ERIC Number: EJ1467910
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Dec
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2056-7936
Available Date: 2025-04-17
A Tailored Small Group Instruction Intervention in Mathematics Benefits Low Achievers
Michael Rosholm1,2,3,4; Pia Beck Tonnesen5; Klaus Rasmussen6; Steffen Overgaard5; Julie Vangsøe Faerch5; Signe Gottschau Malm5; Jimmy Harder5
npj Science of Learning, v10 Article 18 2025
Running two separate two-stage randomized trials, we implement and test three variants of a small group instruction intervention aimed at improving mathematics competencies for the 20% lowest achievers in mathematics in grades 2 and 8 in Danish public schools. We calculate immediate impacts on math competencies as well as impacts in the medium term and conduct cost-effectiveness analyses of the different intervention arms. The context is the Scandinavian welfare state with an already high-quality public school system. Nevertheless, we find very large positive and cost-effective impacts of several intervention variants, some of which persist in the medium term. In particular, interventions in grade 2 tend to persist, while eighth-grade interventions tend to fade out in the medium term.
Descriptors: Small Group Instruction, Teaching Methods, Mathematics Instruction, Intervention, Mathematics Achievement, Low Achievement, Instructional Effectiveness, Grade 2, Grade 8, Foreign Countries, Mathematics Skills, Outcomes of Education, Achievement Gains
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 2; Primary Education; Grade 8; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Denmark
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Aarhus University, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus, Denmark; 2Aarhus University, TrygFondens Centre for Child Research, Aarhus, Denmark; 3Aarhus University, Centre for Integrated Register-based Research (CIRRAU), Aarhus, Denmark; 4IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn, Germany; 5University College Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; 6Statistics Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark