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2004 NSF K-12 Math, Science, and Technology Curriculum Developers Conference

TRI-STATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT STUDY:
ILLINOIS, MASSACHUSETTS & WASHINGTON

In 2000, the ARC Center at COMAP in Lexington, Massachusetts, received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to carry out a large-scale study of the effects of reform-based mathematics programs on student performance on state-mandated standardized tests in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Washington State. The study examined the performance of students using the three elementary programs developed with NSF funding and supported by the ARC Center, including Everyday Mathematics.

The results described in this poster focus exclusively on the Everyday Mathematics schools and students included in the study. The findings here are based on the records of over 78,000 students: 39,701 students who had studied with the Everyday Mathematics curricula for at least two years and 38,481 students from non-using comparison schools carefully matched by reading level, socioeconomic status, and other variables.

The results show that the average scores of students in the Everyday Mathematics schools are significantly higher than the average scores of students in their matched comparison schools. The results hold across the different state-mandated tests, and across topics ranging from computation, measurement, and geometry to algebra, problem solving, and making connections. The study compared the scores on all the topics tested at all the grade levels tested (Grades 3-5) in each of the three states. Of 34 comparisons across five state-grade combinations, 29 favor the Everyday Mathematics students, five show no statistically significant difference, and none favor the comparison students. The results also hold across all income and racial subgroups -- except for Hispanic students, where Everyday Mathematics students have higher (but not statistically significantly higher) average scores.

 

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. ESI-0352345). Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.