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Evidence of Success
What do evaluation studies say about the effectiveness of the Core-Plus Mathematics Project curriculum?
There is a large and growing body of rigorous research documenting the effectiveness of the CPMP curriculum. Based on evidence from nationally standardized tests (ITED, SAT, ACT, NAEP), course-specific tests, researcher-developed tests, interviews, and surveys, the CPMP curriculum has been shown to enhance students' mathematical achievement and attitudes toward mathematics.
Quantitative
Thinking
CPMP students outperform comparison students on the mathematics subtest
of the nationally standardized Iowa Tests of Educational Development
ITED-Q.
Conceptual Understanding
CPMP students demonstrate better conceptual understanding than students
in more traditional curricula.
Problem Solving
Ability
CPMP students demonstrate better problem solving ability than comparison
students.
Applications
and Mathematical Modeling
CPMP students are better able to apply mathematics than students in more
traditional curricula.
Algebraic Reasoning
CPMP students perform better on tasks of algebraic reasoning than comparison
students.
Algebraic Procedural
Skills
This is the one area for which field-test research indicates mixed results.
On some evaluation tests, CPMP students do as well or better, on others
they do less well than comparison students. As part of the curriculum
development process, revisions have been made to strengthen students'
algebraic skills. The final and published version of the Core-Plus Mathematics
curriculum maintains the well-documented effectiveness of the curriculum,
while strengthening students' algebraic procedural skills.
Important Mathematics
in Addition to Algebra and Geometry
CPMP students perform well on mathematical tasks involving probability,
statistics, and discrete mathematics.
National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP)
CPMP students scored well above national norms on a test comprised of
released items from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Student
Perceptions and Attitudes
CPMP students have better attitudes and perceptions about mathematics
than students in more traditional curricula.
Performance
on State Assessments
The pass rate on the 2004-05 Tenth-Grade Washington Assessment
of Student Learning Mathematics test for 22 state of Washington high schools
that were in at least their second year using the Core-Plus Mathematics curriculum was significantly higher than that of a sample of 22 schools
carefully matched on prior mathematics achievement, percent of students
from low-income families, percent of underrepresented minorities, and
student enrollment.
College Entrance
Exams - SAT and ACT
CPMP students do as well as, or better than, comparable students in more
traditional curricula on the SAT and ACT college entrance exams.
Performance
on College Math Placement Tests
On a mathematics department placement test used at a major midwestern
university, CPMP students performed as well as students in traditional
precalculus courses on basic algebra and advanced algebra subtests, and
they performed better on the calculus readiness subtest.
Performance
in College Mathematics Courses
CPMP students completing the four-year curriculum perform as well as,
or better than, comparable students in a more traditional curriculum
in college mathematics courses at the calculus level and above.
The above results are drawn from several sources, including two research papers presented at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association:
An Emerging Profile of the Mathematical Achievement of Students in the Core-Plus Mathematics Project
- Students' Perceptions and Attitudes in a Standards-based High School Mathematics Curriculum,
two field-test progress reports:
Mathematical Achievement on Standardized Tests
Assessments of Students' Mathematical Performance,
and a paper appearing in the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, "Effects of Standards-based Mathematics Education: A Study of the Core-Plus Mathematics Project Algebra/Functions Strand," Vol. 31, No. 3 (2000).
For additional information on the CPMP field-test evaluations, research studies, and school reports, see the CPMP main site under Evaluation.