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On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness JUDGING THE QUALITY OF K--12 MATHEMATICS EVALUATIONS Committee for a Review of the Evaluation Data on the Effectiveness of NSF-Supported and Commercially Generated Mathematics Curriculum Materials Jere Confrey and Vicki Stohl, Editors Mathematical Sciences Education Board Center for Education Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Govern- ing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer- ing, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropri- ate balance. This study/publication was supported by Contract/Grant No. ESI-0102582 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation. Additional funding was provided by an award from the Presidents’ Committee of the National Academies. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data On evaluating curricular effectiveness : judging the quality of K-12 mathematics evaluations / Committee for a Review of the Evaluation Data on the Effectiveness of NSF-Supported and Commercially Generated Mathematics Curriculum Materials, Mathematical Sciences Education Board, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-309-09242-6 (pbk.) — ISBN 0-309-53287-6 (pdf) 1. Mathematics—Study and teaching—Evaluation. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee for a Review of the Evaluation Data on the Effectiveness of NSF-Supported and Commercially Generated Mathematics Curriculum Materials. QA11.2.O5 2004 510'.71—dc22 2004015000 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http:// www.nap.edu. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. National Research Council. (2004). On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness: Judg- ing the Quality of K-12 Mathematics Evaluations. Committee for a Review of the Evaluation Data on the Effectiveness of NSF-Supported and Commercially Gener- ated Mathematics Curriculum Materials. Jere Confrey and Vicki Stohl, Editors. Mathematical Sciences Education Board, Center for Education, Division of Behav- ioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness: Judging the Quality of K-12 Mathematics Evaluations http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11025.html The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Acad- emy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engi- neers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineer- ing programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is presi- dent of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Coun- cil is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness: Judging the Quality of K-12 Mathematics Evaluations http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11025.html COMMITTEE FOR A REVIEW OF THE EVALUATION DATA ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NSF-SUPPORTED AND COMMERCIALLY GENERATED MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM MATERIALS JERE CONFREY (Chair), Department of Education, Washington University in St. Louis, MO CARLOS CASTILLO-CHAVEZ, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Arizona State University DOUGLAS A. GROUWS, Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum, University of Missouri CAROLYN MAHONEY, Division of Academic Affairs, Elizabeth City State University, NC DONALD SAARI, Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Irvine WILLIAM SCHMIDT, College of Education, Michigan State University PATRICK W. THOMPSON, Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University, TN WILLIAM VELEZ, Department of Mathematics, University of Arizona CAROLE B. LACAMPAGNE, Study Director VICKI STOHL, Research Associate DIONNA J. WILLIAMS, Senior Program Assistant v Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES EDUCATION BOARD 2004 JOAN LEITZEL (Chair), President Emerita, University of New Hampshire JERE CONFREY (Vice Chair), Department of Education, Washington University in St. Louis, MO THOMAS BANCHOFF, Department of Mathematics, Brown University, RI JAN DE LANGE, Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University, The Netherlands LOUIS GOMEZ, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University, IL DOUGLAS A. GROUWS, Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum, University of Missouri ARTHUR JAFFE, Department of Mathematics, Harvard University, MA ERIC JOLLY, Science Museum of Minnesota JIM LEWIS, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln GEORGE MCSHAN, National School Boards Association, TX KAREN MICHALOWICZ, Mathematics Department, The Langley School, VA JUDITH MUMME, WestEd, CA CASILDA PARDO, Teaching and Learning Systems, Valle Vista Elementary School, NM SUE PARSONS, Instructor, Cerritos College, CA MARGE PETIT, The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, VT DONALD SAARI, Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, Universityof California, Irvine RICHARD SCHEAFFER, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida FRANCIS SULLIVAN, Center for Computing Sciences, MD HUNG HSI WU, Department of Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley vi On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness: Judging the Quality of K-12 Mathematics Evaluations http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11025.html Foreword The Mathematical Sciences Education Board (MSEB) of the National Research Council was established in 1985 to provide national leadership and guidance for policies, programs, and practices supporting the improve- ment of mathematics education at all levels. Curriculum materials for grades K-12 play a central role in what mathematics topics are taught in our schools, how the topics are sequenced and presented to students, what levels of understanding are expected, what skills students will develop and when. Schools, practitioners, policy makers, and the public depend on evaluations of materials undertaken during their development and imple- mentation in making decisions about the appropriate uses of the materials. The MSEB recognized that the nature and quality of the evidence used to judge claims of success and failure are critical elements in enabling the community to make sound judgments. This report presents a synthesis of the evidence used in the evaluations of several sets of recently developed curriculum materials, provides a framework for the design of evaluation studies of curriculum materials, and gives conclusions and recommenda- tions to guide future efforts in evaluating curriculum materials. The report was prepared by a committee of experts who devoted their time, skills, and scholarship to this project over the past two years. On behalf of the MSEB, I want to thank each of them for their commitment to the important and difficult set of issues this study comprised. I especially want to commend Jere Confrey and extend deepest appreciation to her for her extraordinary leadership and commitment as chair of this project. In addition to her leadership of the committee, Jere played an extensive role vii Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. viii FOREWORD in drafting and redrafting the report through the final stages of committee consultation and the intensive review process. Her dedication to maintain- ing the highest standards of scholarship and the full engagement of the committee, despite her many other professional obligations, was exem- plary. The report bears the imprint of her commitment to intellectual and empirical rigor; the field of mathematics education is the fortunate beneficiary. Joan R. Leitzel Chair, MSEB On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness: Judging the Quality of K-12 Mathematics Evaluations http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11025.html Acknowledgments This report reflects the efforts of many people, and the committee is most grateful for their contributions. First, we wish to acknowledge and thank our sponsor, the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Edu- cation and Human Resources, for their support of this study. The National Academies’ Presidents’ Fund also provided some additional support for the report. The committee was aided greatly by the individuals who participated in our evidence-gathering workshops. They helped us understand the nuances of curriculum development and implication and ways to evaluate the effi- cacy of such curricula once out in the field. The first evidence gathering workshop was held in September 2002 and focused on how to define or evaluate “effectiveness” of school mathematics curricula. The committee gained valuable insights from the experts who presented at that workshop: Johanna Birckmayer, Pacific Institute of Research and Evaluation; David Francis, University of Houston; Pendred Noyce, The Noyce Foundation; Andrew Porter, Wisconsin Center for Education Research; Frank Wang, Saxon Publishers; Jan Mokros, TERC; Thomas Romberg, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Sheila Sconiers, ARC Implementation Center; Andrew Isaacs, University of Chicago; Judith Zawojewski, Illinois Institute of Tech- nology; Solomon Garfunkel, COMAP, Inc; Norman Webb, Wisconsin Cen- ter for Education Research; Richard Askey, University of Wisconsin–Madi- son; Roger Howe, Yale University; William McCallum, University of Arizona; M. Kathleen Heid, Pennsylvania State University; Richard Lehrer, Vanderbilt University; Richard Lesh, Purdue University; Mark Jenness, ix Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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