Who Benefits From Differentiated Math Curricula? Examining School Context and Student Ability Within a Randomized Controlled Trial

• In Event: Advanced Curriculum and Classroom Practice Effects on Learners and Teachers

Abstract

This multisite cluster randomized control trial of Grade 3 classrooms across the country assigned general education classroom teachers to treatment or control conditions. 141 Teachers from 12 states and 43 schools implemented differentiated mathematics curricula. The analyses included a series of 3-level multilevel models where students were nested within classrooms, which were nested within schools. The final model failed to show a main effect for treatment, but did uncover interesting cross-level interaction effects. Whereas the treatment appeared to benefit high pre-ITBS students in the low pre-ITBS schools, it appeared to benefit low pre-ITBS students in the high pre-ITBS schools. The results underscore the importance of using nuanced comparisons that allow for the differentiation of treatment effects.

Authors

• D. Betsy Mccoach, University of Connecticut

• E. Jean Gubbins

• Karen E. Rambo-Hernandez, West Virginia University

• Lisa DaVia Rubenstein, Ball State University

• Jennifer Foreman, University of Connecticut