Effects of Progress Monitoring on Math Performance of At-Risk Students

Abstract

Aims: In this research, we evaluated the effects of progress monitoring grounded in a commercially-available tool used to customize assignments and keep track of progress in mathematics for students in elementary school. Study Design: We used a randomized controlled trial and multilevel analysis to test the effect of the treatment on the outcome measures while nesting students within their classroom. Place and Duration of Study: Students in three elementary schools in the Midwestern region of the United States were in the study which took place across an academic year. Methodology: We used two-level hierarchical linear models for our analyses because of the nested nature of our data. We compared outcomes across high- and low-implementation fidelity treatment group classrooms as well as across treatment and control classrooms. Results: We found statistically significant treatment differences for monthly growth rate and elementary school fidelity of implementation effects were documented. Conclusion: Professionals engaged in progress monitoring use a variety of measures to track student performance and to assist in instructional decision making when data indicate a need for change. We found that the use of a computer-based individualized mathematics assignment and progress monitoring program resulted in improvements in both curriculum-based and standardized assessments. The effects of using the system were greater when level of implementation (i.e., intervention fidelity) was higher. The value of progress monitoring and the importance of measuring the relationship between fidelity of implementation and achievement outcomes that we found support prior research.