I CAN Learn® vs Traditionally-taught Students
Fort Worth, Texas 2002

Students in Fort Worth, Texas public schools take the TAAS exam in each grade level and also complete an End-of-Course (EOC) before they can pass Algebra I. Students completed their math requirement (either middle school math or Algebra I) in an I CAN Learn® (ICL) or traditionally-taught classroom. The following results were found at the end of the 2001-2002 school year.

Middle School Math

TAAS results for eighth grade students enrolled in regular middle school math (not Algebra I) classes were compared for ICL and traditional classes using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Means were not statistically different between ICL and non-ICL students. However, the mean differences were significant for students receiving or not receiving free/reduced-price lunch. The interaction between ICL and free lunch status was also significant. See Table 1 for the ANOVA summary table.

Table 1
ANOVA Summary Table for Middle School Math Students’ TAAS Scores

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable: TAAS MIDDLE

Source	Type III Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Corrected Model	5525.314	3	1841.771	13.470	.000
Intercept	19188083.134	1	19188083.134	140338.734	.000
ICL	61.597	1	61.597	.451	.502
NEWLUNCH	4648.638	1	4648.638	33.999	.000
ICL* NEWLUNCH	905.339	1	905.339	6.622	.010
Error	522296.843	3820	136.727
Total	22585768.000	3824
Corrected Total	527822.158	3823
a R Squared = .010 (Adjusted R Squared = .010)

The mean comparisons (Table 2) show that ICL students performed statistically equivalent to non-ICL students. Students receiving free or reduced-price lunch scored statistically lower than students of higher socioeconomic (SES) status. However, the interaction between SES and ICL was also statistically significant. The socioeconomic gap closes for ICL students but not for traditionally-taught students.

Table 2
Mean Comparisons by SES and Classroom Type

ICL * LUNCH
Dependent Variable: TAAS MIDDLE

		Mean	Std. Error	95% Confidence Interval
	LUNCH			Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Trad	not free/reduced	78.164	.457	77.267	79.060
	free/reduced	74.740	.357	74.040	75.439
ICL	not free/reduced	76.842	.488	75.886	77.798
	free/reduced	75.514	.300	74.926	76.102

High School Math

A comparison of high school TAAS exit exam scores revealed that ICL students significantly outperformed traditionally-taught students for both free/reduced lunch and non-free/reduced lunch groups. The ANOVA summary table is presented as Table 3 and the mean comparisons are shown in Table 4.

Table 3
ANOVA Summary Table for High School Math Students’ TAAS Scores

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable: TAAS EXIT

Source	Type III Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Corrected Model	3366.532	3	1122.177	8.070	.000
Intercept	3106276.596	1	3106276.596	22339.353	.000
ICL	721.072	1	721.072	5.186	.023
LUNCH	1230.423	1	1230.423	8.849	.003
ICL* LUNCH	17.794	1	17.794	.128	.721
Error	128342.720	923	139.050
Total	4947795.000	927
Corrected Total	131709.251	926
a R Squared = .026 (Adjusted R Squared = .022)

Table 4
Mean Comparisons by SES and Classroom Type

ICL * LUNCH
Dependent Variable: TAAS EXIT

		Mean	Std. Error	95% Confidence Interval
ICL	LUNCH			Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Trad	not free/reduced	73.142	.634	71.897	74.386
	free/reduced	69.903	.612	68.701	71.104
ICL	not free/reduced	75.007	.993	73.058	76.956
	free/reduced	72.464	1.420	69.678	75.250

Algebra I End-of-Course Exam

Students may take Algebra I in middle school or high school. A comparison of traditionally-taught and ICL students shows that ICL students outperformed traditionally-taught students regardless of free lunch status (see Tables 5 and 6).

Table 5
ANOVA Summary Table for Algebra I Students’ End-Of-Course Exam Scores

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects
Dependent Variable: END OF COURSE

Source	Type III Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Corrected Model	860799.021	3	286933.007	18.792	.000
Intercept	9663159879.756	1	9663159879.756	632872.003	.000
ICL	79988.793	1	79988.793	5.239	.022
LUNCH	740314.011	1	740314.011	48.486	.000
ICL* LUNCH	1140.946	1	1140.946	.075	.785
Error	70312560.927	4605	15268.743
Total	9807034000.000	4609
Corrected Total	71173359.948	4608
a R Squared = .012 (Adjusted R Squared = .011)

Table 6
Mean Comparisons by SES and Classroom Type

ICL * LUNCH
Dependent Variable: END OF COURSE

		Mean	Std. Error	95% Confidence Interval
Class	LUNCH			Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Trad	not free/reduced	1463.237	3.716	1455.953	1470.521
	free/reduced	1436.781	3.373	1430.168	1443.394
ICL	not free/reduced	1470.605	3.714	1463.324	1477.886
	free/reduced	1446.148	3.806	1438.686	1453.610