Diminishing impacts of double math   

This paper published by Stanford University's Center for Education Policy Analysis examines a sample of middle school students who were quasi-randomly assigned to either a math remediation class schedule (taking two math classes for one entire school year) or to a regular class schedule (taking one math class and one elective class in some other subject). Findings showed that increasing the amount of time struggling students spend in math class did improve math test scores, but the gains did not last in the long run. 

Students were identified for the extra class if they scored below the 50th percentile on the 5th grade state math test. Students who scored above the cut-off had just one math class. For the roughly 80,000 middle school students in the sample county, the author obtained data on their annual test scores, class schedules, and demographics from 2003 to 2013. 

At the end of the year, students who had double math scored higher than their peers who had only one math class. However, one year after returning to a regular one-class schedule, the initial gains decayed by as much as half, and two years later just one-third of the initial treatment effect remained.

The author concludes, "This pattern of decaying effects in the years following treatment is similar to alternative strategies for improving achievement, like reducing class size or improving the effectiveness of teachers. That similarity suggests a need to reconsider whether current remedial education strategies - characterized by short-lived increases in the quantity of instruction - are a cost-effective way to raise the math achievement of students who currently lag expectations for their age."

Johns Hopkins University 

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