do evaluation studies say about the effectiveness of the Core-Plus
Mathematics Project curriculum?
There is a
large and growing body of rigorous research documenting the effectiveness
of the CPMP curriculum. Based on evidence from nationally standardized
tests (ITED, SAT, ACT, NAEP), course-specific tests, researcher-developed
tests, interviews, and surveys, the CPMP curriculum has been shown
to enhance students' mathematical achievement and attitudes toward
CPMP students outperform comparison students on the mathematics
subtest of the nationally standardized Iowa Tests of Educational
CPMP students demonstrate better conceptual understanding than students
in more traditional curricula.
CPMP students demonstrate better problem solving ability than comparison
and Mathematical Modeling
CPMP students are better able to apply mathematics than students
in more traditional curricula.
CPMP students perform better on tasks of algebraic reasoning than
This is the one area for which field-test research indicates mixed
results. On some evaluation tests, CPMP students do as well or better,
on others they do less well than comparison students. As part of
the curriculum development process, revisions have been made to
strengthen students' algebraic skills. The final and published version
of the Core-Plus Mathematics curriculum maintains the well-documented
effectiveness of the curriculum, while strengthening students' algebraic
Mathematics in Addition to Algebra and Geometry
CPMP students perform well on mathematical tasks involving probability,
statistics, and discrete mathematics.
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
CPMP students scored well above national norms on a test comprised
of released items from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Perceptions and Attitudes
CPMP students have better attitudes and perceptions about mathematics
than students in more traditional curricula.
Entrance Exams - SAT and ACT
CPMP students do as well as, or better than, comparable students
in more traditional curricula on the SAT and ACT college entrance
on College Math Placement Tests
On a mathematics department placement test used at a major midwestern
university, CPMP students performed as well as students in traditional
precalculus courses on basic algebra and advanced algebra subtests,
and they performed better on the calculus readiness subtest.
in College Mathematics Courses
CPMP students completing the four-year curriculum perform as well
as, or better than, comparable students in a more traditional curriculum
in college mathematics courses at the calculus level and above.
The above results are further elaborated in
- "The Core-Plus Mathematics Project: Perspectives and student achievement," appearing
in S. Senk and D. Thompson (Eds.), Standards-Oriented School Mathematics
Curricula: What Are They? What Do Students Learn? pp. 311-344.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.,
and in two research papers,
For more information
on field-test evaluation evidence, see the Evaluation
page and the annotated list of Research
Publications. For reports from schools using the published Core-Plus
Mathematics program, see School