Four early elementary math curricula evaluated: Investigations, Math Expressions, Saxon Math, and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 7 claims (7 for) · 4 studies (3 causal, 1 qualitative), q2–q3 · 0 of 4 report an effect size · 7 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The Evaluation of Mathematics Curricula project (time frame 2005-2013) examined four early elementary math programs. As the page lists them: "(1) Investigations in Number, Data, and Space (Investigations), (2) Math Expressions, (3) Saxon Math (Saxon), and (4) Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics (SFAW)." These four curricula are the treatments compared in the study's achievement findings for first and second graders.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Implemented in early elementary classrooms as the math curriculum used by study schools
• Schools must be assignable to one of the four curricula conditions in an experimental design, as in the federal Evaluation of Mathematics Curricula study.

Constraints¶

• Findings reported here apply to first graders in the first cohort of 39 schools during the 2006-2007 school year.

Target Learners¶

• First and second grade elementary students
• First-grade elementary school students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Early elementary mathematics achievement

Claims¶

• First-grade math achievement is significantly higher under Math Expressions and Saxon Math than under Investigations in Number, Data, and Space and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics [+W]
• A large-scale, rigorous study compared four elementary math curricula's effects on achievement across two years, first through second grade [+W]
• A large-scale experimental study compared the effects of the four mathematics curricula on student achievement [+W]
• The curriculum evaluation was the second report from a multi-year (2005-2013) IES-funded study of mathematics curricula [+W]
• The study examines whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving math achievement in schools serving a high percentage of disadvantaged students. [+W]
• The study is the largest experimental-design study of multiple math curricula, covering 110 schools with this report based on the first cohort of 39 schools [+M]
• The better-performing early math curricula raised achievement for several student subgroups, including students in low-scoring and high-poverty schools [+M]

Related Elements¶

• Evaluation of Mathematics Curricula project (2005–2013)
• Four elementary math curricula evaluated: Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics
• Four elementary math curricula compared in the study

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Agodini, R., Harris, B., Thomas, M., Murphy, R., & Gallagher, L. (2010). Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings for First and Second Graders. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee
• Agodini, R., Harris, B., Atkins-Burnett, S., Heaviside, S., Novak, T., & Murphy, R. (2009). Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/achievement-effects-of-four-early-elementary-school-math-curricula-findings-from-first-graders-in-39-schools