Standards based Mathematics Curricula and Secondary Students' Performance on Standardized Achievement Tests

The current study examined the mathematical achievement of high school studentsenrolled for 3 years in one of three NSF funded Standards-based curricula (IMP,CMIC, MMOW). The focus was on traditional topics in mathematics as measured bysubtests of a standardized achievement test and a criterion-referenced test of mathe-matics achievement. Students generally scored at or above the national mean on theachievement subtests. Hierarchical linear modeling results showed that prior mathe-matics knowledge was a significant but modest predictor of achievement, student SEShad a moderate effect, and increasing concentrations of African American studentsin a classroom were associated with a stronger effect of attendance on achievement. No differences on the standardized achievement subtests emerged among theStandards-based curricula studied once background variables were taken into account. The two suburban districts providing data for the criterion-referenced test achievedwell above the national norm.