The education programs on this website are primarily reviewed by the strength of the research, specifically on that program. Below you can see the criterion, by which programs are marked.

 

A+

Peer reviewed meta-analysis found an ES <1.0

A

Peer Reviewed Meta-analysis found an ES .7-1

A-

More than 4 studies, with a mean ES above .70

Or a peer reviewed meta-analysis found an ES of .60-.69

B+

1 High quality study showing an ES of <.70

Or a meta-analysis found an ES of .50-.59

B

1 high quality study showing an ES of .50-.69 and theoretically sound

Or research based: IE there are no direct studies and  most of the program principles are well evidenced, within the meta-analysis literature. 

Or a meta-analysis found an ES of .40-.49

B-

Somewhat research based: IE there are no direct studies and some, but not most of the principles are evidence based. 

Or a meta-analysis found an ES of .30-.39

C+

The program is not research based, IE most of the principles are not supported by the meta-analysis data. 

Or a meta-analysis found an ES of .20-29

C

The program principles have been shown to have a low impact in meta-analysis

Or a meta-analysis found an ES of .10-.19

C-

The program principles have been shown to have a statistically insignificant ES.

Or a meta-analysis found an ES of .01-.09

D

The program principles have been shown to have a negative ES 

Or a meta-analysis found a small, but negative ES

F

A meta-analysis found the program to have an ES <-.20. 

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Many math programs have little to no high quality research, so I decided to include a secondary grading system that looks at only qualitative factors. That being said, the primary principle of which PNG was founded on was that in order for an idea to be scientific, it must be proven. I therefore put considerably higher weight on the overall grading system, than I do for the qualitative one. The qualitative grading system is still numerically based and awards grades, based on the program's inclusion of what we see as the most crucial components, as seen within the scientific literature. Math programs are given grades based on the inclusion of the following principles: Direct instruction, individualization, proper scaffolding, grade appropriate word problems, conceptual instruction, procedural instruction, fluency instruction and the inclusion of all math strands. Programs are then given a score out of 8 and programs with a score of 4 or less would be considered a failing grade.