There was a lack of evidence-based data about the effectiveness of a widely used curriculum. 

Ready Classroom Mathematics is a Common Core-aligned mathematics curriculum designed to help teachers equip students with practical problem-solving skills. Ready Classroom Mathematics is currently used in thousands of classrooms across the nation, but few studies have examined whether it is related to higher mathematics achievement.

NORC applied complex data analysis to assess the impact of Ready Classroom Mathematics.

NORC at the University of Chicago received funding from Curriculum Associates, LLC, to evaluate the use of Ready Classroom Mathematics. Using publicly available, school-level data, NORC compared the mathematics achievement of elementary schools that used the Ready Classroom Mathematics curriculum in the fall of 2019 with the math achievement of those that did not use it during the same time period.

NORC employed advanced statistical methods to ensure that the characteristics of student populations at the two sets of schools were comparable, thereby improving the likelihood that any differences in achievement were due to the use of the curriculum. NORC also examined whether the use of the Ready Classroom Mathematics curriculum had a stronger relationship to math achievement for specific categories of traditionally under-resourced students, including students of color and English language learners.