Education Endowment Foundation:Increasing Competence and Confidence in Algebra and Multiplicative Structures (ICCAMS)

Increasing Competence and Confidence in Algebra and Multiplicative Structures (ICCAMS)

University of Nottingham and Durham University
Implementation costThe cost estimates in the Toolkits are based on the average cost of delivering the intervention.
Evidence strengthThis rating provides an overall estimate of the robustness of the evidence, to help support professional decision-making in schools.
Impact (months)The impact measure shows the number of additional months of progress made, on average, by children and young people who received the intervention, compared to similar children and young people who did not.
0
months
Project info

Independent Evaluator

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University of Manchester
Testing a programme to increase mathematical competence and confidence at Key Stage 3.
Schools: 110 Grant: £969,611
Key Stage: 3 Duration: 3 year(s) 6 month(s) Type of Trial: Effectiveness Trial
Completed December 2018

The project

ICCAMS (Increasing Competence and Confidence in Algebra and Multiplicative Structures) is designed to teach two mathematical areas that are a key part of the Key Stage 3 curriculum, but which cause problems to students – algebra and multiplicative reasoning (e.g., percentages and proportions).

The programme is comprised of 40 evidence-informed lessons and extensive teacher professional development and materials. The lessons are designed to help teachers use formative assessment in maths, helping teachers to identify the problems pupils struggle with and how to address them. Activities are set in contexts that pupils can engage with, are collaborative, and use visual representations to help deepen understanding.

EEF summary

Research shows that formative assessment is an effective pedagogic strategy that can lead to improvements in attainment and attitude. But implementation of formative assessment is sometimes poorly understood and it needs to be integrated with subject-specific pedagogies.

ICCAMS was developed to enable mathematics teachers to implement formative assessment. The original project included a longitudinal national survey of Year 9 students, which demonstrated the need for the approach. The survey found that there had been a decline in students’ understanding since the mid-1970s in both algebra and ratios.

ICCAMS was first evaluated in 2010, with 22 teachers and 600 Year 8 students taking part in a matched controlled trial. Students in the intervention group made greater progress than those in the control group. Our evaluation is the first large-scale randomised control trial (RCT) evaluating the effectiveness of the programme.

Our trial involved 109 schools and approximately 20,800 pupils in Year 7 and Year 8. The independent evaluation found that schools that received ICCAMS made, on average, the equivalent of zero months’ progress in mathematics (the primary outcome) compared to pupils in other schools. This result has a moderate to high security rating: 3 out of 5 on the EEF padlock scale. The evaluation did find that the programme had a small positive effect for children eligible for free school meals.

The process evaluation included 8 school case studies involving lesson observations and interviews with teachers. One of the case studies, in particular, showed that in certain circumstances significant changes in practice could occur, which was understood by teachers and independent observations to offer potential for improving learning opportunities through ICCAMS. Findings from the process evaluation also suggest that the cascade training model was not implemented as intended. For example, when asked to deliver training to other teachers in their schools, around half the lead teachers reported that they did not deliver all the planned cascade sessions. In addition, while each cascade training session was expected to be an hour, only 13% of teachers reported receiving sessions of at least that length.

The EEF has no plans for further trials of ICCAMS at this stage.

Evaluation conclusions

  1. Pupils in the ICCAMS schools made, on average, no additional progress in mathematics compared to pupils in the other
    schools. This result has a moderate to high security rating.
  2. Exploratory analysis suggests that there is no evidence that ICCAMS improved pupil progress in multiplicative reasoning or
    improved attitudes to mathematics compared to pupils in other schools but that pupils in schools that received ICCAMS did
    make the equivalent of one month’s progress in algebra.
  3. Pupils eligible for free school meals in ICCAMS schools made the equivalent of one month’s progress in mathematics and in
    the subscales of multiplication and algebra, on average, compared to equivalent pupils eligible for free school meals in the other schools. There was also some evidence of a more positive attitude to mathematics. These results may have lower
    security than the overall findings because of the smaller number of pupils.
  4. Teacher surveys found that 78% of lead teachers and 54% of cascade teachers said they were confident about ICCAMS
    teaching. Additionally, student and teacher surveys found some evidence that the intervention did change teachers’ practice.
  5. One significant challenge was the cascade training. Only 55% of lead teachers reported managing all the expected cascade
    training sessions. In addition, although each cascade session was expected to be one hour, only 13% of teachers reported
    that the sessions were at least this length.
Outcome/​Group
ImpactThe size of the difference between pupils in this trial and other pupils
SecurityHow confident are we in this result?
Mathematics
0
Months' progress
Mathematics (FSM)
+1
Months' progress
N/A

Were the schools in the trial similar to my school?

Project type: Effectiveness TrialKey Stage: Key Stage 3Subject: Maths
  • There were 109 schools involved in the trial, located in the South West, London, East Anglia, Yorkshire, and the East Midlands.
  • Schools had to have more than two class intakes for Year 7.
  • 28% of pupils in participating schools were eligible for Free School Meals.
  • Participating schools could not be in special measures.

Could I implement this in my school?

Delivered by: TeachersParticipant group: Whole ClassIntervention length: 2 years
  • This intervention is currently not commercially available.
  • Two lead teachers in each school attended training delivered by professional development leads hired by the delivery team. Nine whole-day sessions were provided for the lead teachers. These days were delivered in regional groups of around 20 teachers. There were six sessions in the first year and three sessions in the second year, making roughly 50 hours over the two years.
  • The lead teachers taught ICCAMS lessons and then delivered cascade training sessions for teachers in their school. Cascade training materials were provided. There were eight cascade sessions in total over the two years and each session was designed to last around 1 hour.
  • Each teacher in a school was provided with a handbook, with detailed lesson plans and brief commentaries on the mini-assessments together with materials to use in their teaching.
  • During the trial, schools found it difficult to fit in the number of expected cascade lessons. Schools also often shortened the length of cascade sessions to less than the expected one hour.

How much will it cost?

Cost per pupil: £15No. of teachers/TAs: VariableStaff training duration: 9 days

The cost to schools of delivering the programme is very low: £15 per pupil per year, as averaged over three years. The cumulative cost to schools over a three-year period is £5,920. These estimates are based on two lead teachers being trained per setting and on having 190 pupils per school involved in the programme each year.

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