An investigation of the relationship between integrated learning systems and academic achievement

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference in the rate of gain in test scores between schools that use an Integrated Learning System (ILS) and schools that do not. This study examined all the schools in an entire state that adopted a popular ILS during a designated time period. The Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) scores for third grade students in like-paired schools provided the data for this investigation. Nine independent variables derived from this standardized, statewide series of tests were analyzed. ILS user schools were matched to ILS nonuser schools to form like-pairs of experimental-control schools. Four hypotheses were developed and investigated to determine if there was a significant difference in the test scores of ILS users compared to ILS nonuser schools after the intervention was applied. Three tests of significance were executed. Univariate analysis of variance and t-tests examined nine variables separately. Multivariate tests examined the variables simultaneously. Three major findings emerged from this study. First, the multivariate tests of the hypotheses demonstrated there was a significant pre/post main effect, but neither the experimental/control main effect, nor the interaction was significant. There was a significant pre/post change for all schools, but the pre/post change for experimental schools was not different from the pre/post change in control schools. The tests of significance were examined collectively to show support for one another. Repeated measure multivariate, univariate, and t-tests demonstrated the following, with only a few exceptions for subtests: pre versus posttest score differences were significant for both groups for the nine dependent variables examined separately or simultaneously; experimental versus control test score differences were not significant for the nine dependent variables examined separately or simultaneously; and the pre/post change for the experimental schools was not significantly different from the pre/post change for the control schools for the nine dependent variables examined separately or simultaneously. These results suggest that it is rash to conclude that the use of an ILS, in itself, is likely to lead to improved student performance on standarized test scores