Effects of curriculum-based monitoring and consultation on math performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the use of Accelerated Math (AM) would enhance student math performance. Specifically, this study focused on using behavioral consultation with AM to examine student performance and teacher satisfaction. Achievement, behavioral consultation, and implementation feedback data were collected. It was hypothesized that students using AM and receiving consultation would outperform students using AM only and students in the comparison group. It was also hypothesized that teachers receiving consultation would develop and implement interventions to use with the AM program that would impact student performance. Finally, it was hypothesized that teachers receiving consultation would be more satisfied with the AM program.; Subjects for this study were 301 students and 17 teachers in grades 3 and 5 from four elementary schools in an urban district. There were three groups of subjects: (1) students using AM with teachers receiving consultation; (2) students using AM; and (3) students not using AM or receiving consultation. The first two questions and their analyses examined the achievement differences among the three groups of students. The third question and its analyses examined the types of interventions developed during consultation meetings and their effectiveness. The final question and its analyses examined differences in teacher satisfaction with AM.; Overall, research findings indicate that students using AM outperformed students not using AM, however, the addition of behavioral consultation did not appear to impact student performance above and beyond the use of Accelerated Math alone. Significant differences were found between students in conditions 1 and 2 when examining total objectives mastered, total problems attempted, and time using AM. Teachers receiving consultation reported that consultation facilitated the development of interventions to implement with the AM program. Significant differences were found between teachers in conditions 1 and 2 when examining the consultation procedures used with the AM program. Finally, teachers in both AM conditions found that AM was a useful instructional tool and that they were satisfied with the program overall. Strengths and limitations of the methodology employed in this study are discussed and implications and directions for future research are provided.