<P> Lillard (2017) reviews recent research on the outcomes of Montessori education . A 2006 study published in Science magazine found that "when strictly implemented, Montessori education fosters social and academic skills that are equal or superior to those fostered by a pool of other types of schools ." The study had a relatively small sample size and was severely criticized . Another study in the Milwaukee Public Schools found that children who had attended Montessori from ages 3--11 outperformed their high school classmates several years later on mathematics and science; another found that Montessori had some of the largest positive effects on achievement of all programs evaluated . </P> <P> Some studies have not found positive outcomes for children in Montessori classrooms, but this might be due to the implementation of Montessori . For example, a 2005 study in a Buffalo public Montessori magnet school "...failed to support the hypothesis that enrollment in a Montessori school was associated with higher academic achievement ." Explicitly comparing outcomes of Montessori classrooms in which children spent a lot of time with Montessori materials, less time with the Montessori materials, or no time at all with the materials (because they were in conventional classrooms), Lillard found the best outcomes for children in classic Montessori . Further research should take care to determine the fidelity of the program . </P> <P> In 1967, the US Patent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled that "the term' Montessori' has a generic and / or descriptive significance ." Therefore, in the United States and most other countries, the term can be used freely without giving any guarantee of how closely, if at all, a program applies Montessori's work . The ruling has led to "tremendous variation in schools claiming to use Maria Montessori's methods ." </P> <P> With the development of mobile touchscreen devices, several Montessori activities were made into mobile apps for children . </P>

When was the montessori method of education developed