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About CPM >
Statistics > 1998 SAT9 Results
California SAT9 Results for CPM High Schools
Spring Testing, 1998
1998 Test Results Summary
Totals for CPM schools are the weighted average for the 47 (of 58) counties. Schools included above use CPM texts for a substantial portion of, if not their entire, math program. Data for this report, including the County and California averages, are the scores reported by the California Department of Education as posted on its web site 6/30/98.
Each score reported is the national percentile rank (NPR) of the "average" student, which estimates the individual percentile rank of the hypothetical "average" student in each group. The SAT9 is a nationally normed test. Its norming sample was representative of the nation (with respect to geographical, ethnic, socio-economic, and urban factors), but not necessarily of the state.
Note that the scores reported here are NOT the percentage of students scoring at or above the 50th percentile as reported in many newspaper articles. The scores are for all students, including LEP (not proficient in English) students. The results for 8th grade are omitted because middle school scores mix algebra classes and all other 8th grade courses. Thus, 8th grade scores do not reflect performance using CPM materials.
Keep in mind that the SAT9 test is the assessment device chosen by the California State Board of Education for use in all schools to measure student performance. The mathematics portion mostly measures basic skills and elementary applications of concepts in a multiple choice format. In short, it assesses content and procedures, precisely the areas that critics of CPM have claimed are the program's weakness. If CPM was an ineffective means of learning mathematics, one would expect to see it crushed by dismal results on the SAT9. The data in the above table clearly shows that, on average, CPM schools are above the state average NPR in all three grades. Furthermore, only 25 CPM schools have average NPRs more than ten points below the state average, while 48 CPM schools are more than ten pointsabove the state average NPR.
These results are consistent with every study CPM has previously reported for student performance on multiple choice tests measuring basic mathematics for a course or grade level. CPM students do from somewhat better to significantly better than their peers in traditional classes on these kinds of tests. They do much better on tests that use written response items. However, we are not trying to argue who is better with the results reported here. The table above simply shows that, given the decent–not great, but decent in comparison to all California 9-11th grade students–results on the SAT9 test, CPM is one way to get the job done.
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