Date of Award

Spring 3-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Dr. Vicki Adams

Second Advisor

Dr. John Long

Third Advisor

Dr. Amy Spears

Abstract

For the last several years, Americans have fallen behind in the area of mathematics when compared to their peers in industrialized countries around the world. Singapore, on the other hand, was at the top of the world rankings in mathematics in the last four Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments taken by fourth and eighth graders every four years. This project focused on the impact of the Singapore Math program on two cohorts of students by utilizing their Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) scores from the mathematics subtest. The first cohort, A, was comprised of students who were in third, fourth, and fifth grade during the first years of the implementation of the Singapore Math program in 2007, 2008, 2009, and compared with students in Cohort B who were exposed to the math program since first grade, as intended by the publisher. The students of Cohort B were in third, fourth, and fifth grade in 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively. Data were also analyzed to see if the program had a correlation with a decrease in gender, ethnic, or socioeconomic (SES) achievement gaps when compared to Cohort B. Three tests were given in order to triangulate the results of the MAP test: difference in means by way of a z-test for a difference in means, a comparison of students scoring proficient and advanced through the utilization of a z-test for difference in proportions, and an F-test for difference in variance in MAP scores. Results of the study yielded mixed results. While there was not a significant statistical difference in achievement between Cohort A and B in third, fourth, or fifth grade, there was evidence to support that the subgroups that were included in the study iii (female students, Black students, and students with Free and Reduced Lunch status) performed commensurately with their peers in Cohort B.

Rights

Copyright 2015

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