Implementation fidelity and attainment in computerized practice of mathematics

Measuring the implementation fidelity (IF) or integrity of interventions is crucial, otherwise a positive or negative outcome cannot be interpreted. Direct and indirect methods of IF measurement tend to over-emphasize teacher behaviour. This paper focuses on IF measured by student behaviour collecte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inResearch papers in education Vol. 35; no. 5; pp. 529 - 547
Main Author Topping, Keith J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 02.09.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Acceleration (Education)
attainment
Computer Assisted Testing
Computerization
computerized assessment
Computers
Fidelity
Foreign Countries
Implementation
implementation fidelity
implementation integrity
improving classroom teaching
Mathematics
Mathematics Achievement
Mathematics skills
Mathematics Tests
Measurement
Morality
Norm Referenced Tests
Predictive Validity
Program Implementation
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic status
Students
Teachers
Test Reliability
United Kingdom
United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:Measuring the implementation fidelity (IF) or integrity of interventions is crucial, otherwise a positive or negative outcome cannot be interpreted. Direct and indirect methods of IF measurement tend to over-emphasize teacher behaviour. This paper focuses on IF measured by student behaviour collected through computers. Attainment was measured by the STAR test of maths (a computerized item-banked adaptive norm-referenced test). Implementation quality (IF) was measured by Accelerated Maths (AM) (an instruction-free personalized practice and progress-monitoring system in mastery of mathematics skills). Attainment data was gathered in the UK on 20,103 students in 148 schools, and of these implementation data on n = 6,285. Only a small percentage of pupils scored on five AM implementation indices at or above the levels recommended. Correlations between attainment and implementation indices were modest, but high implementation was positively correlated with high attainment. Socio-economic status did not appear to affect implementation or attainment. Implementation quality of AM is clearly a problem in the UK, and needs improvement. However, overall students still scored above average on attainment.
ISSN:0267-1522
1470-1146
DOI:10.1080/02671522.2019.1601759