Four elementary math curricula compared in the study¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 6 claims (6 for) · 3 studies (3 causal), q2–q3 · 0 of 3 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The study compared four published elementary mathematics curricula, enumerated by the brief as "(1) Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; (2) Math Expressions; (3) Saxon Math; and (4) Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics". These four curricula constitute the treatments whose effects on grade 1-2 achievement the evaluation estimated over two years. The brief identifies them as the complete set of curricula under study.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Implemented in first- and second-grade classrooms as the study's assigned math curricula over two years
• Schools must adopt one of the four curricula for the comparison to apply as studied

Constraints¶

• Findings are reported for first-grade math in this evaluation

Target Learners¶

• first- and second-grade elementary students
• Elementary school students, specifically first graders

Target Learning Goals¶

• 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 [+M]
• After two years of implementation, three of four elementary math curricula outperformed the fourth on student achievement in grades 1–2 [+M]
• The better-performing early math curricula raised achievement for several student subgroups, including students in low-scoring and high-poverty schools [+M]
• 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]
• Math Expressions and Saxon Math raise first-grade math percentile rank 9 to 12 points more than Investigations and SFAW [+M]
• A large-scale, rigorous study compared four elementary math curricula's effects on achievement across two years, first through second grade [+W]

Related Elements¶

• Four elementary math curricula evaluated: Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics
• Four early elementary math curricula compared in the federal evaluation: Math Expressions, Saxon Math, Investigations in Number, Data, and Space, and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics
• NCEE technical appendix for the elementary math curricula evaluation, organized in six analytic sections
• Evaluation of Mathematics Curricula project (2005–2013)

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Agodini, Roberto; Harris, Barbara; Seftor, Neil; Remillard, Janine; Thomas, Melissa. (2013). After Two Years, Three Elementary Math Curricula Outperform a Fourth (Issue Brief). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/
• Roberto Agodini, Barbara Harris. (2010). An Experimental Evaluation of Four Elementary School Math Curricula. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, vol. 3, no. 3. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/an-experimental-evaluation-of-four-elementary-school-math-curricula