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Comparison of Performance on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test by Students Enrolled in a...

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Comparison of Performance on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test by Students Enrolled in a Standards-Based Mathematics Program with Students Enrolled in a Traditional Mathematics Program

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Identifier	Thesis 1802
Author	Heuer, Christi
Title	Comparison of Performance on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test by Students Enrolled in a Standards-Based Mathematics Program with Students Enrolled in a Traditional Mathematics Program
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date of Publication	2005
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Abstract	The debate over the effectiveness of a "reform" mathematics curriculum verses a "traditional" mathematics curriculum in student achievement has been widely discussed and studied. Standards-based, or reform, programs emphasize applications to solve real-world problems. Traditional programs place more value on learning basic mathematics skills and formulas. The purpose of my study is to see if there is a significant difference in mathematics achievement when taught from the standards-based mathematics curriculum MATH Connections compared to a traditional curriculum. Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) and corresponding Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) scores from students learning from each program are compared and discussed. The CMT scores are used to see how each group compares prior to the introduction of the standards-based program being taught to one group. The sample consists of 39 Connecticut 10th grade students enrolled in the standards-based mathematics curriculum MATH Connections, and 34 students enrolled in a traditional curriculum. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed so that the two differing mathematics programs could be compared using the CAPT scores from both groups. The results of the ANCOVA show a p-value of 0.800 between districts, indicating no statistically significant difference in the mean CAPT scores between either group of students. Learning mathematics using the standards-based program has no bearing on whether or not students will outperform similar students on the CAPT who learn using a traditional mathematics program. While the style of the CAPT and the standards-based program parallel each other in many ways, some changes in traditional mathematics textbooks may help to explain why no significant difference exists in this study. With the introduction of the NCTM standards, many traditional mathematics textbooks have begun to incorporate open-ended responses and higher order thinking skills into their curricula, skills typically assessed in tests such as the CAPT. It is apparent from this research that traditional programs prepare students well enough for what is measured on the CAPT that its learners compete very well with those learners in the standards-based program.
Subject	Connecticut Academic Performance Test Mathematical ability -- Testing Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Connecticut Achievement tests -- Connecticut
Department	Department of Mathematical Sciences
Advisor	Halloran, Philip P
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	713734981
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Comparison of Performance on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test by Students Enrolled in a Standards-Based Mathematics Program with Students Enrolled in a Traditional Mathematics Program

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