An Exploratory Evaluation of Dynamic Assessment and the Role of Basals on Comprehension of Mathematical Operations

Jitendra, A. K.; Kameenui, E.; Carnine, D.

Abstract:

The study was designed to evaluate the relationship of the curricular programs Connecting Math Concepts and Open Court to students’ comprehension of mathematical concepts and procedures. Twenty-four third grade students, twelve from a school using Connecting Math Concepts and twelve from a school using the Open Court mathematics series were randomly selected for participation. Equal numbers of students designated by their teachers as being high, medium or low functioning were chosen. Dynamic assessments were used in which students were given specific directions for working math problems and were then observed in doing the work and asked questions about their process and thinking. Three areas were examined: 1) conceptual understanding of borrowing; 2) the procedural connections between different mathematical concepts, such as addition and subtraction or multiplication and division; and 3) solving a two-step word problem. The latter two assessment problems were unfamiliar material to the students. The CMC group outperformed the other group in the all three areas. The scores of the two groups were similar in only two of the twelve sub-areas examined. In some areas the students in the CMC group who were termed low performing had higher scores than students in the Open Court group who were termed high performing. (Copyright © 2011, National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). All rights reserved).

Research areas:

• Project Follow Through

Year:

1994

Main publication type:

Program Effectiveness

Subtype:

Article

Keywords:

math; connecting math concepts; open court; basal programs; curriculum design

Source:

Education and Treatment of Children

Volume:

17

Pages:

139-162

Design type:

Posttest only control group design

Fidelity monitored:

No

Students included:

Third grade students, students with learning disabilities, Caucasian students

Location/Setting:

Public elementary school in the northwestern United States