WWC Review of the Report 'A Multisite Cluster Randomized Trial of the Effects of CompassLearning 'Odyssey[R] Math' on the Math Achievement of Selected Grade 4 Students in the Mid-Atlantic Region'

The study featured in this What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Quick Review examined whether exposure to "Odyssey[R] Math," a web-based mathematics curriculum and assessment tool, improved mathematics achievement of fourth-grade students. The study analyzed data from 2,456 fourth-grade students in 122 classrooms in 32 elementary schools in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The study randomly assigned all fourth-grade classrooms in 32 elementary schools to intervention or comparison conditions. Intervention classrooms used "Odyssey[R] Math" for 60 minutes each week during the entire school year as a partial substitute for the regular curriculum; comparison classrooms used their school's standard mathematics curriculum for the total math instructional time. The study assessed the effectiveness of "Odyssey[R] Math" by comparing the mathematics achievement of students in the intervention and comparison groups in the spring of the implementation year. The study found no discernible effects of "Odyssey[R] Math" on mathematics achievement in the spring of the implementation year. The estimated effect size of 0.02 is not statistically significant or substantively important. The research described in this report meets WWC evidence standards without reservations. Appended are: (1) Study details; (2) Outcome measure for the mathematics achievement domain; and (3) Study findings for the mathematics achievement domain Mean. A glossary of terms is included. (Contains 3 endnotes.) [The following study is the focus of this "Quick Review": "A Multisite Cluster Randomized Trial of the Effects of CompassLearning Odyssey[R] Math on the Math Achievement of Selected Grade 4 Students in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Final Report. NCEE 2009-4068" (ED507314).]