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"Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings for First and Second Graders," Roberto Agodini, Barbara Harris, Melissa Thomas, Robert Murphy, and Lawrence Gallagher, October 2010. This report, the second from the study, shows that the curriculum used by the study schools mattered during a first year of implementation. The four curricula examined include (1) Investigations in Number, Data, and Space (Investigations), (2) Math Expressions, (3) Saxon Math (Saxon), and (4) Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics (SFAW). Among first-graders, math achievement was significantly higher in schools assigned to Math Expressions than in schools assigned to Investigations and SFAW. Among second-graders, achievement was significantly higher in schools assigned to Math Expressions and Saxon than in schools assigned to SFAW. Read the release.

"NCEE Study Snapshot" (October 2010):

This snapshot summarizes the findings presented in the second study report. Consistent with the report, the snapshot shows that first- and second-grade math achievement differed among students in schools that were randomly assigned to use one of four curricula: (1) Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; (2) Math Expressions; (3) Saxon Math (Saxon); and (4) Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics (SFAW). Among first graders, the results favored Math Expressions over both Investigations and SFAW, but not over Saxon. Among second graders, the results favored Math Expressions and Saxon over SFAW, but not over Investigations.

“Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools.” Roberto Agodini, Barbara Harris, Sally Atkins-Burnett, Sheila Heaviside, Timothy Novak, and Robert Murphy, February 2009. Educators and policymakers have long debated which textbooks and their associated instructional approaches have the greatest impact on student learning in key subjects. Mathematica’s large-scale federal study of the effectiveness of four early math programs brings new clarity to what works in the early grades. The study, the largest of its kind ever to use an experimental design to study a variety of math curricula, includes a total of 110 schools. This report is based on the first cohort of 39 schools that began study participation during the 2006-2007 school year. Researchers found that achievement was significantly higher in schools assigned to Math Expressions and Saxon Math than in schools assigned to Investigations in Number, Data, and Space and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics. In addition, the better performing programs led to higher achievement for several student subgroups, including students in schools with low math scores and students in schools with high poverty levels.

"Design for the Evaluation of Early Elementary School Mathematics Curricula." Roberto Agodini, John Deke, Sally Atkins-Burnett, Barbara Harris, and Robert Murphy, January 2008. Many U.S. students enter elementary school with poor math skills. Students from different socioeconomic backgrounds also differ in math performance, with students from poor families lagging behind those from more affluent families. These differences grow over time, resulting in substantial differences in math achievement by the time students reach fourth grade. This report presents the evaluation design for Mathematica’s large-scale, national study that is comparing the effects of four early elementary math curricula on improving student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. Experimental methods are being used to evaluate the relative effects of the curricula, using a school-level random assignment design.

Future Reports

The study released a second impact report on the relative effects of the curricula in October 2010. The report examines first-year relative curriculum effects on first- and second-grade students who participated in the study during the 2006-2007 or 2007-2008 school years. A first impact report was released in 2009 that examined the relative effects of the curricula on the first-grade students who participated in the study during the 2006-2007 school year. A third report is planned that will present results for a subset of students and teachers who used each curriculum for more than one year. The third report is expected in Summer 2012.