How to Increase Mathematics Achievement in At-Risk 6th Grade Students

Abstract

This study examined the impact of two interventions, Accelerated Math (AM) and Response to Intervention (RTI), on at-risk 6th grade students’ mathematics achievement. Participants with similar mathematics skills and who were identified as ‘at-risk’ were grouped into two groups of five. Each participant received a pretest, intervention, and posttest. One group received AM, and the other group received RTI. The groups met four times a week for 55-minute sessions for a total of three weeks. It was predicted that providing the mathematics interventions would not increase at-risk students’ mathematics scores. However, students’ scores improved under both conditions. Mean gains were 7.2 points for the AM condition and 10 points for the RTI condition. Therefore, the hypotheses that the interventions would not significantly improve mathematics scores were rejected. The hypothesis that the two interventions would yield statistically equivalent results was retained, however, as the mean difference in gains for the AM and RTI groups was not statistically significant.