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Christopher Lopata
University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY
Nancy V. Wallace
Kristin V. Finn
Canisius College, Buffalo, NY
Abstract. The purpose of this study was to compare the academic achievement of
543 urban 4th- (n=291) and 8th- (n=252) grade students who attended Montes-
sori or traditional education programs. The majority of the sample consisted of
minority students (approximately 53 percent), and was considered low income
(approximately 67 percent). Students who attended a public Montessori school
were compared with students who attended structured magnet, open magnet, and
traditional non-magnet public schools on standardized measures of math and
language arts. Results of the study failed to support the hypothesis that enroll-
ment in a Montessori school was associated with higher academic achievement.
Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.
Maria Montessori developed the first Mon- and early childhood and child care centers
tessori school in 1907 to serve children (Haines, 1995). At present, there is an es-
who were economically disadvantaged, as timated 4,000 private Montessori programs
well as children with mental retardation and more than 200 Montessori-styled public
(Pickering, 1992). Her work included de- schools serving students from infancy to 8th
velopment of specific educational methods grade (North American Montessori Teach-
and materials based on her belief about ers’ Association, 2003).
how children learn. Although Montessori According to Ryniker and Shoho (2001),
programs have historically ended at age 6, the Montessori approach is based on the
elementary Montessori programs became tenet that children learn most effectively
more prevalent in the 1990s, with middle when information is developmentally ap-
and secondary programs slowly emerging propriate. Central to this approach is the
(Seldin, 2002-03). The Montessori move- notion that children’s natural tendencies
ment received a boost when federal fund- “unfold” in specially designed multi-age
ing was released for magnet programs environments that contain manipulative
that allowed public funding for Montessori self-correcting materials (North American
programs (Chattin-McNichols, 1992). Mon- Montessori Teachers’ Association, 2003).
tessori programs are currently found in Montessori reportedly identified genetically
a variety of settings, including inner-city programmed “sensitive periods” in which
and affluent areas, large urban magnet children have exaggerated capacity and
programs, preschools for children at risk, eagerness to acquire skills and information
Lopata, wallace, and finn
tary and latency age children (Glenn, classrooms using Montessori instructional
1996; Kendall, 1993). To overcome these materials. The role of the teacher was de-
weaknesses, the current study empirically scribed as one of observer and facilitator
tested whether students in a Montessori in student learning. This child-centered
school outperformed non-Montessori stu- approach emphasized the “total develop-
dents using standardized measures of math ment of the child,” and learning over work
and language arts. Specifically, 4th- and products. Specifically, the school focused
8th-grade students who attended a Mon- on the process of learning instead of work
tessori school were compared to matched- output. Behavioral reinforcement and/or
samples of students in structured magnet, consequences were not employed to man-
open magnet, and traditional non-magnet age student behaviors. The stated goal of
schools in a large urban district. the Montessori school was development of
strong self-directed young adults who pursue
Method a lifetime love of independently learning.
Sample Two separate non-selective magnet
The sample for the current study consisted schools (i.e., no admissions requirements/
of 543 4th- and 8th-grade students (i.e., tests) were chosen for comparison to reduce
291 4th-graders and 252 8th-graders) in a the potential confound of parental selec-
large urban district in western New York. tion and choice. The magnet programs
Four public schools were selected for par- required parental selection and enrollment
ticipation: Montessori, Open Magnet (OM), procedures that paralleled those of the
Structured Magnet (SM), and Traditional Montessori school. Specifically, parents
Non-Magnet (TNM) schools. Schools were had contacted the district’s magnet office
selected based on grossly similar school and identified three possible magnet schools
profiles provided by the New York State of interest. Student placement was deter-
Education Department. To control for mined by lottery.
demographic differences between school The Structured Magnet (SM) school
types, schools were matched on gender, emphasized back-to-basics curricular con-
ethnicity, and socio-economic status (SES). tent, driven by New York State standards.
SES was determined using the federal Instruction was described as teacher-
formula for free and reduced lunch. Based directed, with drill-and-practice used to
on the formula, students were categorized develop skills and curricular proficiency.
by the district as “low income” or “not low Instructional materials regularly included
income.” Overall, approximately 67 percent textbooks, workbooks, and worksheets, and
of the total sample was identified as low students completed assigned work at their
income (i.e., 69 percent of grade 4 and 64 desks. There was also a strong school-
percent of grade 8). White students con- wide emphasis on structured classrooms
stituted approximately 47 percent of the and discipline, including consequences for
sample, with African American, Hispanic, modifying inappropriate behavior.
and Other students comprising the category The school described as an Open Magnet
of “Minority.” Demographic characteristics (OM) had large community spaces and
are presented in Table 1. shared open areas characteristic of “open
Schools selected for comparison with education” concepts. The open environ-
Montessori were chosen based on salient ment allowed for team-teaching, as well as
differences in instructional environment. small-group and individual instruction in
A brief description of each school’s orienta- multi-age groups that reportedly fostered
tion is provided. The Montessori school students’ sense of interdependence and re-
provided curricular content through a pre- sponsibility. The instructional approach of
pared learning environment that meets the the school was identified as exploratory and
needs and interests of children in multi-age discovery-oriented, with units designed to
COMPARING MONTESSORI AND TRADITIONAL EDUCATION
be thematic. Schedules and routines were mathematics concepts (e.g., isolated compu-
described as flexible. Discipline relied tations and operations).
on naturalistic social opportunities, and
school meetings to identify conflict resolu- Language Arts Achievement. The New
tion approaches. York State English/Language Arts exam,
The 4th school was identified as a Tra- conducted at the 4th- and 8th-grade levels,
ditional Non-Magnet (TNM). Students was designed to parallel the New York
enrolled in the TNM attended that school State Learning Standards and provides a
based on proximity to home, with no pa- comprehensive assessment of language arts
rental selection. The TNM emphasized achievement. The 4th-grade exam assessed
basic curricular standards to improve test the areas of reading, listening/writing, and
scores. Instruction was based on structured reading/writing, and the 8th-grade exam
direct instruction, including an emphasis assessed reading, reading/writing, listen-
on drill-and-practice using textbooks and ing/writing, and independent writing (New
worksheets. Students performed seatwork York State Education Department, 2004b).
at their desks and were expected to adhere Examples of language arts skills assessed
to a strict code of discipline. The struc- at the 4th-grade level included drawing in-
tured school environment included the use ferences and conclusions, identifying main
of behavioral consequences for modifying ideas and supporting details, locating infor-
inappropriate behavior. mation to solve a problem, and knowledge of
story structure and elements. At the 8th-
Instruments grade level, examples of skills included us-
Academic achievement was assessed using ing text to understand vocabulary, drawing
4th- and 8th-grade math and language conclusions to make inferences, interpreting
arts scores from two separate standardized characters, settings, and themes, comparing
measures: the New York State Mathematics and contrasting information, determining
and English/Language Arts (ELA) exams, the meaning of literary devices, and recog-
and the Math and Language Arts portions nizing points of view.
of the TerraNova (McGraw Hill, 2002). The TerraNova (McGraw-Hill, 2002)
Mathematics Achievement. The con- also was used to assess language arts
tent of the New York State Mathematics achievement. The skill areas assessed
Exam was designed to parallel the New were identified as language (e.g., ability
York State Learning Standards. Both to understand the structure of words, how
the 4th- and 8th-grade exams assess the words are connected to form sentences, how
general mathematical areas of procedural sentences and paragraphs are connected to
knowledge, conceptual understanding, and convey ideas, and language conventions)
problem solving. Specific subtests include and language mechanics (e.g., editing and
mathematical reasoning, number and nu- proofreading).
meration, operations, modeling/multiple
representations, measurement, uncertain- Procedures
ty (i.e., estimation), and patterns/functions Data for the present study were provided
(New York State Education Department, by the school district. Achievement test
2004a). data were compiled as part of each school’s
The Mathematics portion of the Ter- annual evaluation of students. Data re-
raNova (McGraw-Hill, 2002) also was cords were provided to the researchers
used to assess mathematics achievement anonymously, using only district assigned
at the 4th- and 8th-grade levels. The two numbers and no personally identifying
primary areas assessed were identified as information. Data were then analyzed
mathematics (e.g., estimation, number and to evaluate the academic performance of
number sense, numeration, number theory, Montessori students compared to students
data interpretation, and measurement) and in magnet and non-magnet schools.
Lopata, wallace, and finn
Table 1
Demographic Characteristics of the Study Sample (n = number of students)
Gender
Male 30 33 53 50 166
Female 19 22 45 39 125
Race
White 21 23 41 50 135
Minority 28 32 57 39 156
Low Income
Yes 31 0 63 70 203
No 18 15 36 19 88
Grade 8
Gender
Male 15 26 34 46 121
Female 24 33 43 31 131
Race 16 21 30 51 118
White 16 21 30 51 118
Minority 23 38 47 26 134
Low Income
Yes 21 31 51 59 162
No 18 28 26 18 90
COMPARING MONTESSORI AND TRADITIONAL EDUCATION
Note. Correlations for grade 4 variables appear below the diagonal. Correlations for Grade 8
variables appear above the diagonal.
a 1=male; 2=female. b 1=no; 2=yes. c 1=white; 2=minority. * p<.05; ** p<.001
Table 3
Summary of Multivariate and Univariate Contrasts
Multivariate Univariate
Language Mathematics
Grade 4 F Effect Size a
T Effect Size T Effect Size
SM–MEP 1.41 0.34 -.54 -0.11 -1.60 -0.32
OM–MEP 5.97 ** 0.62 -1.32 -0.24 -3.35 ** -0.60
TNM–MEP 2.10 0.38 .93 0.17 2.02 * 0.37
Grade 8
SM – MEP 10.47 ** 0.95 3.74 0.77 ** -0.13 -0.03
OM – MEP 6.87 ** 0.74 1.88 0.37 + -1.63 -0.32
TNM – MEP 8.59 ** 0.86 2.85 0.59 ** -0.94 -0.19
ing the Montessori school would outper- and failed to support the general hypoth-
form students in magnet and traditional esis that Montessori students demonstrate
non-magnet schools. Results showed no superior academic performance. Of the
significant differences between students in 12 specific contrasts that were tested,
the Montessori school and any of the other students from the Montessori school had
three types of schools on language arts significantly higher achievement on 1 con-
achievement. trast, significantly lower achievement on 4
No significant difference on mathematics of 12 contrasts, and showed no difference
achievement was found between the Mon- from other schools on 7 of the 12 specific
tessori and SM schools, but Montessori was contrasts.
higher in math achievement than OM by .60 In the area of language arts, 4th-grade
standard deviations. In contrast, Montes- Montessori students did not significantly
sori students had significantly lower math differ from the structured magnet, open
achievement than TNM students; the effect magnet, or traditional non-magnet schools.
size was .37 standard deviations. At the 8th-grade level, however, Montessori
students had lower achievement than stu-
Grade 8 Results dents in structured magnet, open magnet,
A sig nif ica nt multiva r iate ef fect of and traditional non-magnet schools. For
school type was also found at grade 8 (F math achievement, 4th-grade Montessori
(6,476)=4.54, p<.001). Univariate tests students demonstrated significantly higher
of significance showed that school types scores than students in the open magnet, no
differed on language arts achievement (F difference from students in the structured
(3,239)=5.24, p <.01), but not on mathemat- magnet, and significantly lower scores than
ics (F (3,239)=1.33, p<.27). Results from students in the traditional non-magnet
the planned contrasts showed significant schools. In grade 8, however, no significant
differences between the Montessori and differences in mathematics achievement
other school types in language arts, but not were found between the Montessori and
in mathematics. Montessori students had magnet or traditional schools.
significantly lower language arts achieve- While the present study did not identify
ment than students attending both the a consistent pattern of performance across
SM and TNM schools. The language arts grade levels, the lack of significantly higher
differences were substantial; SM and TNM scores for students in the Montessori school
students scored higher than Montessori by suggests that assertions regarding the aca-
.77 and .59 standard deviations, respec- demic achievement efficacy of Montessori
tively. The OM students also had higher programs should be viewed with caution.
language arts achievement than Montes- Current results contradict those of other
sori, although this difference did not reach studies that found Montessori students’
statistical significance (p<.06). demonstrated superior academic growth
and achievement (e.g., Daux, 1995; Dawson,
Discussion 1987). Minimally, results of the current
Conflicting evidence and assertions, limited study suggested that Montessori students
empirical research, and methodological were similar in the majority of achievement
weaknesses in the existing research illus- comparisons to students from magnet and
trated the need for further study involving traditional non-magnet schools. A more
the effectiveness of Montessori schools. The critical finding, however, was that 8th-
current study tested the hypothesis that grade students from the Montessori school
students attending a Montessori school demonstrated substantially lower language
would demonstrate higher math and arts achievement than students from the
language arts achievement compared to other three programs.
magnet and traditional non-magnet school Several limitations in the current study
students. Overall, the results were mixed warrant mention. Data for the current
COMPARING MONTESSORI AND TRADITIONAL EDUCATION
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