COSTA MESA, Calif., Aug. 19, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Participating students in the MIND Institute's "Math+Music" program have outperformed non-participating students on standardized math tests each year for six consecutive years, according to a recent analysis by educational researchers from the University of California, Irvine. The paper describing these findings is being presented today at the prestigious national conference of the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C. "Since the MIND Institute's first year in South Central Los Angeles, where participating children outperformed non-participants by 29 percentile points, the MIND Institute approach to teaching mathematics has established a record of measurable learning advantages for low performing as well as high performing students," according to Michael E. Martinez, Ph.D, Associate Professor of UCI's Education Department. Martinez concluded in his report that the "overall impact of the program on standardized test scores was approximately two sigma, historically considered the maximum effect achievable by an educational intervention."
Founded by University of California scientists in 1998, the non-profit MIND Institute has applied over 30 years of research into learning and the brain into a successful math education process for elementary school students. The program, called "Math+Music," teaches difficult math concepts and problem solving skills using the brain's innate ability to visualize images over a sequence of steps in space and time, referred to as spatial temporal reasoning. Because the program is initially non-language based, it makes math vastly more accessible to non-English proficient students or those with learning disabilities. Math+Music also develops conceptual understanding far beyond rote memorization, even for high performing children.
In the most recent analysis of 2003-04 data from 15 schools and 5109 students, the MIND Institute found that 54% of second grade students, who completed at least 50% of the Math+Music program, scored "Proficient" or better on the California Standards Test, as compared to 41% of non-participating second grade students. For participating third grade students using Math+Music, 63% scored "Proficient" or better, as compared to 40% of third graders not using the program; and 44% of participating fourth grade students scored "Proficient" or better as compared to 30% of fourth graders not in the program. (The CST is a criterion-referenced test that produces an indication of mastery of math concepts appropriate for each grade level. Students are rated in five categories, based on performance -- Advanced, Proficient, Basic, Below Basic and Far Below Basic.)
Similarly, the difference in performance on the CAT6 for 2002-03 students using the MIND Institute program was most pronounced at the 3rd and 4th grade levels, where the greater-than-fifty percent group averaged 23 percentiles above the average for non-participating students. The difference in performance at the 2nd grade level was an average of 20 percentile points greater than the average for non-participating students. (The CAT6 is a standardized test of math concepts appropriate for each grade level. It produces a set of scores based on individual performance compared to national standards.)
"Six straight years of consistent, dramatic results at both low and high performing schools show that our brain research based approach is working for every level of student," said Andrew Coulson, President of the MIND Institute's Education Division. "The Institute's vision is to help every partner school be an education success. Based on these results, we are confidently scaling up our program so that it can be successfully replicated in every school environment."
According to Ted Smith, Chairman of the Institute's Board of Directors, "Benefits for our students go beyond these dramatic improvements in test scores, although math literacy could be the key to a successful career in many fields, especially engineering or science. Our teachers also report that students demonstrate improved self-esteem and self-confidence, strengthening their performance in other classroom projects -- basically, a better all-around student."
According to a 2005 MIND Institute survey of teachers using the program, the most important benefit of the spatial temporal math approach - even greater than outstanding math scores -- is higher order thinking skills. Coulson explains, "Educators are held accountable for their students' standardized test results, but they also care deeply about sending students into the world with excellent problem-solving and thinking skills, which extend well beyond memorization. As one teacher told me, her joy comes from seeing the light go on in a student who suddenly 'gets it.' Math+Music delivers on both counts -- it raises math scores as these results attest, and it also gives the students a firm grasp of math concepts."
ABOUT THE MIND INSTITUTE:
Based on over 30 years of research into learning and the brain by the non-profit MIND Institute, the revolutionary Math+Music program uses non-language based computer math games, with a boost from music training, to teach K-5 math standards, enhance problem-solving skills, and dramatically raise math scores on standardized tests.
Math+Music was first piloted in 1998, and is currently serving over 13,000 students at 67 schools throughout Southern California.
Participants in Math+Music outscored non-participants at the same schools by 20 percentile points on the California Achievement Test (CAT6) math test (2003). 58 percent more participating students vs. non-participants scored Proficient or higher on the California Standards Test (second grade, 2003). The computer math games (or lessons) are aligned to the state math standards for K-5. The curriculum is designed to be followed during the school day by the entire class over a school year.
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