A Systematic Review of Student-Mediated Math Interventions for Students with Emotional or Behavior Disorders

Students identified with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) display deficits across academic content areas, most notably in mathematics. We reviewed research on student-mediated math interventions for students with EBD. A total of 19 studies published between 1968 and 2019 met inclusion criteria, with 24 of 32 cases meeting the What Works Clearinghouse Pilot Single-Case Design Standards (version 4.0) with or without reservations. Participants included 51 students identified with EBD, ages 8 to 16 years old. Results from visual analysis revealed 0 cases demonstrated strong evidence, 11 cases demonstrated moderate evidence, and 21 cases demonstrated weak evidence of intervention effects. The omnibus Tau-U was 74.35% (CI95 = 64.2% to 84.4%), representing data from 17 studies including 46 students. Implications for research and practice are discussed.