An academic comparison between Project CHILD and the traditional classroom

The purpose of this study was to compare students enrolled in a traditional approach to education with students enrolled in a non-traditional approach called Project CHILD, and determine if there was a significant academic difference in the achievement levels of these students. The achievement level was determined by utilizing the students' reading comprehension and mathematics scores on a standardized test. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) was chosen as the measurement for this study because the State of Georgia mandates testing for all 3rd and 5th grade elementary students using the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and measures the success of schools by the scores attained on this battery of test.;The 3rd and 5th grade students at Crooked River Elementary School (CRES) were divided into two groups; traditional and Project CHILD. Only those students that had been enrolled at least two years at CRES were included in the study. This study examined the reading comprehension scores and the mathematics computation scores of these students. The achievement levels were measured and evaluated by means of a quantitative statistical analysis using an independent t test.;The findings of this study determined that in the area of reading comprehension and mathematics computation, there was a significant difference in the achievement levels of both the 3rd grade students and the 5th grade students. In comparing the students at Crooked River Elementary School, it was determined that the students in Project CHILD classrooms had higher mean scores and the results of the findings determined that there was a significant academic difference in the two classroom approaches.