Early Learning in Mathematics

Project Overview

Funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the purpose of the 4-year research project is to test the efficacy of the Early Learning in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum. The ELM curriculum is a comprehensive mathematics curriculum for general education kindergarten classrooms consisting of 120 lessons providing explicit instruction in (a) number operations, (b) geometry, (c) measurement, and (d) vocabulary.

The curriculum was developed to address concerns related to poor achievement across the grades in mathematics, particularly for students from low income (SES) and minority backgrounds.

As a part of the 3-year development process, ELM was field tested in 18 classrooms. The preliminary findings showed that although average students in the ELM curriculum did as well as comparison students, at-risk students performed better on most measures than their comparison counterparts.

The efficacy of the ELM curriculum will be evaluated on a short-term and long-term basis; Students will be assessed three times through the year: beginning, middle, and end. Long-term student outcomes will be assessed one-half year after treatment and control instruction, when students are in the middle of first grade. Classroom observations will be conducted on three occasions per year to determine if variables related to instructional effectiveness mediate student learning. In addition, variables associated with student and teacher-classrooms characteristics hypothesized to moderate treatment impact will be collected.

Timeline and Status

(2008-present)
As of July 2010, ELM research is still in progress. If you would like to request more information regarding ELM research, click here.

Participants and Partners

University of Oregon
Pacific Institutes for Research
Texas School Districts: Dallas ISD, Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Philips School and Community Center, and Uplift Education
Oregon School Districts: Hillsboro, Medford, and Tigard-Tualatin

Funding Source

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences

Principal Investigators

David Chard, PhD, Dean of the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education & Human Development
Scott Baker, PhD, Director of the Pacific Institute for Research at the University of Oregon

Co Principal Investigators

Ben Clarke, PhD
Hank Fien, PhD
Keith Smolkowski, PhD

Research Team

Texas

Sherril English, Dallas Project Coordinator
Ola Ozranov-Palchik, SMU Research Associate
Saralyn Miller, SMU Doctoral Student

Oregon

Kathleen Jungjohan, Curriculum, Training, and Implementation
Chris Doabler, Observations, Data Manager
Mari Strand Cary, Research Coordinator