Language: English

Abstract/Notes: This study compared the effects of multi-age classroom strategies to those of traditional classroom strategies on the academic achievement of fourth grade students in reading and math. Standardized test scores from 20 fourth-grade students in two multi-age third- and fourth-grade classrooms were compared to the scores of 20 students from 7 traditional fourth-grade classrooms. The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), ninth edition was used as the test instrument. Scores from the students' third grade test in the 1996-97 school year were compared to their scores from the fourth grade test in reading and math by applying T-tests to the data. Analysis of the data revealed no difference in reading or math achievement between students taught in a multi-age classroom and those from a traditional classroom.

Language: English

Published: Salem, West Virginia, 1998

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: In 1968, Clifton Hills Elementary School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, adopted the "Supermarket Idea of Learning." This learning theory provided for setting up a learning center in each instructional area with materials and machines of instruction accessible to all students. Additional features to implement the theory included; a) a daily teacher planning period, b) teaching teams, c) elimination of grade level expectation, d) individualization of instruction, e) multi-age and multi-grade grouping, f) large and small group instruction, g) independent study, and h) opportunities for student tutorials. The California Achievement Test was administered to the students every October for several years; it was possible to compare the test scores for fifth grade children in 1967 before the program was implemented with the test scores for fifth grade children in 1971 three years after the program was initiated. The direction and degree of change of mean CAT scores for the 60 children were

Language: English

Published: Atlanta, Georgia, Feb 1971

Abstract/Notes: Four experiments were designed to identify socioeconomic differences in preschool locus of control, develop a measurement technique for differentiating between internal and external locus of control in preschoolers, and study the effect of four kinds of preschool programs on locus of control. During the first experiment, the Stephens-Delys Reinforcement Contingency Interview (SDRCI) was developed to assess internal locus of control development in preschoolers. When used with 24 4-year-olds in a Head Start program, the measure was found to have rater and retest reliability; the race of the interviewer did not significantly affect scores. The second experiment indicated that the performance of 32 preschool boys on a mirror-tracing task was positively related to internal locus of control as measured by the SDRCI. In the third study, investigators tested 55 Head Start preschoolers and 50 middle-class nursery school children with the SDRCI. Lower internal control scores were found for the Head Start children than for the middle-class nursery school group; no differences were found between black and white Head Start groups. A final study of 114 children found a nonsignificant tendency for Montessori preschool experience (and to a lesser extent, parent cooperative nursery school experience) to increase internal control, as measured by the SDRCI, more than Head Start or a more structured compensatory preschool program. (Author/BRT)

Language: English

Published: West Lafayette, Indiana, Aug 1973

Abstract/Notes: In Kentucky, nongraded primary education became a reality under the mandate of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in 1990. Research has produced some anecdotal information on the degree to which schools have implemented the ungraded primary program, but there has been no research to link the implementation of the primary program to student achievement or school improvement. Under the regulations growing from the KERA, schools devised different organizational arrangements for the ungraded classrooms, characterized by developmentally appropriate practices and multi-age, multi-ability classrooms. The variance in how students were configured in the multi-age classrooms continued to be a source of conflict and discussion regarding the nongraded primary school program. This study examined the relationship, if any, between the degree of implementation of the primary program and three measures of student achievement: (1) the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS)

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: An evaluation was conducted of a comprehensive plan to restructure a primary school in Candler County, Georgia, into a non-graded, multi-age, continuous progress learning center. The project entailed restructuring the classroom, implementing a shared decision-making structure, developing a learning curriculum, and using portfolio assessment to monitor student progress. The project was evaluated on three objectives: academic success, positive self-esteem and socialization, and the project's shared decision-making structure. These objectives were evaluated according to a case-study design, with the inclusion of quantitative and qualitative techniques. Academic success was examined through the following instruments: the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, portfolio writing, an informal reading inventory, and teacher ranking. Parent questionnaires, teacher questionnaires, and teacher interviews were used to evaluate positive self-esteem and socialization. Teacher interviews, teacher workshops,

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: A study examined the effects of multi-age/grade instruction, compared to the traditional single-grade approach, on the reading achievement of fourth graders. Subjects, 22 fourth-graders in a single-grade class, were divided into instructional groups based on chronological age while the instructional grouping for 22 students in a combined fourth and fifth grade class at a neighboring school cut across age and grade levels. The Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills was used to measure the growth in "total reading" over a 1-year period. Results indicated no statistically significant difference between means of the two groups, although a positive mean score in favor of the multi-age instructional design was noted. (A 50-item bibliography, and the themes of study and sample lesson plans for both groups are attached.) (RS)

Language: English

Published: Danbury, Connecticut, 1989

Abstract/Notes: The effects of multi-age grouping on achievement and self-concept were studied. The achievement variables examined were reading and mathematics achievement as measured by the Stanford Achievement Tests. The Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale was used to measure self-concept. The groups studied consisted of single-age and multi-age classrooms of children in grades one through five. No significant differences were found between children in multi-age and single-age classrooms on any of the achievement measures. The multi-age classrooms had significantly higher mean scores on one of the six factors in the self-concept scale--happiness and satisfaction. The multi-age classrooms had slightly but consistently higher mean scores on the other five factor scores and on the total self-concept score but the differences were not significant. (Author)

Language: English

Published: Cortland, New York, Apr 1979

Language: English

Published: Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, 2007

ISBN: 978-90-79506-24-8

Series: Montessori Series , 4