The 74: New South Carolina study of public Montessori schools shows majority low-income students outperforming peers
January 28, 2018 | Photograph courtesy of The 74
The 74 wrote that public Montessori schools found their students performing better than those in traditional public schools. This closes the achievement gap between low income students. The article cites a study by the Riley Institute, looking at student’s state test scores in Montessori and non-montessori schools across various subgroups.
“A five-year study analyzing the impact of South Carolina’s nearly 50 Montessori public schools has found that their students perform significantly better than those in traditional public schools, closing the achievement gap especially for children from low-income backgrounds.
Montessori students demonstrated more growth in reading and math, earning state test scores that were 6 to 8 percentage points higher. But they also bested their non-Montessori peers in the soft skills inherent to Montessori education: creativity, good behavior, and independence.
In their analysis of subgroups, the researchers looked at three years of growth across gender, race, and poverty, and matched the scores of children in Montessori schools with non-Montessori students to compare and eliminate selection bias.”