Comparative Summary for Fifth Grade

The fifth-grade programs reviewed appear to fall into four clusters. In the first group is the only program that comes close to meeting the expectations of this review. Most of the topic areas are covered reasonably effectively. Although the guidance for exposition by the teacher is somewhat thin and the supplemental materials somewhat overwhelming, this program and a talented teacher would provide a good opportunity for student achievement.

4.1 A- SRA/McGraw-Hill SRA Math: Explorations and Applications

The second group contains two programs that might be reasonably effective and contain a fair degree of mathematical depth, but fall short of the expectations of this review. There are substantial differences between these programs, but both have the potential for success. However, achievement to the level expected in the review would require supplementation.

3.8 B+ Saxon Publishers Math 65: An Incremental Development

3.5 B Silver Burdett Ginn Mathematics - Texas Edition

The third group contains three programs with ratings overall that are below the expectations of this review. All three are lacking an adequate introduction to negative numbers, for example. Achievement with these programs would be expected to be limited to modest levels without more substantial supplementation.

3.2 B- Scott Foresman Addison Wesley Math - Texas Edition

3.1 B- Harcourt Brace Math Advantage

3.0 B- McGraw-Hill Math in My World

Finally, the last group contains the two programs that are not recommended for fifth grade use.

2.3 C- Everyday Learning Corporation Everyday Mathematics

1.3 F Dale Seymour Publications Investigations in Number, Data, and Space

Content Area Coverage

The ratings for the topic areas are summarized in the figure below. The two major topics on the left are of critical importance in fifth grade and given most weight in the overall evaluation. The two weakest programs are notably deficient in this area. The three more advanced topics on the right show uneven coverage across programs. The SRA program evidences the strongest coverage across all topics. The Saxon program provides strong coverage in three topics but misses two of the more advanced topics. The Silver Burdett Ginn program provides somewhat less coverage of the main topics while giving some attention to the three more advanced topics. No two books are very similar in the coverage across the topic areas, suggesting that student learning will vary with curriculum selection.

Content Area Ratings

Program	Whole	Decimal	Triangle	Negative	Power
SRA
Saxon
Silver Burdett Ginn
Scott Foresman/AW
Harcourt Brace
McGraw Hill
Everyday Learning
Dale Seymour

Program Quality Ratings

The figure below summarizes the program quality ratings for the fifth grade programs. The ratings in the three qualitative areas generally follow the overall evaluation with a few minor exceptions. Specifically, the Saxon program is a little higher in quality of presentation, the Scott Foresman/Addison Wesley program is a little lower in mathematical depth, and the Harcourt Brace program is a little higher in student work than might be suspected from the overall rating. In large part, however, the ratings in the three qualitative areas parallel the overall evaluation.

Program Quality Ratings

Program	Math Depth	Presen- tation	Student Work	Overall Eval.
SRA
Saxon
Silver Burdett Ginn
Scott Foresman/AW
Harcourt Brace
McGraw Hill
Everyday Learning
Dale Seymour