The Impact of the Super Solvers Program on Third-Grade Student Understanding of Fractions

Not all education research is equal—the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) identifies high-quality studies and meaningful findings to inform educator decisions and improve student outcomes. This week, the WWC highlights two new study reviews of Super Solvers, adding to the evidence from more than 11,000 citations about what works in education.  Super Solvers is a supplemental math program designed to support third-grade students who need extra help solving fraction problems. Educators can use Super Solvers with individual students or small groups of students. Super Solvers includes instruction on multiplying fractions, solving fraction word problems, and understanding fraction magnitude. Super Solvers is adapted from Fraction Face-Off!, a supplemental math program with promising evidence of impact on understanding fractions in fourth grade, according to a WWC intervention report. Study One: Fuchs et al. (2020) study of Super Solvers  In this IES-funded study, trained tutors implemented Super Solvers with pairs of students identified as needing additional support in math based on a standardized screening. The tutors delivered the 35-minute Super Solvers lessons to small groups of students three times a week for 13 weeks. Students received Super Solvers in place of some usual math or other instructional time.  Study design: Fuchs and colleagues (2020) randomly assigned 90 third-grade students in eight schools to either participate in the Super Solvers program (60 students) or to continue with usual instruction (30 students). The study reported that students in both the intervention and comparison conditions received similar amounts of math instruction overall. Of the 60 students who received the Super Solvers program, half received the traditional program and the other half received Super Solvers with an additional focus on growth mindset and goal setting. Approximately half of the students in the study were male, 25% were English learners, and 11% had a disability. More than half (56%) of the students were Black, 8% were White, and 33% were Hispanic or Latino. More than half (55%) of the students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.  Study findings: Both versions of Super Solvers performed similarly and had positive effects on understanding fractions, including fraction magnitude, fraction number line placement, fraction word problems, fraction multiplication, and ordering of fractions. These findings were based on assessments of fraction knowledge developed by the study authors.  WWC study rating: This study meets WWC standards without reservations. Access the full study review here, in the WWC’s review of individual studies database. Effectiveness tier: The study meets Department of Education standards for Promising Evidence (Tier 3) because the study has favorable, statistically significant findings, meets WWC standards, and includes fewer than 350 students. See the video titled Using the WWC to Identify ESSA Evidence Ratings to learn more about these criteria. Study Two: Wang et al. (2019) study of Super Solvers  In this IES-funded study, tutors implemented Super Solvers with groups of two to four students identified as needing additional support in math based on a standardized screening. The tutors delivered the 35-minute Super Solvers lessons to small groups of students three times a week for 13 weeks. Study design: Wang and colleagues (2019) randomly assigned 50 third-grade students in six schools to either participate in the Super Solvers program (24 students) or to continue with usual instruction (26 students). Students in both the intervention and comparison conditions received similar amounts of math instruction overall. Approximately half of the students in the study were male, 11% of the students were English learners, and 10% had a disability. Nearly half (48%) of the students were Black, 17% were White, 4% were Asian, and 26% were Hispanic or Latino. Nearly all (96%) were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.  Study findings: Super Solvers had positive effects on student ability to solve fraction word problems and order fractions. These findings were based on assessments of fraction knowledge developed by the study authors. However, the program had no discernible effects on fraction number line placement, fraction multiplication, and general fraction knowledge.  WWC study rating: This study meets WWC standards without reservations. Access the full study review here, in the WWC’s review of individual studies database. Effectiveness tier: The study meets Department of Education standards for Promising Evidence (Tier 3) because the study has favorable, statistically significant findings, meets WWC standards, and includes fewer than 350 students. See the video titled Using the WWC to Identify ESSA Evidence Ratings to learn more about these criteria. IES Resources on Fraction Knowledge In addition to the Fraction Face-Off! intervention report, IES has other evidence-based resources on fractions instruction, such as the WWC Educator’s Practice Guide on Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for Kindergarten through 8th Grade. IES also provides tips for learning about fractions at home and an activity to support young learner understanding of fractions.