The Effectiveness of the Rocket Math Program for Improving Basic Multiplication Fact Fluency in Fifth Grade Students: A Case Study.

Introduction Current Standing of Mathematics in the United States In the United States, mathematics has long been an area of focus for improvement in the educational system. On the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES; 2007), the United States ranked eleventh out of 35 countries among fourth grade students, and ninth out of 47 countries among eighth graders in mathematics achievement. Studies conducted in 1999 and 2003 had the U.S. ranked as low as sixteenth in comparison to international peers. Historically, the interpretation of these rankings by educational leaders has been that the United States underachieves when compared to other industrialized countries in the world. According to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMAP) Final Report published by the U.S. Department of Education (2008), "American students achieve in mathematics at a mediocre level by comparison to peers worldwide." (p. xii). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES; 2010), though math assessment scores have more recently shown improvement at the fourth and eighth grade levels, the level of proficiency drops off as students progress through school. In 2009, 40% of fourth graders demonstrated proficiency on standardized assessments, only 32% of eighth graders demonstrated proficiency, and only 23% of 12th graders were at a proficient level (NCES; 2009, 2010). 12th graders were not assessed in 2011. The 2008 NMAP report stated, "The sharp falloff in mathematics achievement in the US begins as students reach late middle school, where, for more and more students, algebra coursework begins (p. xiii). In the NMAP (2008) report, one of the areas most frequently identified by surveyed algebra teachers as needing improvement was knowledge for basic concepts and skills. This included students being over-reliant on calculators for basic calculations (NMAP, 2008). Further, comparison studies between US children and children in countries with higher mathematics achievement suggested that, "contemporary US children do not reach the point of fast and efficient solving of single digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with whole numbers much less fluent execution of more complex algorithms as early as children in many other countries." In fact, "many never gain such proficiency" (NMAP, 2008, p. 26). Not surprisingly, the NMAP (2008) report called for improvement and greater emphasis on "the mutually reinforcing benefits of conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and automatic (i.e. quick and effortless) recall of facts" (NMAP, 2008, p. xiv). Fluency with whole numbers was the first item listed as a recommended area of focus in critical foundations for algebra. This includes proficiency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Translating Recommendations into Pedagogy Though achieving competency in mathematics is an important goal in our educational system, the fact remains that relative to reading, little research is available to suggest what best practices are or should be (e. g., Clarke, Baker, & Chard, 2008; Gersten, Beckmann, Clarke, Foegen, Marsh, Star, & Witzel, 2009). Students' weaknesses in basic facts, particularly fluency, impact their ability to efficiently acquire and retain higher order math skills (Ashcraft, 1989; Dehaene, 1999; Hunt & Ellis, 2004; NMAP, 2008). Lack of fluency can impact the ability of a student to acquire more complex skills and conceptual understanding by increasing the amount of time consumed in learning (Wong & Evans, 2007), the potential for error (Pellegrino & Goldman, 1987), and the overall cognitive load utilized (Dehaene, 1999; Delazer, Domahs, Bartha, Brenneis, Lochy, Trieb, & Benke, 2003; Pellegrino & Goldman, 1987; Skinner, 1998). To address these issues, it is important to ensure that sufficient practice in the classroom is devoted to fluency development. …