Year of Award

2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Degree Name

Curriculum and Instruction

Department or School/College

School of Education

Committee Chair

Trent Atkins

Commitee Members

Georgia Cobbs, David Erickson, Ke Norman, Darrell Stolle

Keywords

Computational Fluency, Curriculum Based Measurement, Early Mathematics Skills, Mathematics, Number Sense, Response to Intervention

Abstract

According to recent studies, less than half of U.S. students perform at the proficient or advanced levels in mathematics by the time they reach grade 4 and the trend continues through high school. In order to improve instruction many districts have adopted scientifically based researched programs such as Response to Intervention (RTI), which allows for the examination of the effectiveness of the core curriculum that is being used in a school or classroom. In addition, RTI provides school administrators and teachers with educational tools to identify students who may be at-risk of failing and to inform teachers of supplemental instruction needed to build up skills that are identified as weak or lacking. Research on early mathematics skills indicates that skills performance at the kindergarten and first grade level may predict performance at later grade levels. Providing intervention early has been shown to have a positive effect on students' future mathematics success.

This study investigated the long-term predictive validity of the AIMSweb measures for kindergarten through grade 2 and the Montana Comprehensive Assessment System (MontCAS). The kindergarten and grade 1 assessments included the Test of Early Numeracy which measures number sense skills that include Oral Counting, Number Identification, Quantity Discrimination, and Missing Number. The grade 1 and 2 Mathematics-Curriculum Based Measures assessed computational fluency. The scores on these K-2 assessments were analyzed to investigate correlations with the grade 3 MontCAS scores of the same students. The results indicated that Number Identification and Quantity Discrimination provided the most explained variance. Overall, the kindergarten scores were stronger indicators of grade 3 performance than the grade 1 scores.

A sequential multiple regression model was also used to explore which of the TEN measures along with the hierarchy of tests from kindergarten through grade 2 had the greatest explained variance for the grade 3 MontCAS. The results showed that each test from kindergarten to grade 1 increased the predictability of the grade 3 MontCAS scores; however, the grade 2 scores did not contribute to the predictability of the grade 3 assessment. Overall, Oral Counting indicated the highest explained variance using this model.

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© Copyright 2011 Amy Jo Burland