Non-Traditional Mathematics Curriculum Results in Higher Standardized Test Scores

Sept16, 2013 — For many years, studies have
shown that American students score
significantly lower than students worldwide in
mathematics achievement, ranking 25 th among
34 countries. Now, researchers from
theUniversity of Missouri have found high
school students in the United States achieve
higher scores on a standardized mathematics
test if they study from a curriculum known as
integrated mathematics.
James Tarr, a professor in the MU College of
Education, and Doug Grouws, a professor
emeritus from MU, studied more than 3,000
high school students around the country to
determine whether there is a difference in
achievement when students study from an
integrated mathematics program or a more
traditional curriculum. Integrated mathematics
is a curriculum that combines several
mathematic topics, such as algebra, geometry
and statistics, into single courses. Many
countries that currently perform higher than
the U.S. in mathematics achievement use a
more integrated curriculum. Traditional U.S.
mathematics curricula typically organize the
content into year-long courses, so that a 9 th
grade student may take Algebra I, followed by
Geometry, followed by Algebra II before a pre-
Calculus course.
Tarr and Grouws found that students who
studied from an integrated mathematics
program scored significantly higher on
standardized tests administered to all
participating students, after controlling for
many teacher and student attributes. Tarr says
these findings may challenge some long-
standing views on mathematics education in
the U.S.
"Many educators in America have strong views
that a more traditional approach to math
education is the best way to educate high
school students," Tarr said. "Results of our
study simply do not support such impassioned
views, especially when discussing high-
achieving students. We found students with
higher prior achievement scores benefitted
more from the integrated mathematics
program than students who studied from the
traditional curriculum."

Tarr and Grouws' papers, which were recently
published in the Journal for Research in
Mathematics Education, come from a three-
year study measuring educational outcomes
for students studying from different types of
mathematics curricula. Tarr says improving
American mathematics education is vital for
the future of the country
.
"Many countries that the U.S. competes with
economically are outpacing us in many fields,
particularly in mathematics and science," Tarr
said. "It is crucial that we re-evaluate our
school mathematics curricula and how it is
implemented if we hope to remain competitive
on a global stage."
Tarr and Grouws' longitudinal study is funded
by grant of more than $2 million from the
National Science Foundation.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided
by University of Missouri-Columbia.

Journal Reference:

1. James E. Tarr, Douglas A. Grouws, Óscar
Chávez, and Victor M. Soria. The Effects of
Content Organization and Curriculum
Implementation on Students’ Mathematics
Learning in Second-Year High School
Courses .
Journal for Research in Mathematics.