A COMPARISON OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION WITH PRESCRIPTION LEARNING AND THE TRADITIONAL 'PULL-OUT' PROGRAM USED IN SUPPLEMENTING INSTRUCTION OF MATHEMATICS BASIC SKILLS TO CHAPTER I (TITLE I) STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to compare the Chapter I supplemental mathematics program CAI with other Chapter I supplemental mathematics programs, Prescription Learning and the traditional "pull-out" program, in terms of achievement and retention of mathematics basic skills.;There were 577 Chapter I students from 12 middle schools and 3 elementary schools in the Portland Public School District in Portland, Oregon, who participated in the study. The subjects in the three treatment groups, CAI, Prescription Learning, and the traditional "pull-out" program, were naturally assembled.;Students in all treatment groups were pretested prior to their treatment. After one academic year, subjects were post-tested. The fall to spring difference in scores was used to measure achievement. Subjects were post-tested again in the succeeding fall. The difference in the first post-test and the second post-test was used to determine retention over the summer months. The criterion instrument used was the Portland Achievement Levels Tests.;A one-way analysis of covariance with the pretest as the covariate measure was used to statistically test the null hypotheses. F-ratios were computed and evaluated to determine whether group differences on criterion measures were significant.;The Findings. Four hypotheses were tested in this study. Two were related to achievement and two were related to retention. The results of testing the hypotheses indicated: (1) The achievement of Chapter I students receiving CAI supplemental instruction in mathematics basic skills is significantly higher than the achievement of Chapter I students receiving supplemental mathematics instruction by either Prescription Learning or the traditional "pull-out" program; and (2) The retention of Chapter I students receiving CAI supplemental instruction in mathematics basic skills is not significantly different from the retention of Chapter I students receiving supplemental mathematics instruction in basic skills by either Prescription Learning or the traditional "pull-out" program.