I CAN Learn® in Gwinnett County Middle Schools
The Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (GCRCT) 2004 math scale score was compared for 1,055 I CAN Learn® and traditionally-taught 8th grade students at two Gwinnett County, Georgia middle schools. Groups were NOT randomly assigned. Instead, the lower-performing students were placed in the I CAN Learn® classes and higher-achieving students in the traditionally-taught classes. Means and standard deviations of the two groups were compared within each school.
Although the scores at Sweetwater Middle School were significantly higher for traditionally-taught students (mean=321.1, SD=34.0) than for I CAN Learn® students (mean=315.0, SD=24.6), there is considerable overlap in the scores of the two groups. In fact, with the exception of 4 outliers, the I CAN Learn® group appears to perform as well as the traditional group. This is particularly noteworthy because the lowest-performing students from the 2002-2003 school year were placed in the I CAN Learn® classes. With I CAN Learn® Algebra, the lowest-performing students acquired achievement levels on par with the vast majority of the more advanced traditionally-taught students.
Table 1
Descriptive Statistics and Effect Sizes
| Class type | N | Mean | Std. Deviation | Std. Error Mean |
| Control | 613 | 321.0750 | 34.0395 | 1.3748 |
| I CAN Learn | 118 | 315.0339 | 24.6209 | 2.2665 |
Fig. 1. GCRCT math mean student performance by class type at Sweetwater Middle School
Results at Summerour Middle School were similar to those at Sweetwater. At Summerour, the test results from the 2003 IAAT were used to place students scoring 160 to 200 in Honors Algebra, traditionally-taught. Students scoring 130 to 160 were placed in Regular Algebra, traditionally-taught. The lowest-performing students - those scoring 130 and below - were placed in I CAN Learn® Algebra I. Still, the I CAN Learn® group performs nearly as well as the traditional group, with the exception of just 4 outliers. With I CAN Learn® Algebra, the lowest-performing students acquired achievement levels on par with the vast majority of honors and advanced traditionally-taught students.
Table 2
Descriptive Statistics and Effect Sizes
| Class type | N | Mean | Std. Deviation | Std. Error Mean |
| Control | 250 | 317.0120 | 31.0700 | 1.9650 |
| I CAN Learn | 74 | 309.3919 | 23.4864 | 2.7302 |
Fig. 2. GCRCT math mean student performance by class type at Sweetwater Middle School
It appears that I CAN Learn® mathematics is helping to close the achievement gap based for students who have traditionally performed poorly in mathematics. Given the positive relationship between math performance and higher level education, it behooves school districts to investigate such tools for opening the math gateway for all students.