Language‐Focused Interventions on Math Performance for English Learners: A Selective Meta‐Analysis of the Literature

The objectives of this two-part study were to: (a) investigate English learner (EL) accommodation practices on state accountability assessments of reading/English language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8, and (b) conduct a meta-analysis of EL accommodation effectiveness on improving test performance. Across all distinct testing programs, we found that at least one EL test accommodation was provided for both test content areas. The most popular accommodations provided were supplying students with word-to-word dual language dictionaries, reading aloud test directions and items in English, and allowing flexible time/scheduling. However, we found minimal evidence that testing programs provide practitioners with recommendations on how to assign relevant accommodations to EL test takers’ English proficiency level. To evaluate whether accommodations used in practice are supported with evidence of their effectiveness, a meta-analysis was conducted. On average, across 26 studies and 95 effect sizes (N = 11,069), accommodations improved test performance by 0.16 standard deviations. Both test content and sampling design were found to moderate accommodation effectiveness; however, none of the accommodations investigated were found to have intervention effects that were statistically different from zero. Overall, these results suggest that currently employed EL test accommodations lack evidence of their effectiveness.

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A multilevel meta-analysis on the causal effect of ANS training on symbolic math performance

10.31234/osf.io/z7km2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kailun Qiu ◽

Edward Chen ◽

Sirui Wan ◽

Drew H Bailey

Keyword(s):

Causal Relation ◽

Causal Effect ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Number System ◽

Math Performance ◽

Control Group ◽

Weak Support ◽

Group Type ◽

Numerical Representations ◽

And Control

The Approximate Number System (ANS) is hypothesized to play a foundational role in humans’ development of symbolic numerical representations and even the symbolic mathematical ability. However, studies attempting to investigate the causal relation between ANS and symbolic mathematical performance by training the latter and measuring the former have produced mixed findings. We systematically review the ANS training literature to investigate the strength of the effects of practicing ANS related tasks on symbolic math performance. Across 31 effect sizes from 9 studies involving 595 participants, for which neither the treatment nor control group received symbolic training, we found a small non-significant effect of ANS training on symbolic math task performance (g = .10, CI[-0.03, 0.22]). Some heterogeneity was accounted for by participant age, with larger estimates for adults than for children. Estimates did not vary significantly by ANS training type, training duration, and control group type. An exploratory analysis on the transfer effects of ANS training on untrained non-symbolic tasks suggests weak support for the key auxiliary assumption that ANS training has substantial effects on a general ANS, indicating that the training literature may not adequately represent theories on how ANS influences symbolic number performance.

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