Three Year-End Assessments
• 1993-94 Pittsburgh
• 1994-95 Pittsburgh
• 1996-97 Milwaukee

PUMP Students 50% - 100% better at problem solving and among multiple representations than traditional classes.

PUMP Students 6 - 25% better on basic skills (SAT questions) than traditional classes.

Langley High School 1992 - 1993 Freshman Class
• Comparison of passing rates in PUMP Algebra I, Traditional Algebra I and following mathematics courses:
  

  
  

Initial Freshman Enrollment

84

30

Pass Algebra I

68%

43%

Pass Traditional Geometry

45%

27%

Pass Traditional Algebra II

29%

17%

PACT Algebra I: Achievement Data

The PACT Algebra I curriculum and intelligent computer tutor are the result of years of research in psychology and computer science. These products have been subject to numerous formative and summative evaluations in the laboratory and in field studies. The three year-end evaluations in high school settings are summarized below.

The PACT Algebra I curriculum and tutor address both basic foundational skills and the higher-order skills recommended in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) curriculum, teaching and assessment standards. Our evaluations are designed to test achievement in both categories. The Standardized Assessments in the tables below include questions excerpted from the Iowa Algebra Readiness Test and a subset of Math SAT questions. The NCTM Standards oriented assessments include a "problem situation test" that assesses students' success in applying an algebraic analysis to authentic problem situations and a "representation test" that assesses students' success in pairwise translations among symbolic, graphical, tabular and verbal representations. These tests were designed to be challenging for students, to avoid ceiling effects that would reduce the sensitivity of comparisons. (The enclosed research report by Koedinger, Anderson, Hadley and Mark provides a detailed description of the 1993-1994 Pittsburgh assessment).

In summary, the PACT Algebra I curriculum and intelligent computer tutor have led to large and consistent gains on the NCTM standards oriented assessments (ranging from 50% to 100% improvement over controls) and moderate and consistent gains on the standardized assessments (ranging from 6% to 24% improvement over controls).