| Title: | WWC quick review of the report "Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula" |
| Description: | The WWC quick review of the report "Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula" examines a study on the relative effectiveness of four early elementary school math curricula: Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. Participating schools were randomly assigned to use one of the four curricula, with a random sample of approximately 10 students per classroom included in the analysis. Overall, the study analyzes data on more than 8,000 first- and second-grade students in 110 schools in 12 districts in 10 states. The study measured the relative effects of the four curricula by comparing end-of-year test scores on a nationally normed math assessment developed for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten (ECLS–K) for first-graders and on a similar assessment adapted for this study for second-graders. The authors found no statistically significant differences among the curricula for first-graders after adjusting results for multiple curricula comparisons within the same analysis. For second-graders, one difference was statistically significant after taking multiple comparisons into account: Second-grade students attending Saxon Math schools scored 0.17 standard deviations higher than students attending Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics schools, roughly equivalent to moving students from the 50th to the 57th percentile. The WWC rated the research described in this report as meeting WWC evidence standards, adding that the study was a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. |
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| Cover Date: | April 2011 |
| Web Release: | April 12, 2011 |
| Publication #: | WWC QREE0412 |
| Center/Program: | WWC |
| Associated Centers: | NCEE |
| Authors: | WWC |
| Type of Product: | Quick Review |
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For questions about the content of this Quick Review, please contact: NCES WebMaster. |