Research for Number Worlds:​ Math Intervention Program​

Research-Proven Math Intervention for Grades PreK–8​

College and career readiness today requires a solid mathematical foundation. Based on the findings from field tests, effectiveness studies, education research, and research around how children learn, Number Worlds® and Building Blocks® are proven as effective curriculum intervention solutions to bring students struggling in mathematics up to par with their peers in math literacy and fluency.​

Results with Number Worlds

Rigorous field testing shows that students who began at a disadvantage surpassed the performance of students who began on level with their peers, simply with the help of the Number Worlds program. A longitudinal study, measuring the progress of three groups of children from the beginning of Kindergarten to the end of Grade 2, demonstrates the program's efficacy.

Results with Building Blocks

Building Blocks software, embedded in the Number Worlds program, is the result of National Science Foundation-funded research. Building Blocks includes online activities and an adaptive assignment engine that guides children through research-based learning trajectories. In research studies, Building Blocks software was shown to increase children's knowledge of essential mathematical concepts and skills. One study tested Building Blocks against a comparable math program and a no- treatment control group. All classrooms were randomly assigned – the "gold standard" of scientific evaluation.

Doug Clements Discusses Learning Trajectories​

Children typically follow an observable developmental progression in learning math concepts with recognizable stages or levels. This developmental path can be described as part of a learning trajectory.

Applying Number Worlds and Building Blocks in the classroom leads children through the natural developmental progression, allowing them to retain and understand concepts more thoroughly.

Learn more about Building Blocks.

White Papers

The number line is a tool used in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. Recent research suggests the importance of the number line as a tool for helping children develop greater flexibility in mental arithmetic. Find out how Number Worlds provides activities involving the number line.

The Number Worlds curriculum is often referred to as a "research-based" program to distinguish it from more traditional mathematics programs that are produced by educational publishing houses to teach learning goals established by the mathematics education community.

Project-Based Learning activities focus on extending standards, while giving students experience working in group settings. Learn more about the built-in Project-Based learning lessons in Number Worlds.

Number Worlds professional development is built around five guiding principles of effective professional learning: content-specific, active engagement, teaching models, collaborative learning, and applied practice. Professional development activities in the program offer materials that result in effective professional development activities.

For more than a decade, increasing numbers of educators have stopped relying solely on print-based materials; instead, they have been incorporating digital programs into their daily approaches to lesson planning, instruction, and assessment. Find out how Number Worlds utilizes the digital component of Building Blocks™.

Rigor is a sought-after element in mathematics classrooms around the country. Adding rigor to program design provides students with the conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application of learning context. Number Worlds is proven to develop conceptual understanding and procedural knowledge.

Success Stories for Math Intervention Grades PreK–8

Number Worlds is proven to help struggling students accelerate math success with a proven approach. See what people in the educational community have to say about the results they've seen with Number Worlds.