Empowering Math Education: Impact of an Online Math Program with Virtual Professional Learning

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Autor/inn/en	Linlin Li; Mingyu Feng; Chun-Wei Huang
Institution	Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE)
Titel	Empowering Math Education: Impact of an Online Math Program with Virtual Professional Learning
Quelle	Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (2025) PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monografie
Schlagwörter	Forschungsbericht; Mathematics Education; Electronic Learning; Mathematics Achievement; Achievement Tests; Mathematics Tests; Mathematics Teachers; Educational Technology; Communities of Practice; Middle School Students; Rural Schools; Prior Learning; Outcome Measures; Program Implementation; Technology Uses in Education; Assignments; Measures of Academic Progress + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Mathematische Bildung; Mathmatics sikills; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematical ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Achievement test; Achievement; Testing; Test; Tests; Leistungsbeurteilung; Leistungsüberprüfung; Leistung; Testdurchführung; Testen; Mathematics; Teacher; Teachers; Mathematik; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Unterrichtsmedien; Community; Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Rural area; Rural areas; School; Schools; Ländlicher Raum; Schule; Schulen; Vorkenntnisse; Technology enhanced learning; Technology aided learning; Technologieunterstütztes Lernen; Assignment; Auftrag; Zuweisung
Abstract	Context: Mathematics education remains a critical focus for national education improvement efforts, particularly in light of the learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, the average NAEP math score for eighth graders dropped by 8 points compared to 2019. Since 2022, scores have risen for higher-performing students in the 75th and 90th percentiles, while lowerperforming students in the 10th and 25th percentiles have seen a decline (NEAP, 2024). Research has shown that independent practice and teachers' use of resulting data to inform instruction are crucial for student learning (Irons & Elkington, 2021). However, traditional, paper-based independent practice has limitations: when students complete their work, they may make errors and practice incorrectly, and teachers have limited time to analyze students' progress and adjust their subsequent instruction (Mendicino, et al., 2009). Educational technologies provide opportunities to address these challenges by providing independent practice for students and analytics of formative assessment data for teachers. Established in 2004, ASSISTments, an online math platform, was specifically designed to provide independent practice opportunities for students and formative assessment (Heritage & Popham, 2013) data analytics for teachers. Purpose/Research Questions: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of the virtual professional learning community (vPLC)-augmented ASSISTments platform on middle school students' math achievement. The study paid special focus to rural schools and how the incorporation of the vPLC could aid in teachers' ability to build community and work together across the nation. The study addresses the following research questions: (1) What is the effect of the vPLC-augmented ASSISTments platform on the math achievement of students in 6th-8th grades?; (2) What is the effect of the vPLC-augmented ASSISTments platform on the math achievement of students in 6th-8th grades in rural schools?; (3) Do the effects of the vPLC-augmented ASSISTments platform vary for students with different prior achievement?; and (4) Do participating teachers implement the vPLC-augmented ASSISTments platform as intended by the developer? Settings/Population: The study took place in two cohorts (2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years) in a diverse sample of 36 schools across 24 states in the United States, involving 59 middle school teachers and their math classrooms. Among the 36 schools, 18 schools (with 28 teachers) from 12 states are rural. More than half of the students (52%) are eligible for free reduced lunch. Intervention: Prior studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of ASSISTments on student learning when using a visiting coach training method that includes face-to-face workshops and in-person classroom visits to support teachers' implementation (Roschelle et al., 2016; Feng et al., 2025). As a part of an Education Innovation Research (EIR) grant, the ASSISTments program is augmented with a vPLC to facilitate training and teacher-to-teacher discussions about math practices and pedagogy. As a key component of the intervention and as a scale-up mechanism, vPLC removes barriers associated with travel and scheduling of coaching which are major considerations for rural districts to adopt a program. Teachers received professional development over the school year via 8 sessions of vPLC that addressed how teachers could use ASSISTments reports to adapt and differentiate instruction, create consistent routines for students, and engage in meaningful discussion about the data. In the meantime, teachers followed the four steps of formative assessment practices implementing ASSISTments: 1) Create math assignments aligned with grade-level standards, 2) Encourage students to complete assignments independently and use immediate feedback, hints, and explanations to support problem-solving, 3) Obtain reports that summarize individual and class performance and common wrong answers, 4) Analyze the anonymous data with the class, discuss common errors, and customize assignments. Research Design: This study used a matched quasi-experimental design: Students using ASSISTments were compared with a virtual comparison group (VCG) drawn from a national testing database. The comparison group was identified (matched) based on the NWEA MAP Growth Math Assessment administered to the treatment students at the baseline in the Fall of 2022 (for Cohort 1) or the Fall of 2023 (for Cohort 2). For each student in the treatment group, NWEA identified matched non-treatment group students in their database based on school locale, school-level percentage of students eligible for free-or-reduced priced lunch, test-taking dates, student's grade level, and pre-test scores. The mean of the post-test scores of up to 51 random samples of the matched students was considered a "virtual comparison" score that was used in estimating impact. Data Collection and Analysis: Outcome measure. The study measures student math achievement with the online MAP Growth Math Assessment provided by NWEA. MAP assessments have demonstrated reliability and validity (NWEA, 2019). The test was administered twice a year, once in the fall as a baseline and once in the spring as an outcome. Fidelity of Implementation. Fidelity of implementation includes four key components: 1) Teacher attendance in vPLC sessions and completion of practice assignments, 2) Teachers making assignments in ASSISTments consistently, 3) Teachers reviewing reports regularly to support data-driven adaptation, and 4) Students completing assigned problems to receive immediate support. Program Implementation. Teacher interviews and classroom observations provide information on the variation in implementation, the influence of ASSISTments on teachers' practices in the classrooms, and barriers and facilitators. Teacher day-to-day math instruction practices are captured with instructional logs. An end-of-study survey asks teachers to reflect on their overall experience and provide feedback. Key Findings: We used a partially nested hierarchical linear model (Lohr et al. 2014) with treatment students nested in teachers to analyze the impact of the intervention on students' math performance. The results indicated that treatment students outperformed the virtual comparison group on the spring MAP assessment, although the difference was not statistically significant. Yet, treatment students who scored below the 50th percentile on the baseline assessment showed significant positive improvement compared to the comparison group (p = 0.020; effect size g = 0.1). Similar results were found for treatment students in rural schools. Descriptive analysis of the implementation fidelity data indicated that the program met the fidelity threshold for teachers' participation in vPLC, making assignments in ASSISTments consistently, and reviewing reports regularly to support data-driven adaptation. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. 2040 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208. Tel: 202-495-0920; e-mail: contact@sree.org; Web site: https://www.sree.org/
Begutachtung	Peer reviewed
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2026/1/02