CalBoardOfEdStudyPart2

Carolyn wrote:

I thought I would do a 'mini-series' [on the California Board of Education study]
describing and discussing their results, section by section. Stay tuned.


What a great idea!

I've been wanting to know more about the famous California Board of Ed study.

Here's a terrific factoid about Dixon et al, from The Principal's Guide to Raising Math Achievement by Elaine K. Mc Ewan:

From a total 8,727 published studies of mathematics in
elementary and secondary schools, they identified only
956 articles that satisfied the minimum identification
criteria of being an experimental study of mathematics.
. . . The evaluators then used the evaluative criteria
for experimental research . . . Only 231 of the original
956 studies made it through an initial screening of
construct, internal, and external validity. When the
methodologies of those 231 studies were screened
for internal and external validity, only 110 studies
were deemed to be of high quality.


8,727 "studies."

Of which, 231 were scientifically valid.

231

Parents, teachers, administrators, and Concerned Citizens everywhere should have this figure tattooed to their foreheads.

When textbook publishers and ed school types use the words "research shows," you're looking at maybe a 3% chance they're right about that.

Given the fact that, by law, all research findings have to be replicated before they can be certified as facts, the odds are probably closer to zero.

(OK, I'm kidding. There's no law. Anyone can call anything a fact if they want to. It's a free country.)

CalStateStudyIntro


California study intro
California state study of group learning
California Board of Ed study part 2
education research - peer reviewed studies - chart

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