Mathematics Interventions for Adolescents with Mathematics Difficulties: A Meta‐Analysis

Abstract

We quantitatively synthesized findings of quasi‐experimental and randomized control studies of interventions designed to improve the mathematics achievement of secondary school students with mathematics difficulties (MD). We identified 45 studies (49 interventions) published between 1978 and 2020 and classified interventions into five categories: technology‐based interventions (TBI), schema‐based interventions (SBI), use of visual representations, cognitive‐based instruction, and other. We used robust variance estimation (RVE) to address dependency in effect sizes (ESs). The cumulative effect size across 139 outcomes was moderately large (g = 0.52), with a substantial amount of between‐study heterogeneity. A multiple meta‐regression analysis showed several significant moderators of interventions' effectiveness, such as content domain, intervention length, and dependent measure. We discuss limitations and implications for research and classroom practice.

A Meta-Analysis of Mathematics Word-Problem Solving Interventions for Elementary Students Who Evidence Mathematics Difficulties

“…Our estimates showed researcher-developed measures were associated with larger ESs than standardized measures. This result is consistent with prior research on WPS interventions (Lein et al, 2020; Kong et al, 2021) and other mathematics intervention research without a narrow focus on WPS outcomes (e.g., Jitendra et al, 2021; Myers et al, 2021). It is well-documented that outcome measures developed by researchers are more tightly aligned to the elements in the intervention; hence, they are more responsive to changes in students learning than standardized (Scammacca et al, 2007).…”

“…Hence, the current study's findings are likely to be more precise estimates of the moderating influence of interventionists on WPS interventions for elementary students with MD. Importantly, our conclusion is not uncommon and has been reported in other research (Myers et al, 2021). Our result supports the hypothesis that researchers tend to implement interventions with stricter adherence to the research protocol more so than school personnel, such as teachers (de Boer et al, 2014).…”

“…Only a small sample of studies ( n = 8) did not report implementation fidelity data. Given previous research demonstrating the importance of fidelity for predicting interventions’ efficacy (e.g., Myers et al, 2021), we urge caution in interpreting our results.…”

Teacher Qualification Typologies and Their Relationship With the Math Achievement of Adolescents At Risk for Math Difficulties: A Latent Class Analysis Study

“…Finally, due to the lack of evaluative data on actual teaching practice, our analysis did not examine how TQ cluster membership might be associated with teachers’ classroom practice specific to teaching secondary students who struggle in mathematics. We note this is a key gap in the literature as teachers’ use of research-based practices is critical for increasing these students’ mathematical achievement (Jitendra et al, 2018; Myers et al, 2021). Future research should explore whether teachers’ qualifications are predictive of their use of effective instructional practices that support math achievement among secondary students considered at risk for MD.…”

“…One reason for the dissimilarities in the effectiveness of middle and high school teachers may be the math concepts students learn become more complex and abstract as they advance from middle to high school (Wei et al, 2013). Furthermore, research demonstrates that adolescents at risk for MD show more considerable gains on measures that assess multiple content domains, such as EOG tests, than on measures that assess their performance in a single math domain, such as the EOC algebra assessment (Myers et al, 2021). Notably, the high school sample was significantly smaller than the middle-grade sample.…”