More schools in the United States have begun teaching physics to ninth-graders, but there continues to be limited evidence that such a change benefits students.1–2 Many arguments in favor of Physics First and the inverted sequence of physics-chemistry-biology3–6 are based more on the intellectual logic of the sequence than on measured outcomes. Paul Lulai raised a similar concern in the November 2005 edition of The Physics Teacher, calling for “non-anecdotal evidence” that such a curricular change leads to various outcomes including “improved scores on standardized tests” and “improved mathematics understanding and achievement.”2 This paper describes a study of a Physics First program at one school that suggests that this change to freshman physics positively impacted students' mathematical performance on standardized tests.
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Due to a one-time change, the CTP III test for the class of 2003 was administered the first month of their ninth-grade year. These fall ninth-grade scores are relative to other students taking the exam in the fall of their freshman year. Since these normed scores are statistically similar to the scores of the other five classes who took the test in eighth grade, all six classes' performance can be compared relative to each other.