Longitudinally adaptive assessment and instruction increase numerical skills of preschool children
Stephen W. Raudenbush, Marc W. Hernandez, Susan Goldin‐Meadow, Cristina Carrazza, Alana Foley, Debbie Leslie, Janet Eisenband Sorkin, Susan C. Levine
Abstract
Significance Socioeconomic disparities in math proficiency are observable when children enter kindergarten, and these disparities persist through the school years. Research suggests that overall proficiency at kindergarten entry depends upon specific skills that all normally developing children age 3 to 5 y can learn. We therefore designed a procedure that enables teachers to assess the skills of each child and tailor instruction to child-specific levels of skill. The procedure is iterative: Assess, teach, reassess, and teach, with three assessments per school year. We found that children in classrooms randomly assigned to this procedure gained substantially more in their numerical proficiency than did children in control classrooms. The program did not delay growth in print literacy and increased verbal proficiency.