This study examines whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement in disadvantaged schools.1 A small number of curricula, which are based on different approaches for developing student math skills, dominate elementary math instruction—7 curricula make up 91 percent of those used by K–2 educators, according to a 2008 survey (Resnick et al. 2010). Little rigorous evidence exists to support one approach over another, however, which means that research does not provide educators with much useful information when choosing a math curriculum to use.
This study helps to fill that knowledge gap by examining the relative student achievement effects of four elementary school math curricula during the first year of implementation in the
first and second grades.
