Synthesis of IES-Funded Research on

Mathematics: 2002–2013

Authors
Bethany Rittle-Johnson, Vanderbilt University
Nancy C. Jordan, University of Delaware

National Center for Education Research (NCER)

Meredith Larson (Project Officer)
Christina Chhin

National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)

Robert Ochsendorf, May 2014 –March 2016

July 2016

NCER 2016-2003
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
This paper was prepared for the National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education
Sciences under Contract ED-IES-12-D-0015. Meredith Larson was the project officer.

Disclaimer
The Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education contracted with Westat to
manage the development of a synthesis of IES-funded research on mathematics. Tamara Nimkoff
was the project manager. The views expressed in this report are those of its authors, and they do not
necessarily represent the opinions and positions of the Institute of Education Sciences or the U.S.
Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Education

John B. King, Jr., Secretary

Institute of Education Sciences

Ruth Neild, Deputy Director for Policy and Research, Delegated Duties of the Director

National Center for Education Research

Thomas W. Brock, Commissioner

National Center for Special Education Research

Joan McLaughlin, Commissioner

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted.
Although permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be:

Rittle-Johnson, B., and Jordan, N. C. (2016). Synthesis of IES-Funded Research on Mathematics:

2002–2013 (NCER 2016-2003) Washington, DC: National Center for Education Research, Institute
of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. This report is available on the Institute
website at http://ies.ed.gov/.

Alternate Formats
Upon request, this report is available in alternate formats such as Braille, large print, audiotape, or
computer diskette. For more information, please contact the Department’s Alternate Format Center
at 202-260-0852 or 202-260-0818.
Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest
The authors of research syntheses are individuals who are nationally recognized experts on the
topics that they are synthesizing. IES expects that such experts will be involved professionally in a
variety of matters that relate to their work as authors. Prior to engagement in the task, authors are
asked to disclose their professional involvements, and institute deliberative processes that encourage
critical examination in relation to the content of the research synthesis. Prior to publication, the
research synthesis is analyzed by independent external peer review with particular focus on whether
the evidence related to the conclusions in the research synthesis has been appropriately presented.

The professional engagements reported by each author that appear most closely associated with the
synthesis findings are noted below.

Dr. Nancy C. Jordan is Professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. Her
research expertise is in mathematical learning, especially children with learning difficulties and
disabilities. Dr. Jordan is currently developing a number sense screener for children from Pre-K
through first grade and a fraction intervention for struggling learners in middle school. She has
served as Principal Investigator for IES grants R324C1000004, R305A150545, and R305B130012.
Findings from one of these grants are reported in this research synthesis. No conflicts of interest are
present.

Dr. Bethany Rittle-Johnson is Professor in Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College
at Vanderbilt University. Her research expertise is in how children learn math. Dr. Rittle-Johnson is
currently exploring the relations between early math knowledge, such as pattern knowledge, and
later mathematics development. She has served as co-Principal Investigator or Investigator for IES
grants R305H050179, R305B080008 and R305A140126. Findings from one of these grants are
reported in this research synthesis. No conflicts of interest are present.
 Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................................ v
Improving Mathematics Learning .................................................................. v
Whole Numbers, Operations, and Word Problem Solving
in Elementary School ......................................................... v
Fractions and Algebra in the Middle Grades ................................. vi
Development and Evaluation of Teacher Professional
Development Approaches ............................................................... vii
Summary ......................................................................................................... viii
Synthesis Context: Why Research on Mathematics Learning Is Needed....................... 1
The Writing of This Synthesis ........................................................................ 2
Improving Mathematics Learning ........................................................................................ 6
Whole Numbers, Operations, and Word Problem Solving in
Elementary School .............................................................................. 6
Fractions and Algebra in the Middle Grades.............................................. 15
Development and Evaluation of Teacher Professional Development
Approaches ...................................................................................................... 28
Future Directions ................................................................................................................. 31
References and Project Publications.................................................................................. 32

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 Executive Summary
Proficiency in mathematics is critical to academic, economic, and life success. Greater mathematics
knowledge is related to college completion, higher earnings, and better health decisions (Adelman
2006). However, international and national assessment data indicate that U.S. mathematics education
is not as effective as it needs to be (Programme for International Student Assessment [PISA]), 1
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2 and National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP). 3 To address this national need to improve mathematics education,
the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) funded almost 200 grants on mathematics learning and
teaching between 2002 and 2013 through its National Center for Education Research (NCER) and
National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). 4 These projects have focused on
developing and evaluating instructional strategies and materials for improving mathematics learning,
and approaches to teacher professional development. For this document, the authors synthesized
peer-reviewed publications that were products of IES-funded research projects that focused on
mathematics teaching and learning for students in kindergarten through high school. This executive
summary highlights the primary findings.

Improving Mathematics Learning

IES has funded numerous grants to develop and test instructional strategies and instructional
materials for improving students’ mathematics learning. This research has focused on a variety of
mathematics topics, ranging from basic numeracy to algebra, and includes research on students in
general education settings as well as students with or at risk for learning difficulties and disabilities.
Results of IES-funded research for improving mathematics learning are organized into two sections
based on mathematics topics and grade level: (1) Whole Numbers, Operations, and Word Problem
Solving in Elementary School, and (2) Fractions and Algebra in Middle School.

Whole Numbers, Operations, and Word Problem Solving in Elementary School

IES-funded research has made the following contributions.
Contribution 1. Measures emphasizing number, number relations, and number operations reliably
identify students who are at risk for mathematics difficulties or disabilities.

Contribution 2. Early number competencies are malleable and can be taught successfully to
students with and without mathematics difficulties through targeted and conceptually driven
instruction.

1 http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm
2 http://nces.ed.gov/TIMSS/results11_math11.asp
3 http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cnc.asp

4 NCSER first began funding research in 2006.

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Contribution 3. Incorporating activities with number lines reveals and supports students’
knowledge of whole numbers.

Contribution 4. Working memory capacity and computational fluency predict word problem-
solving accuracy in the early grades.

Contribution 5. Training in how to use learning strategies improves word problem-solving skills in
at-risk learners, although response to training may vary according to a student’s working memory
capacity.

Contribution 6. Dynamic assessments involving teacher-student interaction may improve

assessment accuracy and instruction for students at risk for mathematics difficulties.

Contribution 7. In contrast to popular belief, building blocks, “play money,” and other
manipulatives sometimes have limited value in teaching elementary school mathematics.
Manipulatives and materials that have minimal visual distractions can be more effective than ones
that are more realistic or complex.

Contribution 8. Improving students’ general reasoning skills may also improve their ability to learn
mathematics.

Contribution 9. Simple changes in the formatting of arithmetic problems can help improve
students’ understanding of the equal sign.

Contribution 10. A supplemental mathematics curriculum that integrates the knowledge, skills, and
teaching approaches used by Alaska Native people improves Alaskan students’ mathematics
knowledge.

Fractions and Algebra in the Middle Grades

IES-funded research has made the following contributions:
Contribution 11. A constellation of processes influences fraction learning, including numerical
magnitude understanding, arithmetic fluency, attention, memory, and verbal skills.

Contribution 12. Students with and without mathematics difficulties make greater gains when
mathematics instruction emphasizes fractions as magnitudes that can be represented on a number
line.

Contribution 13. Adolescents with mathematics difficulties benefit from fractions instruction that
builds fractions skills and concepts alongside problems anchored in everyday contexts.

Contribution 14. Practice problems should be interleaved so that problems of different types are
mixed together rather than grouped together by problem type.

Contribution 15. Comparing multiple ways to solve problems improves student learning, and
teachers can help students make effective comparisons.

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Contribution 16. Critiquing common incorrect solutions improves student learning.

Contribution 17. Promoting fluency in mapping between different representations of mathematical

ideas such as matching a word problem to an appropriate number sentence improves students’
learning.

Contribution 18. Producing physical movements and gestures may improve students’ mathematical
learning.

Contribution 19. Teaching students cognitive strategies for solving word problems, such as
categorizing, supports their word problem-solving success more than typical classroom instruction.

Contribution 20. Using computer-based interim assessments provides teachers with diagnostic
information and can improve students’ mathematics achievement.

Contribution 21. Computer-based tutoring systems can allow for individualized mathematics
instruction and have the potential to help students learn mathematics. Systems ranging from a year-
long integrated algebra I curriculum to an online assignment system improve students’ mathematics
learning, although some tutoring systems for raising state test scores among low-income students
have shown less promise.

Contribution 22. Using technology to support student collaboration may improve students’
learning.

Contribution 23. Improved synthetic speech shows potential to make algebra more accessible for
students with visual impairments.

Contribution 24. Increasing instructional time in algebra I for low-performing ninth-grade students
can improve their course grades and test scores, but mandating algebra I by ninth grade may not
improve test scores or college attendance.

Development and Evaluation of Teacher Professional Development

Approaches
Improving student achievement requires changes in teaching practices. Most schools require
teachers to attend professional development, and there are countless mathematics teacher
professional development programs on the market. However, in a review of teacher professional
development programs targeted at improving K–12 mathematics instruction, only two programs
were identified that had rigorous evidence for improving student mathematics outcomes (Gersten et
al. 2014). In response to the need for evidence-based teacher professional development programs,
IES has funded the development and evaluation of several teacher professional development
programs focused on mathematics teaching and learning.

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IES-funded research has made the following contributions:

Contribution 25. Teacher professional development that helps elementary school teachers build on
a previous Pre-K mathematics intervention can boost the long-term effectiveness of the Pre-K
intervention.

Contribution 26. Teacher professional development using a Lesson Study approach and targeting
specific mathematics content can improve teachers’ knowledge and lead to improvements in
students’ learning of fractions.

Contribution 27. Teacher professional development that helps teachers create a supportive and safe
environment for learning can improve the quality of third-grade mathematics instruction, although it
does not directly improve end-of-year state test scores.

Contribution 28. Insufficient support from principals and insufficient teacher knowledge are
potential barriers to effective teacher professional development.

Summary
The first 11 years of IES-funded research has greatly extended our knowledge about how students
learn mathematics and how to improve mathematics outcomes for all students. The research
informs decisionmaking in schools in ways that were not considered before the inception of IES.
With IES funding, researchers have developed and evaluated effective instructional strategies and
materials for teaching all students and specialized interventions for those who are struggling. It has
also supported development and evaluation of teacher professional development that is necessary
for teachers to improve their integration of more effective instructional strategies and materials.
Innovative efforts to translate findings from the education sciences into effective classroom practice
must continue through rigorous research in the schools and other educational environments.

viii
 Synthesis Context: Why Research on Mathematics
Learning Is Needed
Proficiency in mathematics promotes academic, economic, and life success. Academically, the
level of mathematics a student completes is a strong predictor of entering college and earning a
bachelor’s degree (Adelman 2006). Economically, annual income is 65 percent higher among
adults who have taken calculus in high school than among adults who have completed only
basic mathematics (Altonji, Blom, and Meghir 2012; Rose and Betts 2001). Further,
mathematics knowledge at age 7 is a stronger predictor of socioeconomic status (SES) in
adulthood than is childhood SES, over and above the effects of IQ, reading achievement, and
intelligence (Ritchie and Bates 2013). In part, these trends arise because many careers in
promising, well-paying jobs require advanced mathematics for job success. Outside of
economic success, mathematics knowledge affects the quality of daily life. For example, many
people have insufficient mathematics knowledge to make appropriate health decisions, such as
taking appropriate drug dosages and understanding risks and benefits of screenings and
treatment (Reyna et al. 2009).

National and international assessments point to the need to improve mathematics education in
the United States. In 2015, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—known
as “the nation’s report card”—found that just 40 percent of fourth-graders and 33 percent of
eighth-graders performed at or above proficiency. 5 The goal is for all students to reach
proficiency, which is “demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter.” On the 2012
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), 15-year-old students in the United
States performed below average in mathematics relative to the majority of developed countries,
with no significant change in average performance over the past 12 years. 6 About a quarter of
U.S. students did not reach proficiency in mathematics, with students from lower
socioeconomic backgrounds being particularly likely to perform poorly. Similarly, on the 2011
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), fourth-grade and eighth-grade
students from the U.S. performed significantly worse than students from several other
countries, particularly Asian countries. 7 The gap is particularly pronounced among the highest
achieving students; over 45 percent of eighth-grade students in Singapore and Korea performed
at the advanced level, compared to only 7 percent of students in the United States. Data from
the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) show a
similar stark picture, with U.S. adults ages 16 to 65 seriously underperforming relative to their
peers in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries
(Rampey et al. 2016). Mathematics knowledge begins to develop at a young age, and

5 http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cnc.asp
6 http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm
7 http://nces.ed.gov/TIMSS/results11_math11.asp

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mathematical competencies in kindergarten predict mathematics achievement through
elementary, middle, and high school (Claessens, Duncan, and Engle 2009; Duncan et al. 2007;
Watts et al. 2014). National data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study show that
students who exit kindergarten below the 10th percentile in mathematics have a 70 percent
chance of staying below the 10th percentile in fifth grade (Morgan, Farkas, and Wu 2009).
Among low achievers, those most at risk are kindergartners who are low SES, female, African
American and/or have learning-related behavior problems (Morgan, Farkas, and Maczuga
2011). Other IES-funded research suggests that boys have an advantage over girls in
mathematics performance starting toward the end of kindergarten and widening in subsequent
elementary grades (Lubienski et al. 2013; Robinson and Lubienski 2011). Gaps in mathematics
achievement among different racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and language groups are substantial
and persistent, with students who are living in poverty, learning English as a second language,
or are Black or Hispanic having substantially lower mathematics performance. 8 Further, about
13 percent of all public school students receive special education services, a third of them
because of a specific learning disability. 9

These findings highlight the urgency of improving early mathematics education in the United
States.

The Writing of This Synthesis

As part of IES’s assessment of its work, it asks groups of eminent scholars to review peer-
reviewed journal articles and book chapters that are products of IES-funded research in a
specific area (e.g., reading, early childhood, mathematics). The task for each group of scholars is
to synthesize what the field has learned from IES-funded research on the topic, and summarize
the results for a general audience that includes policymakers and other stakeholders. The
syntheses are not intended to be typical research reviews, which provide a grand overview of
research in a field. Nor are they intended to be What Works Clearinghouse reviews. Rather, the
task is to look across the research projects that IES has funded to determine what has been
learned and where empirical and theoretical progress has been made as a result of IES funding,
and provide suggestions for further research in order to improve education in our country.

Topics for IES syntheses are determined by IES staff members who review the overall research
portfolio to identify topics with multiple projects that have been completed, from which peer-
reviewed articles and book chapters have already been published. Nationally recognized
researchers in the topic area are selected to co-author the research synthesis. IES identifies the
research projects that are relevant to the topic, and its contractor gathers the peer-reviewed
journal articles and book chapters that were produced under these projects relevant to the topic

8 http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_222.10.asp
9 http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp

2
being reviewed. IES and its contractors consult with project directors and principal
investigators when appropriate in order to ascertain the relevance of the funded project to the
topic of the synthesis and confirm that all peer-reviewed articles emerging from these projects
are included. The authors meet several times with IES staff, either in person or via conference
calls, to discuss the focus of the synthesis and identify organizing questions or themes.

The authors are given a relatively short deadline of 4 to 6 months to produce a draft document.
Under the broad question of what has been learned from IES-supported research, the authors
review the published research and organize the synthesis under topics or questions that reflect
the work that has been published. The authors may also include non-IES research in the
synthesis to provide the background or context for the IES-sponsored research or to describe
the work on which IES research builds. The authors interact with and receive feedback from
IES staff during the development of the research synthesis. However, the authors are
responsible for the final product. They use their collective expertise to determine the foci of the
written report, and the synthesis reflects the authors’ expert judgment as to the strength of the
evidence presented in the published work and the contribution of the reviewed articles and
book chapters to the synthesis topic.

Before the research synthesis can be published, it is subjected to rigorous external peer review
through the IES Standards and Review Office, which is responsible for independent review of
IES publications. The authors then respond to the peer-reviewer comments and make
appropriate revisions.

The focus of the present synthesis reflects the research on programs, practices, and policies
intended to improve mathematics outcomes funded through IES’s National Center for
Education Research (NCER) and National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER).
Unlike other syntheses that used a Technical Working Group to define the topics to be
addressed in the document, the authors of the mathematics synthesis, who have great expertise
in their field, determined the focus areas with input from IES. In reading this synthesis, readers
should remember that it is not intended to be an overview of all existing research on
mathematics education. The authors were asked to review those published articles or book
chapters that had emerged from projects funded by IES through NCER (U.S. Department of
Education 2013) and NCSER (U.S. Department of Education 2012). Specifically, they were
asked to review articles from peer-reviewed journals and book chapters from funded projects
that were published from January 1, 2002, to June 30, 2014. Thus, there is a great deal of
ongoing research that is not represented in this synthesis because some grants are not yet at the
stage in the research process where findings are in and summarized for publication. Note also
that reports of IES-funded research that have not been subjected to the peer-review process in
publication are not included in this review. Given that authors were asked to review only those
peer-reviewed articles and book chapters that emerged from NCER- and NCSER-funded

3
projects available at the time this synthesis was written, there likely are peer-reviewed articles or
book chapters emerging from ongoing NCER- and NCSER-funded research relevant to the
synthesis topic.

To help address this national need to improve mathematics education, IES has funded almost
200 research grants on mathematics learning and teaching between 2002 and 2013 through
NCER and NCSER. This research has identified instructional strategies, practices, and materials
for helping students learn mathematics, and developed approaches to teacher professional
development for improving mathematics teaching.

The authors concentrated on mathematics learning and teaching from kindergarten to grade
12, 10 as mathematics teaching and learning in preschool were covered in a previous IES
Synthesis report (Diamond, Justice, Siegler, and Snyder 2013). Approximately 80 of the K–12
mathematics learning and teaching grants funded by IES had peer-reviewed publications
(journal articles, conference proceedings, and chapters) between January 1, 2002, and June 30,
2014, which were products of these projects. 11 These included publications that were in press as
of June 30, 2014. Grants that did not have findings for publication at the time of review were
not included in this synthesis.

The authors obtained an initial list of publications from the NCER Publication Handbook (2013)
and the NCSER Research Programs and Funded Projects: 2005-2012 publication list. The contractor
contacted principal investigators of all the grants to identify newer publications that had not
been included in the IES reports. The authors reviewed all publications. In forming the
synthesized contributions, the authors focused on publications that reported students’
mathematics knowledge as an outcome, and the evidence needed to support a contribution
generally had to consist of more than one publication from one grant. Thus, the report is not a
general synthesis of research in the field, but rather what has been learned to date through
review of peer-reviewed publications of 69 IES-funded grants on the topic.

The authors included research that used a range of methods—from longitudinal studies looking
at the predictors of mathematics achievement, to one-on-one assessment and intervention
studies, to large randomized-control trials of instructional materials. Readers should keep in
mind that if an instructional technique or student characteristic is correlated with current
mathematics knowledge or predictive of future mathematics knowledge, this does not mean the
relation is causal; other, unmeasured variables may account for the relationship. Experimental
research that involves the random assignment of students to instructional condition and
appropriate controls can be used to support a causal link from the instructional condition to

10High school was not excluded from consideration in the development of this synthesis. However, no peer-
reviewed research beyond the ninth grade was identified.
11 NCSER first began funding research in 2006.

4
improved mathematics knowledge. However, when experimental evidence is provided, it does
not mean that every student benefited from the instructional approach, but rather, students on
average benefited. An instructional approach is rarely effective for every single student.

The synthesis is broken into two sections. The first section focuses on improving mathematics
learning for students in elementary school and in the middle grades. It includes development
and evaluation of assessments, instructional strategies, and instructional materials. The second
section focuses on the development and evaluation of teacher professional development
approaches.

5
 Improving Mathematics Learning
Teachers are faced with myriad choices for how to teach their students mathematics. Does using
concrete materials to illustrate the problem help? What is the best way to organize practice
problems? How can technology be used to support learning? Rather than basing teaching on
intuitions, past experience, or the latest fad, research is needed to identify more and less effective
instructional strategies. IES has funded numerous grants to develop and test instructional strategies
and instructional materials for improving students’ mathematics learning. Results of IES-funded
research are organized into two sections based on mathematics topics and general grade levels: (a)
whole numbers, operations, and basic problem solving in elementary school, and (b) fractions and
algebra in the middle grades. This synthesis includes research on students in general education
settings as well as students with or at risk for learning difficulties and disabilities.

Whole Numbers, Operations, and Word Problem Solving in

Elementary School
Contribution 1. Measures emphasizing number, number relations, and number operations
reliably identify students who are at risk for mathematics difficulties or disabilities.

Teachers need measures that accurately predict which students will have trouble learning
mathematics so that they can provide effective support and early intervention for kindergarten and
first-grade students. Much of the mathematics research in early screening and prevention focuses on
the concept of number sense, which includes core knowledge of whole numbers, number relations,
and number operations. Weaknesses in number sense characterize many students with mathematics
difficulties and most with diagnosed mathematics learning disabilities (Jordan, Fuchs, and Dyson
2015).

IES-funded projects developed and demonstrated the usefulness of measures for teachers to
document kindergarten and first-grade students’ numerical proficiency. Clarke, Chard, and
colleagues developed a set of measures to screen kindergartners and first-graders who may be at risk
for developing mathematics difficulties (e.g., Chard et al. 2005). Four measures at the beginning of
kindergarten successfully predicted performance on a standardized mathematics achievement test at
the end of the year: oral counting, number identification, quantity comparison (e.g., name the larger
of two numerals), and finding a missing number in a sequence (e.g., 4, __, 6). Similarly, Ginsburg,
Lemke, and colleagues (Hampton et al. 2012; Lee et al. 2012) and Fuchs and colleagues (Seethhaler
and Fuchs 2011) developed measures of number knowledge that effectively identified students who
will need special help in mathematics.

6
Contribution 2. Early number competencies are malleable and can be taught successfully to
students with and without mathematics difficulties through targeted and conceptually
driven instruction.

A growing body of IES-funded research shows that number sense competencies can be boosted in
at-risk kindergartners and first-graders as well as in older students with moderate to severe learning
disabilities. Clarke, Chard and colleagues (Chard et al. 2008) developed a kindergarten mathematics
curriculum, Early Learning in Mathematics (ELM), aimed at providing high-quality instruction in
general education settings. They designed ELM to build students’ number sense and prevent future
learning difficulties in mathematics. ELM promotes mathematics learning in students who are on
track, and also reduces the gap between at-risk students and those with no identified risk. Each 30-
minute lesson, carried out in a general classroom setting, provides instruction to all students in
numbers and operations, geometry, measurement, and vocabulary. ELM incorporates instructional
principles, such as explicit instruction, use of mathematics models to build conceptual
understanding, and multiple and varied practice and review activities. In an initial quasi-experiment
(a study design in which groups are created in a process that is not random) (Chard et al. 2008),
students who received the ELM curriculum showed better mathematics achievement than those
who received business-as-usual instruction, and the program received high marks from teachers. A
follow-up experiment (Clarke et al. 2011) revealed that the mathematics achievement gains of ELM
students who were identified as at risk for mathematics difficulties were greater than the gains of
ELM students with no identified risks. The reader is reminded that these findings, as is true of all
experimental findings, indicate that children on average benefited from the intervention, but it does
not mean that every child benefited from the instructional approach.

Building on the whole class ELM kindergarten program, Clarke and colleagues (2014) conducted an
experimental study of the efficacy of ROOTS, a specialized kindergarten intervention that focuses on
developing understanding of whole number concepts and computational procedures, with IES
funding. At-risk students who received the ROOTS program made more gains on mathematics
achievement assessments than a group of at-risk peers who did not receive the program. Moreover,
the ROOTS students made more achievement gains during the course of the study than a group of
typically-achieving peers, thus reducing the mathematics achievement gap.

Also with IES funding, Baroody and colleagues (2012) developed a 9-month training program to
help kindergartners learn simple arithmetic combinations. The researchers showed that number fact
fluency is built most effectively through understanding of number relations and principles rather
than by rote memorization (Baroody, Bajwa, and Eiland 2009; Baroody, Feil, and Johnson 2007).
Participating kindergartners all had low performance on a standardized mathematics achievement
test and were not fluent with even the most basic addition combinations. The program helped
students learn simple calculation rules. For example, they learned the number-after rule, where
adding one always leads to the next number in the counting sequence (Baroody et al. 2012). The
experimental study found that students who were taught calculation principles performed better

7
than students who received business-as-usual instruction, both on practiced and new addition
combinations as well as on a more general mathematics achievement test. Learning basic
mathematics rules helped at-risk learners attain fluency with simple combinations and helped them
connect informal knowledge (e.g., knowledge of the count sequence) to formal arithmetic problems.
Reasoning strategies become automatic over time and provide a meaningful foundation for learning
number facts.

Bryant and colleagues showed the effectiveness of specialized interventions for first-graders with
mathematics difficulties (Bryant et al. 2011). Like Chard, Clarke, and colleagues, the team developed
an intervention to build number concepts and skills. For example, students solved problems with
visual representations of number lines (see also Contribution 3) and were taught specific strategies,
such as counting onward from a number to solve an addition combination. In an IES-funded
experimental study, students who used these activities performed better than students who did not
on a mathematics computation measure, but not on solving applied mathematics problems.
Importantly, the program reduced the percentage of students who needed more intensive assistance
requiring special education services.

IES-funded research also evaluated Math Recovery, an existing one-on-one tutoring program focused
on numeracy for low-performing first-grade students. Certified teachers who have received at least
60 hours of professional development so they can continuously assess students’ current thinking and
engage them in tasks to advance in each of six aspects of arithmetical knowledge provide the
tutoring. Students receive four to five 30-minute one-on-one tutoring sessions each week for
approximately 12 weeks. In an experimental study, struggling students who had received tutoring did
substantially better on a diagnostic measure tied to the tutoring intervention, and moderately better
on standardized mathematics measures, than students who had not received tutoring (Smith et al.
2013). Tutoring was particularly effective for students who had the most to learn. However, a year
later, no effects of tutoring were found on any measure. This study highlights that gains children
make during targeted interventions may not persist over time after the intervention ends.

Browder and colleagues (2012) developed a specialized curriculum for older special education
students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities with IES funding. Their conceptual model
contained four active elements: target early numeracy skills related to number and operations, use
systematic prompting and feedback, vary instruction with story-based lessons, and provide
embedded instruction in general mathematics classes. Third- through fifth-graders with intellectual
disabilities made gains with this approach, and they even applied the skills to other types of
problems. These basic skills can be used to help students with disabilities learn relevant grade-level
content, such as finding areas; dividing sets; or gathering, recording, and interpreting data as well as
improve their daily lives (Saunders et al. 2013).

8
Contribution 3. Incorporating activities with number lines reveals and supports students’
knowledge of whole numbers.

Number sense includes a good understanding of the magnitude of numbers (e.g., understanding of
the magnitude of symbolic numbers such as 8 and 85). The magnitude of numbers can be
represented as spatial positions on a physical number line, with small numbers on the left and larger
ones on the right. Physical number lines capitalize on evidence that both students and adults
represent the magnitude of numbers on a mental number line (e.g., Case and Okamoto 1996).

How precisely students represent numerical magnitude, as revealed by their number line estimation
accuracy, is foundational to mathematics learning. First, Siegler and colleagues’ IES-funded research
has shown that students’ accuracy at placing numbers on a number line is closely related to their
mathematics proficiency on a range of measures, including standardized achievement tests (Booth
and Siegler 2006, 2008). Second, their experimental research indicates that improving students’
accuracy in placing whole numbers on number lines improves their counting, numeral identification,
and learning of simple arithmetic in preschool (Ramani and Siegler 2008, 2011; Ramani, Siegler, and
Hitti 2012; Siegler and Ramani 2009) and their arithmetic learning in first grade (Booth and Siegler
2008) as compared to students who did a variety of activities not designed to improve their
magnitude understanding.

Siegler and colleagues identified an effective way to improve students’ understanding of number
magnitudes: playing games that involve numbers in a linear order, such as Chutes and Ladders (Laski
and Siegler 2014; Ramani and Siegler 2008; Ramani, Siegler, and Hitti 2012; Siegler and Ramani
2009). In these studies, kindergarten or preschool students who were randomly assigned to play the
games over several days had better number sense than students who did other mathematics
activities. When students play these games, it is useful for adults to guide their attention to numerical
magnitude. For example, adults should have students count on from their current space (e.g., if
advancing two spaces from 11, counting 12–13, not 1–2), so they are practicing with the full range
of numbers (Laski and Siegler 2014). Having a real-world context, such as a race course, also
supported number line estimation accuracy compared to not providing a real world context (Saxe et
al. 2013). Digital games that incorporate number line activities to support whole number knowledge
have also been developed with IES funding (Ginsburg, Jamalian, and Creighan 2013; Ginsburg et al.
2015).

Contribution 4. Working memory capacity and computational fluency predict word

problem-solving accuracy in the early grades.

Consider the following word problem: “Bart and Melissa are making cupcakes for a school
fundraiser. Melissa’s recipe calls for 3 more tablespoons of flour than does Bart’s recipe. If Bart’s
recipe calls for 5 tablespoons of flour how many tablespoons of flour are in Melissa’s recipe?” The
capacity to attend to the information, hold it in short-term memory, process its meaning, and

9
perform a numerical operation, facilitates word problem-solving accuracy (Swanson and Beebe-
Frankenberger 2004).

In their IES-funded work, Swanson and colleagues (e.g., Swanson 2011; Swanson, Jerman, and
Zheng 2008, 2009; Swanson, Kehler, and Jerman 2010; Zheng, Swanson, and Marcoulides 2011)
examined the influence of “working memory” 12 in solving math word problems in students from
first through third grades in correlational studies. As students grew in their working memory
capacity, they also became more effective at solving word problems. Strong arithmetic computation
skills seemed to help students compensate for working memory weaknesses, suggesting that both
skill fluency and working memory contribute to word problem-solving proficiency in mathematics.
If a child can compute quickly with little effort, the burden on working memory can be reduced for
solving word problems.

Contribution 5. Training in how to use learning strategies improves word problem-solving

skills in at-risk learners, although response to training may vary according to a student’s
working memory capacity.

A student’s response to training in word problem-solving strategies depends on his or her working
memory capacity (Swanson 2014). In an IES-funded experimental study, students identified as at
risk for mathematics difficulties were randomly assigned to one of three strategy training groups or
to a fourth group that did not receive any training. In the verbal strategy group, teachers taught
students to find the question in a word problem, underline it, circle key words, and cross out
irrelevant information. In the visual strategy group, teachers taught students to use visual diagrams
to represent the word problems. Finally, in the combined verbal and visual strategy group, teachers
taught students to use the verbal steps as well as visual diagrams. Overall, the findings showed that a
student’s level of working memory skill moderated the effectiveness of the cognitive strategy
training. At-risk students with better working memory capacity benefited more from all of the
strategy training approaches than did at-risk students with lower memory capacity. The most
beneficial condition for the relatively high working-memory children was the one that emphasized
only visual strategies. Surprisingly, cognitive strategy training actually decreased word problem-
solving accuracy in children with lower working memory, challenging the assumption that strategy
training helps at-risk children compensate for working memory deficits. This study, along with other
related IES-funded studies from the research team (e.g., Swanson, Lussier, and Orosco 2013;
Swanson et al. 2014; Swanson, Orosco, and Lussier 2014), suggests that not all students with or at
risk for mathematics disabilities benefit from word-problem strategy training in mathematics.
Limited working memory capacity seems to be a major barrier to the effectiveness of word problem-
solving interventions, a finding also supported by Fuchs et al. (2014; see Contribution 12).

12 Working memory capacity refers to the amount of information individuals can hold and use in short-term memory.

10
Contribution 6. Dynamic assessments involving teacher-student interaction may improve
assessment accuracy and instruction for students at risk for mathematics difficulties.

Dynamic assessment examines the amount of teacher support needed to learn unfamiliar or new
mathematics topics, and thus has direct relevance to instructional planning. Dynamic measures
contrast with conventional measures wherein students must respond without help (Tzuriel 2001). In
IES-funded research, Fuchs and colleagues (Seethaler et al. 2012) tested the dynamic approach for
predicting first-grade achievement in calculation and word problems. At the beginning of first grade,
teachers assessed students with a dynamic tool that provided support for learning new mathematics
topics, along with traditional or static mathematics and cognitive measures. The dynamic assessment
significantly predicted students’ performance at the end of the year on calculations, and especially on
word problems, over and above the traditional measures. The findings suggest that the most
effective assessments not only examine students’ level of performance but also the amount and type
of scaffolding needed to learn new concepts and skills.

In other IES-funded work, Swanson’s team developed dynamic strategic mathematics (DSM) to
help Latino English Learners (ELs) develop word problem-solving proficiency (Orosco et al. 2011).
ELs may struggle in reading and language as well as in mathematics, and thus represent a high-risk
population. They based the approach on the principle that instructional feedback can change a
student’s behavior; that is, a child can move from weak to better performance when the teacher
modifies the tasks to provide clarity. DSM uses a variety of instructional techniques to move ELs
progressively to stronger understanding of word problems. These techniques include helping
students find the question and key words and numbers, set up the problem, solve the problem, and
check for accuracy. In an IES-funded experimental study that used a single-subject design, the DSM
strategy improved all students’ performance on increasingly challenging word problems, and the
improvements were maintained over time. The students practiced the formal language of
mathematics word problems and used their English skills to solve the problems successfully.

Contribution 7. In contrast to popular belief, building blocks, “play money,” and other
manipulatives sometimes have limited value in teaching elementary school mathematics.
Manipulatives and materials that have minimal visual distractions can be more effective
than ones that are more realistic or complex.

Educators often use concrete manipulatives (e.g., blocks, tiles, figurines, play money), as tools to
help students learn mathematics. For example, nationally, over 90 percent of kindergarten teachers
reported using manipulatives for mathematics instruction (Bottia et al. 2014). Indeed, a recent meta-
analysis indicates that instruction that incorporates concrete manipulatives can aid student learning
better than instruction using only abstract math symbols (Carbonneau, Marley, and Selig 2013).
However, they identified multiple studies that reported negative effects of instruction with concrete
manipulatives. Echoing this concern, several IES-funded research projects suggest that teaching with
concrete materials may not always promote mathematics achievement, and suggest ways that
concrete materials can be chosen and used more effectively. How often teachers report using

11
manipulatives is not related to mathematics achievement in kindergarten or first grade for most
students (Bottia et al. 2014). Similarly, Morgan, Farkas, and Maczuga (2015) found that the reported
frequency of using manipulatives in first grade was not related to mathematics achievement gains.
The IES-funded studies were correlational and provide no information on how manipulatives were
chosen or used. However, the research does suggest that current uses of manipulatives in instruction
may not always aid mathematics learning.

IES-funded experimental research highlights the difficulty students have transferring skills they learn
with manipulatives to solve problems without manipulatives (as is typical on tests). Uttal and
colleagues investigated the effectiveness of using commercially available manipulatives (Digi-Blocks)
to teach multidigit subtraction compared to using only written numerals (Uttal et al. 2013). The
teaching approach included using written symbols to represent the actions taken with the Digi-
Blocks. Although the rising second-grade students learned to solve subtraction problems using the
manipulatives over a 2-day lesson, this skill did not transfer to solving written problems without
manipulatives.

Experimental research also highlights features of manipulatives and other materials that can reduce
their effectiveness. In particular, more realistic and visually complex materials may draw students’
attention to the materials themselves rather than to the abstract numerical concepts they represent
(Kaminski, Sloutsky, and Heckler 2008, 2009a, 2009b; McNeil and Jarvin 2007; McNeil and Uttal
2009). In support of this claim, IES-funded research by McNeil, Uttal and colleagues (2009) found
that fourth- through sixth-grade students made more errors when solving word problems involving
money if they were given realistic bills and coins to help them solve the problems compared to no
money or “bland” bills and coins that had only the monetary value written on them. Accuracy was
similar when given bland money or no money, suggesting that it was not the presence of
manipulatives per se that hindered performance but rather that the realistic bills drew students’
attention away from the abstract concepts. Similarly, Kaminski and Sloutsky (2013) found that
kindergarten and first-grade students learned to read bar graphs better if the learning materials were
shaded bars rather than bars that included discrete countable objects in their IES-funded research.
When using the more concrete learning materials with discrete countable objects, students learned
strategies that they could not apply to typical bar graphs that do not include discrete objects. In this
study, there were no manipulatives; rather, the printed learning materials varied in how realistic and
visually complex they were, suggesting a general principle not specific to physical manipulatives.
Overall, extraneous information in concrete examples may distract the learner from the relevant
mathematical structure, reducing transfer to new examples (Kaminski, Sloutsky, and Heckler 2008,
2009a). Using manipulatives and materials that have minimal visual distractions seems to help
students focus on more general, abstract ideas that are central to the mathematics.

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Contribution 8. Improving students’ general reasoning skills may also improve their ability
to learn mathematics.

Young students typically develop a range of reasoning skills that should support mathematical
thinking, such as identifying patterns, recognizing similarities and differences, and reasoning about
spatial relations. However, some students lag behind their peers in developing reasoning skills
(Rittle-Johnson et al. 2013; Verdine et al. 2014).

Through IES-funded research, Pasnak, Kidd, and colleagues have tested approaches for improving
students’ general reasoning skills, with the goal of improving how much students learn from their
regular mathematics instruction. For example, they predicted that identifying patterns (i.e.,
predictable sequences) was an important skill to have in order to learn from the first-grade math
curriculum. Although many students develop pattern knowledge without targeted instruction, some
know substantially less about patterns than their peers. In two IES-funded experimental studies,
first-grade students with limited patterning skills were randomly assigned to learn about patterns,
numeracy (e.g., counting, adding), reading, or social studies (Kidd et al. 2013, 2014). Students who
received pattern instruction for 6 months performed as well or better on several standardized
mathematics assessments relative to students who received numeracy instruction, and both types of
instruction support better mathematics achievement than reading or social studies instruction (Kidd
et al. 2013, 2014). In addition, students’ pattern knowledge at the end of the intervention predicted
their mathematics achievement, further supporting the importance of pattern knowledge for
mathematics achievement. Similarly, three other experimental studies found that teaching
kindergarten students general reasoning skills, such as identifying when one item in a set differs from
others on a key feature, such as size or shape (i.e., oddity), supported greater mathematics
achievement than literacy or art instruction (Kidd et al. 2008; Pasnak et al. 2008, 2009). Students
were selected for intervention because they were weak in the target reasoning skills, and at the end
of the school year, these reasoning skills had improved, and improvements in these skills predicted
improvements in their mathematics knowledge. Directly supporting improvements in students’
reasoning skills may help them learn better from classroom mathematics instruction.

Another important reasoning skill is spatial reasoning, defined as the ability to imagine and mentally
manipulate spatial information (e.g., to imagine what an object will look like when rotated). IES
funding supported a synthesis of past research on improving spatial reasoning, confirming that it can
be improved with training (Uttal et al. 2013). Further, IES-funded research by Cheng and Mix (2014)
found that providing 40 minutes of spatial training to 6- to 8-year-olds improved their calculation
accuracy immediately after training, compared to a control group that solved crossword puzzles.
Future research needs to establish whether training in spatial skills leads to sustained improvements
in general mathematics skills.

Overall, this research highlights the importance of reasoning skills, including patterning and spatial
skills, for learning mathematics. Reasoning skills can be improved, particularly for students who lag
behind their peers, which in turn can improve mathematics learning.

13
Contribution 9. Simple changes in the formatting of arithmetic problems can help improve
students’ understanding of the equal sign.

Understanding the equal sign is critical for supporting future success in algebra (Knuth et al. 2006).
Unfortunately, the way that arithmetic problems are typically presented is thought to support a
frequent and persistent misunderstanding of the equal sign (McNeil 2014). Arithmetic problems are
typically presented in an operations-equal answer problem format (e.g., 9 + 4 = __) and sequenced
by the first addend (e.g., learning the 2’s facts of 2 + 1, 2 + 2, 2 + 3, etc.).

IES-funded research by McNeil and colleagues has found that altering how arithmetic problems are
presented can improve understanding of the equal sign in addition to fact fluency. In three
experimental studies, practicing arithmetic facts in nontraditional formats improved second- and
third-grade students’ knowledge of the equal sign relative to traditional practice formats or no
practice (McNeil et al. 2011; McNeil et al. 2012; McNeil, Fyfe, and Dunwiddie 2014). Nontraditional
practice formats included arithmetic facts with operations on the right (e.g., __ = 9 + 4), arithmetic
facts organized around equivalent sums (e.g., facts that add to 7, such as 3 + 4 = 7, 5 + 2 = 7, and
so forth), and replacing the equal sign with “is equal to” on some problems. The nontraditional
practice formats supported greater knowledge of the equal sign and similar fact fluency than more
traditional practice both immediately and 6 months after finishing the practice. Additional
experimental research found that an explicit lesson on the meaning of the equal sign was much more
effective when the equal sign was presented in less common contexts such as 28 = 28 rather than in
the context of operations-equals-answer problems (McNeil 2008). Thus, simple changes to how
arithmetic problems are presented support better understanding of the equal sign.

Contribution 10. A supplemental mathematics curriculum that integrates the knowledge,

skills, and teaching approaches used by Alaska Native people improves Alaskan students’
mathematics knowledge.

The Math in Cultural Context curriculum integrates into curriculum materials, Alaska Native cultural
knowledge and pedagogical processes, such as creating artifacts and navigating by the stars. The
pedagogical strategies include expert-apprentice modeling because that is a common teaching
approach within the community. Ten modules have been developed for students in grades 2 through
7, with initial funding from other sources. IES supported an experimental study conducted in rural
and urban areas of Alaska that provided causal evidence for the effectiveness of Math in Cultural
Context second-grade units on numeracy (especially place value) and measurement (Kisker et al.
2012). Alaska Natives, including students from the Athabaskan, Inupiaq, Tlingit, and Yup’ik cultural
groups, as well as Caucasian and other non-native Alaska students participated, with Alaska Natives
comprising about half of the sample. Students randomly assigned to receive the Math in Cultural
Context units gained greater knowledge of the target content than students receiving the existing
curriculum and approach, including on a retention test, for both Alaska Native and non-native
Alaska students. This is particularly important because American Indian/Alaska Native students lag
behind all other ethnic groups in mathematics proficiency (Aud, Fox, and KewalRamani 2010).

14
Overall, these findings support the potential effectiveness of using culturally based curriculum for
raising mathematics knowledge of students from within that culture as well as from other cultures.

Fractions and Algebra in the Middle Grades

Contribution 11. A constellation of processes influences fraction learning, including
numerical magnitude understanding, arithmetic fluency, attention, memory, and verbal
skills.

Many students have persistent problems with fractions during the course of their school careers. In
an IES- funded study, for example, Siegler and Pyke (2013) found that by sixth grade, low-achieving
mathematics students (i.e., those performing in the bottom third in mathematics achievement) lag
far behind higher achieving mathematics students in their knowledge of fractions, and this gap
increases substantially between sixth and eighth grades.

IES-funded projects show that both number-related and general cognitive and behavioral processes
influence early and later fraction learning (Seethaler et al. 2011). In a longitudinal study, Jordan,
Hansen, et al. (2013) examined the degree to which general cognitive and behavioral processes and
number-specific knowledge in third grade predict fraction knowledge at the end of fourth grade,
right after students finished their first year of formal instruction on fractions. Overall, the ability to
place whole numbers on a number line from 0 to 1,000 in the third grade was the most influential
predictor of fraction outcomes in fourth grade. Seeing that both whole numbers and fractions have
magnitudes that can be represented on number lines is a unifying insight that helps students
progress in mathematics (Siegler and Lortie-Forgues 2014; Siegler and Lortie-Thompson 2014;
Siegler, Thompson, and Schneider 2011). Other important predictors were arithmetic fact fluency,
classroom attention, vocabulary skills, and working memory. Nonverbal proportional reasoning also
predicts learning of fraction concepts (Hansen et al. 2015). In another IES-funded longitudinal
study, findings suggest that general cognitive and behavioral predictors support students’ learning of
whole number skills in second grade, which in turn helps students learn fractions in fourth grade
(Vukovic et al. 2014).

Contribution 12. Students with and without mathematics difficulties make greater gains
when mathematics instruction emphasizes fractions as magnitudes that can be represented
on a number line.

Students need to learn to think of fractions as magnitudes, not merely meaningless symbols (Behr et
al. 1984; Siegler, Thompson, and Schneider 2011). With IES funding, Fuchs and colleagues
developed and tested an instructional intervention, Fraction Face-Off!, which emphasizes placing
and comparing fractions on number lines to support students’ understanding of fractions as

15
 1 1 3
magnitudes. For example, the number line helps students see why 4 is smaller than 2 and why 6 is
4 5
equivalent to 8 or 5 is equivalent to 1. Participants in IES-funded research on the intervention
included fourth-graders with learning difficulties in mathematics. In the first experimental study
(Fuchs et al. 2013), students using the number line fractions intervention performed better on all
fraction outcomes compared to students using a more conventional approach emphasizing parts of a
whole. A subsequent experimental study (Fuchs et al. 2014) examined two variations on the use of
the number line; one provided extra activities to build fraction understanding, while the other
provided activities to build speed or fluency on the fractions topics that were taught. As expected,
students in both number line fraction intervention groups performed better than their peers who did
not receive the number line intervention. However, students’ response to the two fractions
interventions varied according to their cognitive skills. Students with relatively weak working
memory capacity learned better with the extra conceptual activities, and students with relatively
strong working memory learned better with the extra speeded fluency activities. Overall, the Fuchs
team shows that an approach to teaching fractions that emphasizes number lines is much more
beneficial than instruction that emphasizes parts and wholes. Moreover, within the number line
approach, instruction can be enhanced further through adjustments based on individual differences
in cognitive abilities, such as working memory. A discussion of the importance of working memory
capacity to mathematics word problem solving can also be found under Contributions 4 and 5.

Saxe and colleagues also developed a supplemental curriculum unit on fractions as well as integers
that emphasized placing and comparing numbers on number lines. In the Learning Mathematics
Through Representation (LMR) curriculum, teachers use the number line as a unifying
representation across whole numbers, integers and fractions, and students learn to construct, apply,
and analyze the implications of mathematical definitions and concepts. Each of the 19 lessons
follows a five-phrase structure, including differentiated partner work to address the needs of diverse
learners. In an IES-funded experimental study, diverse fourth- and fifth-grade students who used the
LMR curriculum had substantially higher knowledge of fractions and integers at the end of the
intervention, and 5 months after its conclusion, than students who used another evidence-based
curriculum (Saxe, Diakow, and Gearhart 2013; Gearhardt and Saxe 2014). Thus, for both students
with learning difficulties and students in general education classrooms, instruction that emphasized
fractions as magnitudes through the use of number lines promoted better fraction knowledge than
more conventional instruction.

Contribution 13. Adolescents with mathematics difficulties benefit from fractions instruction
that builds fractions skills and concepts alongside problems anchored in everyday contexts.

Focusing on fraction concepts, IES-funded research by Bottge and colleagues (e.g., Bottge et al.
2010a; Bottge et al. 2014) demonstrated the impact of enhanced anchored instruction (EAI) for
helping adolescents with mathematics difficulties develop skills in solving fraction word problems.
EAI activities center on an anchored problem and provide opportunities to practice skills through
solving related problems in hands-on contexts (e.g., building skate board ramps to apply fraction

16
operations and measurement) (Stephens, Bottge, and Rueda 2009). Teachers typically use EAI in
general education mathematics or technology education classrooms (Bottge et al. 2010b).

In early work with EAI, the research team focused mainly on how to solve problems involving
fractions while providing computational help informally on an as-needed basis. Middle school
students made gains in problem solving but not in basic skills (Bottge et al. 2007). A revised version
included a computer-based learning module designed to build basic fraction skills (e.g., finding
fraction equivalences on a number line, adding and subtracting fractions with like and unlike
denominators) more formally alongside the practical EAI problems. Bottge and colleagues (2010a)
showed that while both the traditional EAI and the hybrid approach improved real world problem-
solving skills with fractions (e.g., determining how much wood is needed to build a book case) at
about the same rate, the revised approach that combined formal skills instruction with EAI problem
solving gave students an added advantage in fraction computation and procedures. The findings
from this and related reports (Bottge et al. 2010b; Bottge et al. 2014) suggest that fraction teaching
that integrates help in fraction skills with instruction in real-world problem solving is most effective.

Contribution 14. Practice problems should be interleaved so that problems of different types
are mixed together rather than grouped together by problem type.

Simple changes to how teachers and textbooks sequence practice problems can substantially
improve learning and knowledge retention. Practice assignments typically have students solve a set
of problems that are mostly from the day’s lesson (i.e., blocked practice). In contrast, on exams,
problems of different types are mixed together. Decades of basic research on memory and learning
suggest that practice problems need to be interleaved, so that problems of different types are mixed
together (see Rohrer 2012 for a review). Interleaved practice also naturally leads to greater spacing of
practice on each problem type, which greatly improves retention of the information (see Carpenter
et al. 2012 for a review).

In IES-funded research, Rohrer and colleagues confirmed dramatic benefits of interleaved practice
on mathematics homework assignments in the middle grades (Rohrer, Dedrick, and Burgess 2014;
Rohrer, Dedrick, and Stershic in press). In both experimental studies, seventh-grade students
completed 10 practice assignments over several months on mathematics topics such as graphing
linear functions and finding slope. Accuracy was dramatically higher on the problem types with
interleaved practice rather than blocked practice (e.g., 74 percent vs. 42 percent correct when tested
1 month later). Note that the amount of practice was the same; only the sequencing of practice
problems differed.

Interleaving practice problems is one of four research-based principles of learning that an IES-
funded Research and Development (R&D) center used to redesign a widely implemented middle-
school mathematics curriculum. An initial IES-funded experimental evaluation of four of the revised
curriculum units indicates that students who were taught using the revised units had greater

17
knowledge of the target content on an immediate posttest than students who were taught using the
original curriculum (Davenport, Kao, and Schneider 2013). This project illustrates that interleaved
practice can be incorporated throughout the curriculum.

Contribution 15. Comparing multiple ways to solve problems improves student learning,
and teachers can help students make effective comparisons.

Instruction that emphasizes comparisons—i.e., reflecting on how two examples are similar and
different—may support learning in a variety of tasks and with various age groups. Comparing
solution methods is also a recommended instructional practice for mathematics education, based on
case studies of expert teachers (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM] 2000). IES-
funded research has studied the use of comparison in mathematics instruction and ways to
effectively support comparison in the middle grades.

Rittle-Johnson and Star conducted a series of IES-funded experimental studies to evaluate the
impact of comparing solution methods for learning about computational estimation and equation
solving. Students worked with a partner to compare examples of different solution methods for
solving the same problem or studied the same examples presented one at a time; all students
responded to reflection questions orally and in writing. Students who compared solution methods
were much more likely to comment on the efficiency and accuracy of different ways to solve the
same problem (e.g., Rittle-Johnson and Star 2007). Comparing solution methods consistently
supported procedural flexibility (i.e., knowledge and use of multiple methods to solve problems) for
both topics. Comparing methods sometimes supported greater success in solving problems (Rittle-
Johnson and Star 2007; Rittle-Johnson, Star, and Durkin 2009) or greater knowledge of concepts
(Rittle-Johnson and Star 2009; Rittle-Johnson, Star, and Durkin 2009; Star and Rittle-Johnson 2009).
However, comparing methods was less effective when students had little prior knowledge of the
topic (Rittle-Johnson, Star, and Durkin 2009). For these students, the lessons needed to be slowed
and cover less content (Rittle-Johnson, Star, and Durkin 2012). Overall, comparing methods helps
students learn mathematics, but its advantages are more substantial if students have some prior
knowledge of the topic.

Two other IES-funded research projects have described how teachers support comparison in
classrooms, revealing specific behaviors and approaches teachers might use to help improve the
effectiveness of comparisons in mathematics teaching. Richland and Holyoak have studied how
eighth-grade mathematics teachers in the United States, Hong Kong, and Japan used comparison in
the classroom (Richland, Holyoak, and Stigler 2004; Richland, Zur, and Holyoak 2007). Teachers in
all three countries frequently used comparison in their instruction, but U.S. teachers provided much
less support for students to process and learn from the comparisons (Richland, Zur, and Holyoak
2007). For example, U.S. teachers were less likely to have the two things being compared visible
during comparison or put the information to be compared side by side. Alibali and colleagues have
studied how skilled U.S. teachers use gesture to support comparison across a variety of grade levels.
Skilled teachers used gestures to guide students’ attention and support links between examples and

18
ideas (Alibali and Nathan 2009; Alibali, Nathan, and Fujimore 2011). Thus, correlational evidence
suggests that to support effective comparison, teachers should keep both examples visible, present
the examples side-by-side, and use gestures to help students compare aspects of the examples (see
Richland, Stigler, and Holyoak 2012).

Contribution 16. Critiquing common incorrect solutions improves student learning.

Students have common and persistent misconceptions in mathematics. For example, when working
with decimals, students often believe that 0.25 is larger than 0.5 because 25 is larger than 5. Previous
theory and evidence from science learning suggest that students need to directly confront and reflect
on misconceptions in order to overcome them (Eryilmaz 2002; Huang, Liu, and Shiu 2008; Van den
Broek and Kendeou 2008). This stands in contrast to concerns by teachers that presenting and
discussing incorrect solutions will reinforce and increase their use. Three IES-funded projects
support the benefits of critiquing common incorrect solutions for mathematics learning in the
middle grades.

First, Durkin and Rittle-Johnson (2012) found in an experimental study that fourth- and fifth-grade
students learned more about decimals from an individual tutoring session when they compared
examples of correct and incorrect solution procedures rather than only correct procedures. Second,
building on this finding, McLaren and colleagues developed a web-based tutoring system for
learning about decimals that included incorrect examples (Adams et al. 2014). When shown how a
fictional student had incorrectly solved a problem, students had to identify what the student had
done wrong, correct the mistake, and explain why the new answer was correct. Students also
practiced solving similar problems. Students in the control condition solved all of the problems and
explained why the correct answers were correct. In this experimental study, sixth- and seventh-grade
students who used the version with incorrect examples had greater knowledge on a 1-week retention
test, suggesting that reflection on incorrect examples supported better retention of correct
knowledge. Similarly, Booth and colleagues integrated correct and incorrect examples into a
commercial, evidence-based intelligent tutoring system for equation solving (i.e., Algebra I Cognitive
Tutor; Booth et al. 2013). Students who were randomly assigned to work on the tutoring system
with correct and incorrect examples gained greater knowledge of algebra concepts than students
who only solved problems. Booth and colleagues have also incorporated correctly and incorrectly
worked examples into written homework and in-class assignments, and found improved learning
(Lange, Booth, and Newton 2014). Finally, this principle of learning is one of four research-based
principles of learning that has been used by an IES-funded R&D center to redesign a widely used
middle-school mathematics curriculum that show promise for improving the effectiveness of the
curriculum (Davenport, Kao, and Schneider 2013).

19
Contribution 17. Promoting fluency in mapping between different representations of
mathematical ideas such as matching a word problem to an appropriate number sentence
improves students’ learning.

IES-funded research has supported the development of promising instructional strategies that help
students link different representations of mathematical ideas. The research has focused on fractions,
equations, and linear functions. Kellman and Massey have developed exercises in which learners
recognize, discriminate, and map across representations of mathematical ideas in many short
practice trials. For example, in fraction exercises, students match one representation of a fraction
problem to another representation, such as matching a word problem to an appropriate number
sentence or picture (Kellman et al. 2008). Learners do not perform calculations or solve problems.
In algebra exercises, students match linear functions represented in graphs, equations, and word
problems (Kellman, Massey, and Son 2010) or match transformations of equations (Kellman et al.
2008). Adaptive computer software adjusts the exercises based on student success until they master
the material. In a series of IES-funded experimental studies, middle- and high-school students who
completed these matching exercises were more successful at solving related mathematics problems
than students who did not complete the exercises (Kellman et al. 2008; Kellman, Massey, and Son
2010).

Contribution 18. Producing physical movements and gestures may improve students’
mathematical learning.

There is increasing evidence that ideas, including mathematical ideas, are not just remembered in the
abstract, but are grounded in body movements, often called embodied cognition (Gibbs 2006).
Indeed, IES-funded research by Alibali and Nathan suggests a potential role of body movement,
particularly gestures, in mathematical thinking. In particular, Alibali and Nathan (2012) argued that
gestures reveal how both teachers and students mentally simulate actions and link to experiences
with the body when talking about mathematics. For example, teachers used gestures to simulate
actions, such as placing their arm at different angles to simulate the action of altering the slope of a
line.

Based on observational research such as this, Landy and colleagues have used IES funding to
develop exercises in which learners physically move symbols in algebraic expressions. For example,
in their Algebra Touch Research software, students group like terms in an algebraic expression by
touching appropriate symbols and moving them into the desired location (e.g., simplifying the
expression -5 + 4x + 2 + -6x + -8y + 2y by moving the 4x on top of the -6x). The software does
not allow students to make mistakes, so students receive immediate feedback on algebraic
transformation rules. Initial promise for the approach was provided with a group of eighth-grade
students, although there was no control group or evidence for more general benefits to algebraic
competence (Ottmar, Landy, and Goldstone 2012). More broadly, they have developed a new theory
of symbolic reasoning that emphasizes motor and perceptual experiences and proposes principles

20
that guide symbolic reasoning (Landy, Allen, and Zednik 2014).

Contribution 19. Teaching students cognitive strategies for solving word problems, such as
categorizing, supports their word problem-solving success more than typical classroom
instruction.

With IES support, Jitendra and Star developed a curriculum unit on ratio, proportion, and percent
word problem solving called Schema-Based Instruction (SBI). Students learn to categorize word
problems based on their mathematical structure, use diagrams to represent the mathematical
relations between quantities in the problems, choose among multiple strategies to solve the
problems, and monitor their success implementing the strategies. Across three experimental studies,
seventh-grade students in the SBI condition had much greater success solving proportional word
problems than students receiving typical classroom instruction, both immediately and several
months later (Jitendra et al. 2009; Jitendra et al. 2011; Jitendra, Lein, et al. 2013; see also Jitendra,
Star, et al. 2013). However, students in the SBI condition did not have greater success on a transfer
test assessing success on novel problems such as probability or on the state achievement test. A
fourth experimental study focusing on SBI for word problems involving percent found
improvements in high-achieving but not low-achieving classrooms (Jitendra and Star 2012). SBI was
designed with particular attention to the needs of struggling learners, but low-achieving students may
need extended time to not only identify the underlying problem structure to adequately represent
information in the problem, but also learn to flexibly choose among multiple strategies.

In other IES-funded research, Montague and colleagues tested the efficacy of Solve It! (Montague
2003), a word problem-solving approach for students with mathematics difficulties. Solve It! aims to
teach struggling students how to analyze, solve, and evaluate mathematics word problems in ways
similar to those described by the Swanson research team for younger students (Contribution 5). The
focus is on developing effective strategies for solving word problems more generally (Krawec and
Montague 2012). Students are taught how to paraphrase the problem in their own words, translate
the word problem into a visual representation that shows the relations among its parts, develop a
problem-solving plan, and check work for mistakes, among other cognitive strategies. Studies show
that Solve It! is effective for most students in middle school, especially those with learning
disabilities and low achievement (Krawec et al. 2013; Montague, Enders, and Dietz 2011). In a quasi-
experimental study with eighth-graders (Montague, Enders, and Dietz 2011), students who received
the intervention in general education classes, including those with identified learning disabilities,
showed more growth in word problem solving than students who did not. The findings were
replicated in a study with seventh-graders, with the intervention effects stronger for low-achieving
and average-achieving students than for high-achieving ones (Montague et al. 2014).

21
Contribution 20. Using computer-based interim assessments provides teachers with
diagnostic information and can improve students’ mathematics achievement.

Appropriate instruction requires that teachers know their students’ strengths and weaknesses and
adjust their instruction accordingly. Interim computer-based assessment programs have been used
by teachers and schools to monitor student progress toward state standards with the goal that
teachers identify weaknesses in individual students’ knowledge and adjust their instruction as
needed. Many states and school districts are investing in such programs as part of an effort to
improve performance on high-stakes state tests (Davidson and Frohbieter 2011).

With IES funding, Miller and colleagues evaluated the impact of a computer-based interim
assessment system adopted by the state of Indiana (Konstantopoulos, Miller, and van der Ploeg
2013; Williams et al. 2014). Researchers randomly selected schools to implement the interim
assessment system and third- through eighth-grade students in those schools scored substantially
higher on the state achievement test in mathematics and in reading than students at schools that did
not use the system. However, kindergarten through second-grade students in those schools did not
score higher on a standardized test selected by the researchers. The studies suggest that interim
assessment systems may be a promising tool for improving student scores on state achievement tests
in grades 3–8. Additional research is needed on their effectiveness in younger grades.

Traditional assessments capture only whether students answer questions correctly or incorrectly.
However, students often make systematic errors that reflect persistent misunderstandings that need
to be addressed (Booth et al. 2014). A separate IES-funded project worked to develop a computer-
based interim assessment for algebra I. Russell and colleagues developed a computer-based
Diagnostic Algebra Assessment System (DAAS) for components of algebra I. The assessment
system generates a teacher report for each student that includes both the percentage of problems
solved correctly and the percentage of responses reflecting common misconceptions (i.e., persistent
incorrect ways of thinking). For each topic, the research team developed two supplemental lesson
plans for teachers to use if a misconception was diagnosed in their classroom. In an experimental
study, students performed better on an algebra assessment if their teachers used the DAAS rather
than interim assessment only (Russell, O’Dwyer, and Miranda 2009). This research, although
preliminary, suggested that interim assessments that document misconceptions and include
supplemental lessons for addressing diagnosed misconceptions may be more effective than
assessments that only report on student accuracy.

A third IES-funded project found that state tests can be used to assist teachers in diagnosing specific
problem areas for individual students. Using advanced measurement models, Embretson and Yang
(2013) examined the sources of poor performance on a statewide eighth-grade achievement test. A
group of students who performed just below the overall proficiency cut point varied considerably in
how they performed in different component areas, and clear patterns of mathematics competencies
emerged for individual students. For example, in the number/computation component area, the
model identified specific attributes that underlie student difficulties, with the lowest level being

22
knowledge of the order of operations and the highest level being knowledge of different number
systems. Such information could help teachers differentiate instruction to address individual student
needs, although this has not been directly evaluated.

Contribution 21. Computer-based tutoring systems can allow for individualized

mathematics instruction and have the potential to help students learn mathematics. Systems
ranging from a year-long integrated algebra I curriculum to an online assignment system
improve students’ mathematics learning, although some tutoring systems for raising state
test scores among low-income students have shown less promise.

Computer-based tutoring and assessment systems provide promising approaches to individualizing

instruction (Woolf 2009). Computer-based tutoring systems allow students to receive immediate
feedback and help, and to work at their own pace, mastering one topic before moving on to the
next. Both computer-based tutoring and assessment systems also provide teachers with timely
feedback on individual student performance.

IES funded a large-scale evaluation of Cognitive Tutor Algebra I, which is a commercially available
first-year algebra course that integrates a paper curriculum with an intelligent tutoring system that
includes customized help and problems based on students’ prior performance. The evaluators
randomly assigned a large number of middle and high schools to use the curriculum or continue
with their usual instruction. Teachers in the Cognitive Tutor group received the typical professional
development and support provided by the publisher. In the second year of implementation of the
program, students in the Cognitive Tutor group had higher scores on a standardized algebra
assessment than students receiving typical instruction (Pane et al. 2014). The benefits were primarily
for high school rather than middle school students and were not present in the first year of
implementation. Implementation of the Cognitive Tutor Algebra I curriculum under normal
conditions has promise for raising algebra achievement among high school students, although these
benefits may not be present in the first year of implementation.

IES also funded Heffernan, Koedinger, and colleagues to develop ASSISTments, a free web-based
system that provides assistance in the form of feedback and hints for solving mathematics problems;
it also generates a report for teachers so that they know what topics were particularly challenging for
their students. Teachers can select from existing problem sets on a wide range of mathematics topics
for grades 4–8 or enter their own problems. ASSISTments is used by thousands of teachers across
the United States and shows promise for improving students’ state-test scores and learning from
classwork and homework, as well as providing teachers with good predictions of student
performance on statewide tests. For example, on the end-of-year state test, students at middle
schools that used the ASSISTments system for some class assignments outperformed students at a
comparison school that did not use the system, and the effect was strongest for special education
students (Koedinger, McLaughlin, and Heffernan 2010). Performance on the ASSISTments system
also predicted students’ scores on the end-of-year state test (Anozie and Junker 2006; Feng,

23
Heffernan, and Koedinger 2009). ASSISTments can also be used for homework assignments. In two
experimental studies, students made greater gains when they completed their homework on
ASSISTments rather than as typical paper assignments (Mendicino, Razzaq, and Heffernan 2009;
Singh et al. 2011). Overall, ASSISTments is a promising computer-tutoring system for assigning
classwork, homework, and test practice that provides feedback to both students and teachers.

IES has also supported the development and refinement of three computer-based tutoring systems
for particular mathematics topics. Each provides individualized instruction by sequencing problems
based on student performance, working on each skill until mastery, and has extensive help resources.
They also incorporate evidence-based features such as support for self-monitoring and strategy
selection. For example, Wayang Outpost provides strategy instruction and practice for solving
geometry, statistics, and algebra problems that commonly appear on standardized tests (Arroyo,
Woolf, and Burleson 2011). AnimalWatch supports solving word problems in the context of
tracking and monitoring the status of endangered species, and providing opportunities for practicing
arithmetic and fraction computations in real-world contexts (Beal et al. 2010; Cohen, Beal, and
Adams 2008). On SimStudent, students tutor a computer avatar (SimStudent) on algebra by posing
problems to solve and providing feedback and hints (Matsuda et al. 2013a; 2013b). For each tutoring
system, there is some preliminary evidence that the system improves student learning of the target
content.

Finally, IES also funded an experimental evaluation of the efficacy of two existing computer-
tutoring systems for improving state test scores in low-performing schools. One, Spatial-Temporal
(ST) Math, is a commercially available supplemental computer-tutoring system designed to help
students in grades 2–5 visualize mathematics concepts and link them to problem contexts using
game-like exercises. Students at low-performing schools randomly chosen to use ST Math scored
better in one of five content areas on the end-of-year state test (understanding of whole number
place value), but did not score better overall (Rutherford et al. 2014; Schenke, Rutherford, and
Farkas 2014). Classroom observations and teacher surveys suggested that ST Math did not change
classroom teaching practices or teacher beliefs, contrary to expectations (Tran et al. 2012). The other
is a computer-based K-5 supplemental curriculum that uses brief multimedia lessons followed by
exercises with immediate, individualized feedback (Suppes, Holland, Hu, and Vu 2013). Students at
low-performing schools randomly chosen to use the supplemental curriculum did not score better
on the end-of-year statewide exam, although there was some indication that more frequent use of
the curriculum was associated with better test scores. Evaluations of these computer-tutoring
systems are notable because they involved low-income students attending struggling schools, used
random assignment of schools to use the computer-tutoring system or continue with business-as-
usual instruction, and used a general outcome measure of great importance to schools. However,
they had very limited success in raising state test scores among low-income students.

24
Contribution 22. Using technology to support student collaboration may improve students’
learning.

When students collaborate, they have opportunities to give and receive help and share knowledge
and resources. IES-funded research suggests there is a correlation between mathematics
achievement and more frequent use of collaborative activities in the classroom (Bottia et al. 2014),
especially more frequent engagement with other students’ ideas during collaboration (Webb et al.
2014). IES has supported the development or evaluation of four technology-based tools for
supporting student collaboration, described below.

First, Roschelle and colleagues developed a technology-mediated, Peer-Assisted Learning

(TechPALS) approach. In TechPALS, a set of collaborative group activities using handheld devices
support student practice with initial research focusing on fraction learning (Roschelle et al. 2010).
For example, on an opening consensus activity, each student in a group selects an answer to a
problem on his or her handheld device, and then the group must work together to reach a
consensus until they all choose the correct answer. TechPALS can also be used in formative
assessment, providing real-time feedback to teachers on how groups are performing so that teachers
can provide assistance to struggling groups or modify their own future instruction to focus on a
particularly difficult problem. In an experimental evaluation in three schools, fourth-grade students
participated during a fraction unit (Roschelle et al. 2010). After teacher-led instruction, students
practiced in small groups using TechPALS or individually on computer software. Students in the
TechPALS condition showed greater fraction knowledge at the end of the unit and were more likely
to ask questions, give explanations, and discuss disagreements with other students, all indicators that
TechPALS increased collaborative learning. Whether learning gains would persist over time or be
effective for other mathematics topics is an open question, but the findings supported the promise
of TechPALS as a technological approach to supporting collaborative learning and formative
assessment. Second, Aleven and colleagues have also worked to develop technology to support
collaborative learning using IES funding. They modified a computer-based tutor on fractions to
support collaborative learning, with some preliminary evidence supporting the promise of the
approach relative to working on the tutor individually (Belenky et al. 2014; Olsen et al. 2014).

Third, Owens and colleagues studied the impact of using the TI-Navigator ™ system for promoting
collaboration and learning in algebra I classrooms (Pape et al. 2013). The TI-Navigator system
involves sets of handheld graphing calculators that are connected to a teacher’s computer. Teachers
can use the system to pose questions to groups of students, display a summary of students’
(anonymous) responses, see screen captures of students’ work to monitor progress and on-task
behavior, and display screen captures so students’ responses can be discussed. Thus, it should
support student collaboration; formative assessment with immediate, nonthreatening student
feedback; and classroom discussion of student work. In an experimental study, students who used
the TI-Navigator system performed better on an algebra assessment at the end of the school year
than students who used graphing calculators without connectivity (Pape et al. 2013). Teachers who

25
used the TI-Navigator system often reported that the technology improved their understanding of
their students’ knowledge (Shirley et al. 2011). In summary, both handheld technology and
computer-based tutors can support collaborative learning activities and provide formative
assessment data to teachers, and these technologies have the potential to improve student learning.

Contribution 23. Improved synthetic speech shows potential to make algebra more
accessible for students with visual impairments.

With IES funding, Frankel, Brownstein, and Soiffer 2013 developed ClearSpeak, an improved style
of synthetic speech to help students with visual disabilities learn algebraic expressions in secondary
school. Algebraic expressions, which use complicated visual representations involving nested
parentheses, fractions, exponents, and so forth, are hard to access through audio channels.
ClearSpeak “speaks” mathematics in a familiar way but with adjustment rules to make sure the
spoken mathematics is not ambiguous (e.g., consistently referring to common fractions with a
denominator of 20 or more as “x over y,” use of “power” instead of “super”). The audio access can
be used with onscreen visual access or with printed or braille documents. Preliminary studies by
Frankel and Brownstein suggest that ClearSpeak boosts students’ mathematics confidence and
accuracy compared to older mathematics audio programs, although more research is needed to
evaluate features of the ClearSpeak program.

Contribution 24. Increasing instructional time in algebra I for low-performing ninth-grade

students can improve their course grades and test scores, but mandating algebra I by ninth
grade may not improve test scores or college attendance.

In response to concerns that too few students are graduating from high school with the mathematics
skills needed for college or the workforce (American Diploma Project 2004), some school districts
have mandated college-preparatory mathematics coursework for all students and increased
instructional time in algebra.

In IES-funded research, Allensworth and colleagues evaluated the impact of the Chicago Public
Schools system’s policies on mathematics coursework. First, they compared cohorts of students who
attended Chicago public high schools before and after implementation of a district mandate that all
students enroll in algebra I by ninth grade (Allensworth et al. 2009). Before implementation of the
policy, about 80 percent of ninth-graders enrolled in algebra I; after implementation, almost all did.
Among low-ability students, about 10 percent more earned credit for algebra I after implementation
of the policy. However, students’ scores on the end-of-year state test (which covered algebra and
other types of mathematics) did not increase, nor did the likelihood that students would attend
college. Further, state test scores for high-skill students declined (Nomi 2012).

Chicago Public Schools then mandated a double-dose of algebra for some students—all students below
the national median on the eighth-grade mathematics test had to have two periods of algebra I a day
in ninth grade. Again, Allensworth and colleagues compared cohorts of students before and after
implementation of the mandate. Students who had a double-dose of algebra had higher scores on an

26
algebra subtest of a standardized mathematics test and higher course grades in algebra and geometry
(Nomi and Allensworth 2009). Student surveys indicated that students who had double-dose algebra
reported more challenging content and more interactive instruction, with students explaining and
discussing more (Nomi and Allensworth 2011). Students with above-average skills also showed
higher standardized test scores after implementation of the policy, although more of these students
received a failing grade in the course because they had been sorted into classes with higher-skilled
students and their skills were low relative to classroom peers (Nomi and Allensworth 2013). In
addition, the policy did not benefit students with low ability (below the 20th percentile).

27
 Development and Evaluation of Teacher Professional
Development Approaches
Improving student achievement may require changes in teaching practices. Most schools require
teachers to attend professional development, and there are numerous mathematics teacher
professional development programs on the market. However, in a review of teacher professional
development programs targeted at improving K–12 mathematics instruction, only two programs
were identified that had rigorous evidence for improving student mathematics outcomes (Gersten et
al. 2014). In response to the need for evidence-based teacher professional development programs,
IES has funded the development and evaluation of several teacher professional development
programs.

Contribution 25. Teacher professional development that helps elementary school teachers
build on a previous Pre-K mathematics intervention can boost the long-term effectiveness of
the Pre-K intervention.

A persistent issue with educational interventions is that their effects fade over time (Leak et al.
2012). In their IES-funded work, Clements and Sarama hypothesized that fading effects reflect the
inadequacy of future educational contexts to build on the skills developed in the intervention. To
test this claim, they provided professional development to a group of kindergarten and first-grade
teachers on ways to build on knowledge that their students had developed in an evidence-based Pre-
K mathematics intervention (the follow-through group). The researchers also asked these teachers to
integrate computer-software activities from the Pre-K intervention into their curriculum. In an
experimental study, among students who received the Pre-K intervention, those who had the follow
through had higher mathematics scores at the end of first grade than those who did not have follow
through, and both groups had higher mathematics scores than students who did not receive the Pre-
K intervention (Clements et al. 2013; Sarama et al. 2012). One benefit of the follow through was an
improvement in the classroom culture (e.g., teachers’ interactions with and responsiveness to
students). Most of the students were from low-income families, and the sustained benefits of a Pre-
K mathematics intervention through kindergarten and first grade were encouraging.

Contribution 26. Teacher professional development using a Lesson Study approach and
targeting specific mathematics content can improve teachers’ knowledge and lead to
improvements in students’ learning of fractions.

One promising teacher professional development approach is based on the dominant form of
teacher professional development in Japan, called Lesson Study (Lewis et al. 2012). In teams, teachers
first study the curriculum, then plan a lesson, do the lesson, and reflect on student learning in order
to improve it and draw out broader lessons (called a study-plan-do-reflect inquiry cycle). This
approach has teachers attend carefully to student thinking and be leaders in improving their own
instruction. With IES funding, Lewis and colleagues have worked to study and spread the use of
Lesson Study in the U.S. Their initial effort was to design a summer institute for helping interested
28
teachers engage in Lesson Study with intensive support from the research team (Takahashi, Lewis,
and Perry 2013). In hopes of having a more sustainable form of teacher professional development,
they then developed a Lesson Study resource kit. Teachers can use the resource kit to engage in
Lesson Study at their schools without involvement of the researchers (Lewis and Perry 2014; Lewis
et al. 2012). The resource kit focuses on fractions and includes suggested fraction tasks; examples of
curriculum materials from Japan, including videos; and templates to support the Lesson Study
process. In an initial evaluation of the Lesson Study resource kit for fractions, volunteer teams of
elementary school teachers, many of whom had already engaged in Lesson Study, were randomly
assigned to use the fraction resource kit or to a control group. Teachers who used the Lesson Study
resource kit had greater fraction knowledge at the end of the study than teachers who had not
(Lewis and Perry 2014). In addition, their students also developed greater fraction knowledge than
students receiving business-as-usual instruction on fractions (Gersten et al. 2014). Future research is
needed on whether the resource kit is sufficient to improve student learning when teachers have not
had prior experience engaging in Lesson Study.

Contribution 27. Teacher professional development that helps teachers create a supportive
and safe environment for learning can improve the quality of third-grade mathematics
instruction, although it does not directly improve end-of-year state test scores.

The Responsive Classroom is a widely used teacher professional development program designed to
help teachers create a supportive and safe environment for learning. It includes allowing students to
choose from several approaches to conduct their work, modeling desired behaviors, using positive
teacher language, and demonstrating logical consequences. The approach is meant to support the
social interactions among students that are required for students to engage in discussions and build
on the ideas of others (Elliott 1999).

In an IES-funded study, Rimm-Kaufman and colleagues experimentally evaluated the effectiveness

of the Responsive Classroom teacher professional development approach among elementary school
teachers who were required by their schools to use it (after schools were randomly assigned to
incorporate the Responsive Classroom approach or not). They found that third-grade teachers in the
Responsive Classroom schools used more high-quality mathematics teaching practices, such as
soliciting explanations and justification from students and engaging in problem solving, than
teachers in the comparison schools, and more frequent use of Responsive Classroom practices was
associated with greater use of high-quality teaching practices (Ottmar et al. 2013). However,
participation in the Responsive Classroom did not directly improve students’ mathematics
achievement on the end-of-year state test (Rimm-Kaufman et al. 2014). Moreover, students
attending schools that used the approach for 3 years did not score higher in fifth-grade mathematics
(or reading) achievement than students attending schools that did not use the approach. Recall that
teacher participation was mandated by the school, and some teachers who received training failed to
implement the method sufficiently. More frequent use of Responsive Classroom practices among
teachers assigned to use the approach was associated with better achievement, suggesting that the

29
Responsive Classroom approach may improve student achievement when implemented as intended
(Rimm-Kaufman et al. 2014).

Contribution 28. Insufficient support from principals and insufficient teacher knowledge are
potential barriers to effective teacher professional development.

In two IES-funded projects, researchers identified several potential barriers to successful

implementation of district-mandated teacher professional development for elementary- and middle-
school teachers. When districts mandate teacher professional development, there is large variability
in teacher and principal commitment to change. Teacher reports and correlational evidence suggest
that support from the principal and other school administrators seems particularly important. When
studying the Responsive Classroom approach as described in Contribution 27, Rimm-Kaufmann
and colleagues found that elementary school teachers emphasized the importance of principal buy-
in, and weaker principal buy-in was related to more limited implementation of the target teaching
practices (Wanless et al. 2013). In other IES-funded research, Santagata and colleagues found that
even though their teacher professional development for sixth-grade teachers on three topics
(fractions, ratios and proportions, and expressions and equations was mandated, school
administrators often co-opted professional development sessions for other purposes, leading to
substantially less professional development time than intended [Givvin and Santagata 2011;
Santagata et al. 2011]). Santagata and colleagues also reported substantive limits in teachers’
understanding of the mathematics content, knowledge of their students’ understanding, and ability
to analyze students’ work and reasoning, which appeared to limit the effectiveness of their teacher
professional development (Santagata 2009). Because this research was correlational, no causal claims
can be made, but the research suggests factors that should be taken into consideration when new
professional development programs are implemented and evaluated.

30
 Future Directions
Based on their review of published papers describing results of IES-supported research from grants
awarded between 2002 and 2013, the authors identified 28 specific contributions to support
mathematics learning from kindergarten through secondary school. The contributions were
organized by topic and grade level: Whole numbers, operations, and basic problem solving in
elementary school and fractions and algebra in the middle grades. Many more funded studies that
did not have published results by 2013 are likely to produce additional findings on mathematics
learning on these topics as well as on topics not addressed in this synthesis, such as mathematics
learning in high school.

Innovative efforts to translate findings from the education sciences into effective classroom practice
must continue through rigorous research in the schools and other educational environments. Future
research should build on findings presented in this mathematics research synthesis in several ways.
First, studies of promise or ones that demonstrate positive results must be replicated and extended
to ensure that the findings can be reproduced in multiple authentic educational settings, improve
student achievement on measures used by teachers and schools, and lead to improvements that are
sustained over time. Moreover, future work should continue to innovate and test new strategies for
improving mathematics achievement. Research should examine the features of interventions that
most effectively build concepts and skills in mathematics topics and address whether observed gains
can be transferred to other areas of mathematics learning. Finally, future research must continue to
address what works for whom and under what conditions. For example, studies must identify under
what conditions and why teacher professional development can improve mathematics teaching and if
and how improved teaching translates into improved student learning and achievement. Professional
development that helps teachers follow through on effective mathematics interventions provided at
earlier grade levels or that is teacher led and targets specific mathematics content and new ways to
teach it holds particular promise. Professional development for implementing interventions for
students with mathematics learning difficulties is also needed.

31
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