| The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a standards-based, locally designed intervention, The Alternative Guide, on the academic achievement of English Learners (EL) on the mathematics portion of the California Standards Test (CST). A nonequivalent control groups design with one dependent variable and two matched control groups was used. This quasi-experimental design consisted of two control groups that were not randomly assigned. The Alternative Guide treatment was administered in the experimental school and pre and post intervention comparisons were made between the experimental school and the two control schools.; Participants in this study consisted of approximately 700 students enrolled in grades 2--5 at an elementary school. Out of this population, 575 are identified as EL students. The Alternative Guide intervention began in January 2005 and continued until June 2006. The primary student outcome, student performance on the mathematics section of the California Standards Test, was measured in April 2006. Performance level data were coded on a 0-4 scale and the analysis was limited to grades 2-5.; Qualitative findings reflect that the intervention was implemented differently in each grade level so fidelity of implementation was limited. Teachers and administrators noted that there was an increase in the level of performance in mathematics as a result of using the intervention.; In the experimental school, improvement on the mathematics section of the CST was uniformly positive at all grade levels with differences ranging from +.145 to +.601 of a proficiency band and +.329 when all of the grade levels studied were combined. Effect sizes ranged from +.137 to +.553 and the findings were statistically, as well as, practically significant.; Quantitative findings regarding the comparison of the experimental school in conjunction with the two matched control schools had different results for each grade level. Statistically significant differences favoring the experimental group were found for grades two and five but were not found for grades three and four. |
