Effect of the Frequency of Instructional Time on Seventh and Eighth Grade Mathematics Achievement Scores.

摘要

Based on Bloom's research and the Continuous Improvement Theory, changes must be made in the curriculum to increase student achievement. To achieve the goal of 100% proficiency for all students in mathematics, a middle school in a large urban public school district in Omaha, Nebraska increased the frequency of instructional time on mathematics instruction for a group of seventh and eighth grade students. The research question was: Is there a statistically significant difference between the frequency of mathematics instruction, daily versus every-other-day, and the performance of seventh and eighth grade students on the Nebraska State Accountability Mathematics Assessment (NeSA-M)? A quantitative causal-comparative study was conducted using ex post facto data to analyze the mean differences in NeSA-M scale scores from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014 school years for seventh and eighth grade students through an independent sample t test; 311 students were divided into four subgroups based on the frequency on mathematics instruction. This study showed a significant difference in seventh grade NeSA-M growth scores between students receiving instruction daily (M = 8.37, SD = 13.18) and students receiving instruction every-other-day (M = -3.62, SD = 16.72),t (126) = 3.93, p = 0.00. There was not a significant difference in eighth grade students' NeSA-M growth scores between students receiving instruction daily ( M = 1.03, SD = 16.22) and students receiving instruction every-other-day (M = -1.29, SD = 16.40), t (181) = 0.93, p = 0.36. The results of this study demonstrate the influence of increased instructional time on the growth on middle school students' NeSA scale scores.