Book Description

"Transition Mathematics" aims to increase 7th- through 12th-grade students' skills in applied arithmetic, pre-algebra, and pre-geometry. This one-year curriculum also addresses general application to different wordings of problems, types of numbers, and contexts for problems and aims to promote mathematical reading skills. The curriculum uses the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) textbook. The sequence of the topics intends to assist the transition from arithmetic to algebra and geometry. One study of "Transition Mathematics," first edition, comparing it with "Expert Mathematician," met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. One study of the first edition and one study of the second edition of the intervention, comparing it with diverse curricula used in different schools, met WWC evidence standards with reservations. The three studies included more than 2,000 students in seventh, eighth, and ninth grades in schools throughout the United States. Three studies reviewed by the WWC investigated the effects of "Transition Mathematics." One study (Baker, 1997) was a randomized controlled trial that met WWC evidence standards in the original review and met WWC evidence standards in this updated review. Two studies (Hedges, Stodolsky, Mathison, & Flores, 1986; Thompson, Senk, Witonsky, Usiskin, & Kaeley, 2005) used a quasi-experiment design that met WWC evidence standards with reservations. Of the three studies that examined the impact of the first and second editions of "Transition Mathematics," one study showed a substantively important negative effect, one study showed a statistically significant positive effect, and one study showed an indeterminate effect. Thus, based on the results of the three studies, the WWC found mixed effects on students' mathematics achievement. (Contains 8 footnotes.) [This publication was produced by the What Works Clearinghouse. The following three studies are reviewed in this intervention report: (1) Baker, J. J. (1997). Effects of a generative instructional design strategy on learning mathematics and on attitudes towards achievement. "Dissertation Abstracts International," 58(7), 2573A. (UMI No. 9800955); (2) Hedges, L. V., Stodolsky, S. S., Mathison, S., & Flores, P. V. (1986). "Transition Math Field Study." Chicago: University of Chicago; and (3) Thompson, D. R., Senk, S. L., Witonsky, D., Usiskin, Z., & Kaeley, G. (2005). "An evaluation of the second edition of UCSMP Transition Mathematics." Chicago: University of Chicago School Mathematics Project.].