CPRE Study Shows Mathematics Gains for Low-Achieving Student Populations in IMP™ Classes

In a recent study of high schools with low-income and low-achieving student populations, the highest growth in achievement was observed among students enrolled in the Interactive Mathematics Program.

The study, "Math Innovations and Student Achievement in Seven High School in California and New York" (1995, White, Gamoran, and Smithson), was conducted by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) and by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. The study examined different approaches to upgrading secondary mathematics instruction and achievement in schools with high percentages of low-achieving, low-income students in New York and in California.

A mathematics achievement test consisting of items derived from National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was administered to approximately 1,700 students in four school districts at the beginning, middle, and end of the 1992–93 school year. The highest achievement gain was observed in students enrolled in the IMP course sequence offered at a high school in San Francisco, California.