Research Study Shows Stunning Gains for Elementary Students with Pearson's enVisionMATH Program

Interactive Learning Curriculum Builds Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking Skills

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) April 20, 2010

"So many of the math programs out there just tell students what to do; with this program the kids really are having to think and reason through the problems."                                
Rosalind Forber, Fifth Grade Teacher Miller Elementary School, Holliston, MA

Rosalind Forber's class was among the hundreds of elementary school students participating in an independent research study which found that fifth-graders learning with the Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley enVisionMATH program jumped the equivalent of an astonishing five grade levels in math computation achievement in just two years (see video).These students' pre-test scores in 2007 on the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT8) were at a fourth-grade level, but, by the end of the study in 2009, they were posting scores equivalent to ninth grade.

And the findings from the second year of this two-year randomized control study by Planning, Research and Evaluation Services (PRES) Associates showed that enVisionMATH students overall significantly improved in the areas of math concepts, problem solving, computation, and vocabulary.

The number one mathematics program in the U.S. today, the research-based enVisionMATH curriculum was developed by the education services and technology company Pearson in collaboration with the leading mathematics education experts in the country and classroom teachers.

The research results indicate that the longer students learned with enVisionMATH, the greater their gains were on the Group Mathematics Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GMADE) and the MAT8 in math concepts, problem solving and communication. For example, third graders gained nearly four grade-level equivalents in math concepts and problem solving after two years with the program, which is double the growth that the typical student will see over the course of two years.

New Hampshire special education teacher Mary Lou Saxton supervised her school district's
participation in the independent efficacy research study. She said, "I've been teaching for 27 years and I have never had a program that reached all levels of learners the way this curriculum does. It challenges the top students and accelerates the bottom learners. The biggest thing I would say to anyone that is looking at this program is that in all the classes that started with enVisionMATH, no students were referred to the special ed team for math. Not one. That's huge!"

Joyce Campagna, fifth-grade teacher from Rock Creek Elementary School in Ohio, said, "This is the first really substantive change that I've seen in math instruction since I was a student myself in elementary school." Her colleague, third-grade teacher Patricia Hitchcock, added, "The technology in the enVisionMATH program is an excellent component. It inspires a much higher level of student interest, and offers real world connections to the math concepts."

"These findings are astounding. In all of my years conducting educational program efficacy studies, I have never seen such consistency in results across all different student populations as I saw with the enVisionMATH curriculum," said Dr. Mariam Azin, president of the research group PRES Associates. Azin added, "In our study, we found that the enVisionMATH students significantly outperformed their peers with stronger effects occurring over time, meaning that student gains in the second year were even larger than those seen in the first year."

Azin noted that at-risk student populations' gains were especially significant:

•     In math vocabulary, enVisionMATH special education students achieved gains at a steeper rate of growth than non-special education students.
•     Students receiving a free or reduced lunch and learning with enVisionMATH saw their math computation and vocabulary scores improve at a steeper rate than students not receiving a free or reduced lunch.
•     Low-math ability students demonstrated greater gains when compared to middle- and high-ability students.

The two-year enVisionMATH study sample included more than 700 students from six states - Kentucky, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio and Tennessee. Today, more students in America are learning elementary level mathematics with the enVisionMATH program than any other curriculum.

To see a video on the research results, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHo8KbN2_1k.
To review the final summative report, go to http://www.pearsoned.com/new_research.htm.
To learn more about enVisionMATH, go to http://www.envisionmath.com.
To learn more about Pres Associates, go to http://www.presassociates.com.

About Pearson
Pearson (NYSE:PSO), the global leader in education services, technology and school solutions, provides innovative print and digital education materials for preK through college, student information systems and learning management systems, teacher professional development, career certification programs, and testing and assessment products that set the standard for the industry. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. For more information, go to http://www.pearsonschool.com.

Contact: kate(dot)miller(at)pearson(dot)com - 800.745.8489

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