A study of the effect of the format of instruction on the achievement of high school mathematics students

Since the publication of The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards researchers have suggested use of a constructivist-based instruction that views mathematics learning as both an individual and collective activity at all grade levels. Although constructivist-based instruction has been an area of focus of mathematics education since 1990, high school teachers continue to use traditional instruction in mathematics classrooms, and students continue to score poorly on standardized test questions that measure use of mathematical skills with understanding.; Responding to the concern for improving student achievement, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) developed guidelines for school mathematics. However, research has shown that, although most mathematics teachers have an awareness of the NCTM guidelines, implementation has been uneven. One approach to implementation of reform and improving student achievement has been constructivist-based instruction, an alternative pedagogy to traditional instruction.; Although initial studies highlighted advantages of constructivist-based instruction in mathematics classrooms, several others have pointed out areas of concern. In particular, results of mathematics achievement studies have been inconclusive. Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe the effect of constructivist-based instruction on the mathematics achievement of first-time Algebra II eleventh grade students in a Title-I inner-city predominantly African American public high school in a large Texas urban school district. Achievement was measured using the mathematics subtest on the Exit Level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), a state-mandated assessment for high school graduation. The study was guided by the following research question: What is the effect of constructivist-based instruction on the mathematics achievement of first-time Algebra II eleventh grade students? This causal-comparative study compared first-time Algebra II eleventh grade students in 2004-2005 who were taught with constructivist-based instruction and first-time Algebra II eleventh grade students in 2003-2004 who were taught with traditional instruction. A parametric t-test for unpaired and independent samples was used to analyze the data for significant differences.; The results indicated that, overall, the mathematics achievement of the treatment group was not statistically significantly higher than that of the comparison group. It was concluded that the constructivist-based instruction did not improve mathematics achievement of first-time Algebra II eleventh grade students.