The Effect of Addition and Subtraction Practice within a Word–Problem Intervention on Addition and Subtraction Outcomes

This study examined the influence of addition and subtraction practice embedded within a word–problem intervention for Grade 3 students experiencing word–problem difficulty. Students (N = 448) were randomly assigned to one of two variants of a word–problem intervention or a business–as–usual comparison condition. Within the word–problem interventions, students participated in targeted addition and subtraction fact and computation practice for approximately 3 minutes of each 30–minute session across 47 intervention sessions, but also continually practiced addition and subtraction through word–problem solving. At posttest, students who participated in the intervention demonstrated improved single–digit addition and subtraction performance as well as improved double–digit addition and subtraction performance. At follow–up in Grade 4, persistence of effects was only identified for double–digit addition. Considering addition and subtraction are foundational to many other mathematics skills, addition and subtraction practice serves as an important component of mathematics intervention.