Building a Foundation for the Future: A Discussion on the Latest Research on Elementary School Math Curricula
According to recent research, many children in the United States begin school lacking strong mathematics skills. Often these deficits continue to grow, especially for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. These findings, and the need to educate students for 21st century jobs, highlight the importance of knowing how to effectively teach mathematics to our children in the early grades.
On May 12th, the Scientific Evidence in Education (SEE) Forums hosted an interactive discussion on the latest research on elementary school mathematics curricula. The forum highlighted the first-year findings of the Institute of Education Sciences’ large-scale study, Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula, which investigates the achievement results for first graders in 39 schools using four widely used elementary school math curricula: Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. The study showed initial positive effects for two of the curricula.
This raises a number of important questions that were addressed at the Forum, such as:
- Are there distinctive curricula/instructional factors that might explain the strong effects detected after one year from these gold standard studies? How does one interpret the differences between the two high performing curricula?
- What are the policy implications of findings such as these?
Read the Event Summary, which provides a concise description of what was discussed at the forum.
View the PowerPoint presentation, which offers an overview of the two presented studies.
Read the ResearchLink brief, which highlights the Institute of Education Sciences report.
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Becki Herman
SEE Forums Director and Managing Research Analyst
American Institutes for Research
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Roberto Agodini
Senior Economist, Study Director and Principal Investigator
Mathematical Policy Research, Inc.
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Mary Lindquist
Professor Emeritus, Columbus College, Columbus, Georgia
President, Education Trust
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