Effects of a Preschool Mathematics Curriculum: Summary Research on the Building Blocks Project

The study examined the Building Blocks preschool mathematics curriculum, a research-based program designed to support early mathematical thinking through coordinated computer software, manipulatives, and print activities integrated into daily classroom instruction.

Grade levels included preschool children, primarily four-year-olds in pre kindergarten programs.

The research took place in two urban public preschool settings serving low-income families: one state-funded preschool program and one Head Start program. Each site included one experimental classroom implementing the Building Blocks curriculum and one comparison classroom continuing with their existing mathematics activities. The comparison classrooms used standard district or program curricula, including Creative Curriculum and mathematics activities aligned with state standards.

Participants included 68 preschool children who completed the pretest and posttest assessments across the four classrooms. 

The study used a quasi-experimental comparison design with pretest and posttest assessments. Mathematics learning was measured using the Building Blocks Pre K Assessment, an individually administered interview assessing research-based developmental trajectories across number and geometry concepts. The number section assessed areas such as counting, number recognition, number comparison, sequencing, subitizing, and addition/subtraction. The geometry section assessed skills including shape identification, composition and decomposition, spatial orientation, and patterning.

Statistical analyses used factorial repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) with time as the within-group factor and site and treatment as between-group factors. Outcomes examined were gains in mathematics achievement between the beginning and end of the school year.

Results showed larger gains for students in classrooms implementing the Building Blocks curriculum compared with comparison classrooms. For the number assessment, effect sizes were 0.85 when comparing experimental and comparison posttest scores and 1.61 comparing experimental pretest to posttest scores. For geometry, effect sizes were approximately 1.47 for experimental versus comparison posttests and 2.26 for experimental pretest to posttest gains. Gains were observed across most mathematical topics, including counting, addition, subitizing, sequencing, shape identification, and shape composition. Results indicate strong positive effects of the Building Blocks materials. 

Clements, D. & Sarama, J. (2007). Effects of a Preschool Mathematics Curriculum: Summative Research on the Building Blocks Project. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 38. 10.2307/30034954.