Evaluating the Effects of an Algebraic Frequency Building Intervention for Students with Disabilities

Evidence-based instructional strategies in mathematics provide critical support related to academic achievement for students with disabilities. Many researched mathematics interventions focus on foundational and elementary mathematics skills, indicating the need for interventions for higher-level topics such as algebra. Current research on a core skill within algebra-solving equations-focuses primarily on the initial acquisition. To move students past acquisition, we must consider how interventions target behavioral fluency. Leveraging precision teaching practices, we evaluated a frequency-building intervention to improve the rates of three middle-school students' correct responses to one-step algebraic equations using a multiple-baseline across participants design. Results demonstrate immediate and significant positive effects on students' correct notations and drastic decreases in students' incorrect notations. Students generalized skills to untaught problem presentations. In pre- and post-think-aloud, students moved from using trial-and-error methods to using systematic procedures to solve equations. We discuss how the characteristics of the intervention supported students' overall improvement and discuss potential implications for both practice and future research. • Frequency-building interventions are effective in supporting students' accuracy and speed in solving algebraic equations • Precision teaching, including the use of the Standard Celeration Chart, is a powerful system for guiding both research and instructional decisions • Fluent behavior in foundational skills can support generalization to new mathematical problems • Mathematics research broadly must incorporate timing to facilitate movement beyond the acquisition stage of learning.