Effects of Differentiated Instruction on Student Academic Achievement in Mathematics: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Education

This study investigated the effects of differentiated instruction on the academic achievement of Grade 8 students in Mathematics at Golden Valley National High School, Davao de Oro, Philippines. Employing a quasi-experimental two-group pretest-posttest design, the study involved 30 students enrolled in the summer class, with 15 students assigned to the control group and 15 to the experimental group. Data were collected using a 40-item Mathematics test based on four Most Essential Learning Competencies administered as pretest and posttest. The study aimed to determine the level of academic achievement of students before and after the intervention and to examine the significant differences between and within groups. Findings revealed that both groups had low academic achievement in the pretest, indicating comparable baseline performance. After the intervention, the control group showed slight improvement, while the experimental group demonstrated a significant increase in academic achievement. Statistical analysis using paired t-test and independent t-test showed that there was no significant difference between pretest scores of the two group, but a significant difference was found in favor of the experimental group in the posttest. These results indicate that differentiated instruction strategies, including flexible grouping, tiered activities, and choice-based tasks, effectively improved students’ academic performance in Mathematics. Overall, the study concludes that differentiated instruction is more effective than traditional teaching methods in enhancing students’ academic achievement. The findings highlight the importance of using varied and responsive teaching strategies to address diverse learner needs. The study contributes to the field of mathematics education by providing evidence on the effectiveness of differentiated instruction in improving learning outcomes.

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