Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula—

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This study examines 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. The study compared end-of-year test scores on a nationally normed math assessment for first-graders and on a similar assessment for second-graders in schools randomly assigned to use one of the four curricula. For first-graders, the authors found no statistically significant differences in student math achievement among the curricula after adjusting results for multiple curricula comparisons within the same analysis. For second-graders, after taking multiple curricula comparisons into account, second-grade students attending Saxon Math schools scored higher than students attending Scott Foresman-Additon Wesley Mathematics schools. The difference was roughly equivalent to moving a student from the 50th to the 57th percentile in math achievement. The WWC rated the research described in this report as meets WWC evidence standards.