutors received four days of training on the PKMT intervention and an additional full day on the attention intervention. All tutors had to be certified based on lab and field demonstrations. During the intervention, weekly calls were held to provide support to tutors.

Effects of Tutorial Interventions in Mathematics and Attention for Low-Performing Preschool Children