Dive Brief:
- Noodle Markets has released the first of several reports about school procurement, this one highlighting which K-3 math curriculum products were the most popular among districts between 2008 and 2015, which had the greatest impact on test scores, and where socioeconomic status fits in.
- The study identifies Growing with Mathematics as the highest impact program in low- and middle-income districts, with Do the Math taking the top spot for high-income districts, and Bridges, Everyday Math, Math Expressions Common Core and Math Connects appearing across more than one list.
- Math Expressions Common Core was among the most purchased products at all income levels, with low- and middle-income districts also frequently purchasing Go Math and high-income districts seeming to prefer MyMath, Ready Mathematics and Harcourt Math.
Dive Insight:
A growing number of firms are tracking purchasing decisions by district to help everyone better understand what the most popular products out there are. Discussion forums for teachers and administrators also help distribute opinions about best practices and offer anecdotal information about impact. This is an age of easy collaboration across districts, and data-sharing is one way to get high impact for it.
The next Noodle Markets report is expected to look at K-3 English language arts procurement patterns across districts. The data is interesting to look at across income levels because relative cost was not always the deciding factor in purchasing. Some products actually seem to be better tailored to the needs of certain students.
