|
|
Overview
Program description1
Accelerated Math, published by Renaissance Learning, is a software tool used to customize assignments and monitor progress in math for students in grades 1–12. The Accelerated Math software creates individualized assignments aligned with state standards and national guidelines, scores student work, and generates reports on student progress. The software can be used in conjunction with the existing math curriculum to add practice components and potentially aid teachers in differentiating instruction through the program’s progress-monitoring data. Studies in this review assess the effectiveness of Accelerated Math as part of a school’s core math curriculum.
Research
No studies of Accelerated Math meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards, and three studies meet WWC evidence standards with reservations. These three studies, which included approximately 2,200 middle school students in grades 6–8, compared standardized test scores of students who used Accelerated Math with those of students who used traditional curricula.2
Based on these three studies, the WWC considers the extent of evidence for Accelerated Math to be medium to large for math achievement.
Effectiveness
Accelerated Math was found to have no discernible effects on math achievement.
| Math achievement | |
|---|---|
| Rating of effectiveness | No discernible effects |
| Improvement index3 | Average: +4 percentile points Range: –3 to +7 percentile points |
1 The descriptive information for this program was obtained from publicly-available sources: the program’s website (http://www.renlearn.com/am/), downloaded July 2008), Nunnery and Ross (2007), Ysseldyke and Bolt (2007), and Ysseldyke and Tardrew (2007). The WWC requests developers to review the program description sections for accuracy from their perspective. Further verification of the accuracy of the descriptive information for this program is beyond the scope of this review.
2 The evidence in this report is based on available research. Findings and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.
3 These numbers show the average and range of student-level improvement indices for all findings across the studies.
