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Partnership in Action for middle school math

A T H. M. 4. ORE. Partnership in Action for middle school math. Two-Parent Team Danelle Gonzalez Stephanie Hager Assistant Superintendent for the Snoqualmie Valley School District Don McConkey. 2011 - 2012. 4. M. A T H. Today We Will Share. ORE.

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Partnership in Action for middle school math

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  1. ATH M 4 ORE Partnership in Action for middle school math Two-Parent Team Danelle Gonzalez Stephanie Hager Assistant Superintendent for the Snoqualmie Valley School District Don McConkey 2011 - 2012

  2. 4 M ATH Today We Will Share ORE How a collaborative partnership between the school district and involved parents can impact a positive change to increase mathematic rigor for middle school students

  3. 4 M ATH Two-Parent Team ORE Last Spring 2011 We Started Wondering Do middle school students across different school districts take the same math courses? How is it determined who takes Algebra in middle school (and who does not)? So We Called and Asked and interviewed several local area school districts about their math programs. We Noticed that not all math pathways are alike and qualifiers for determining placement varies. So We Shared It with our school district and worked alongside one another for change.

  4. 4 M ATH Why it Matters ORE

  5. 4 M ATH We are FAM-IL-LEE ORE Listen to feedback Share data in professional and respectful manner Treat sensitive data with ownership and careful handling No viral info posting via Facebook, email, or newspaper Be transparent and open Don’t get emotional or take things personal Expect resistance and be positively persistent Laugh and connect with a partner

  6. 4 M ATH Participating School Districts ORE Last Year’s Data Source: School Digger Data 2009-2010 Bainbridge Island Data from BISD Website 2009-2010

  7. 4 M ATH ORE Last Year’s Data I. Algebra

  8. 4 M ATH Students Who Have Taken Algebra 1 (or Higher) by 8th Grade ORE Last Year’s Data 50% Source: Individual interviews with districts. %’s are enrollment estimates provided by districts. Geo numbers not avail in all districts.

  9. 4 M ATH Students Who Have Taken Algebra 1 (or Higher) by 8th Grade ORE Last Year’s Data 17% more this year 50% 17% Source: Individual interviews with districts. %’s are enrollment estimates provided by districts. Geo numbers not avail in all districts.

  10. 4 M ATH Why So Few in Algebra? ORE Real-Life Ability-Grouping Grid (Historical Example) Last Year’s Data 6th Grade Math 7th Grade Math 8th Grade Math 9th Grade Math Group 1 2 5th Graders 3 4 Students above the red line are considered off-track in some districts

  11. 4 M ATH We Noticed Test Scores Didn’t Always Determine Placement ORE Last Year’s Data Students’ Prior Year Math MSP Pass Rates and How it Related to Their Math Placement in 8th Grade Source: OSPI 2009-2010 Math MSP Scores

  12. 4 M ATH Here’s How Our Own Schools Placed Students in Algebra ORE Last Year’s Data Source: OSPI 2009-2010

  13. 4 M ATH ORE Last Year’s Data II. Ability Grouping & Tracking

  14. 4 M ATH What Do Other Educational Professionals Think About Tracking? ORE • We stopped being the gate keepers 3 years ago. — Math Specialist, Issaquah School District • Tracking just serves the strong students while strugglers fall farther behind. — Math Technology & Curriculum Coach, Bellevue School District • Heterogeneous grouping has given many kids opportunities who would have otherwise missed out. It has worked; Our data is remarkable. — Math Technology & Curriculum Coach, Bellevue School District • We are undergoing a shift and believe all middle school students are capable of doing Algebra 1. — Middle School Counselor, Kent School District • We’d rather have the student make the decision on their pathway than a school district make a decision on their pathway. — Department of Admissions, UW Last Year’s Data

  15. 4 M ATH Student Tracking from a Professorat Stanford University ORE Last Year’s Data “The critical information that schools rarely provide is that in most American high schools, students cannot take calculus unless they have already passed algebra in middle school. Thus the tracking decisions made by middle school teachers impact the classes reached in high school and, from there, students’ chances of being admitted to colleges of their choice. Middle school students should hear a strange sound when they are placed into lower-level math classes. It is the sound of doors closing.” — Jo Boaler, PhD Excerpt from chapter 5: “Stuck in the Slow Lane”, Pg 110

  16. 4 M ATH Why Does Algebra by 8th Grade Matter? ORE Last Year’s Data To reach Calculus by 12th grade, students take Algebra by the 8th grade * College admission dept’s told us they are seeing more applicants with Calculus on their high school transcripts — making the “applicant pool” increasingly competitive

  17. 4 M ATH So Who is Lined Up to TakeCalculus by 12th Grade? ORE Last Year’s Data This is the path considered to be at “grade level” Source: Individual interviews with districts

  18. 4 M ATH One Student. Many Districts.Real-life example of how a student can fall through the cracks ORE Last Year’s Data Replica of an Ability-Group Grid Group 6th Grade Math 7th Grade Math 8th Grade Math 1 Course 1 Basic Math Course 2 Basic Math Basic Math Was placed here 2 2 Course 1 Basic Math Course 2 Pre-Algebra (Avg) SnoqualmieValley 3 Course 1 Basic Math Course 3 Pre-Algebra (High) 4 Course 2 Basic Math Pre-Algebra Algebra * Would be here or here 5 Pre-Algebra Algebra 1 Geometry Federal Way History of Student’s Math WASL & MSP Scores Lake Wash * Student successfully took this course in Bellevue School Dist Issaquah Grade 4: 467, Level 4, “Advanced Mastery of subject” - OSPI Grade 5: 448, Level 4, “Advanced Mastery of subject” - OSPI Grade 6: 430, Level 4, “Advanced Mastery of subject” - OSPI Grade 7: 450, Level 4, “Advanced Mastery of subject” - OSPI Enumclaw Bainbridge Kent Bellevue Source: One student’s WASL & MSP scores

  19. 4 M ATH How Do We Know for Sure WhichStudents Will Succeed? ORE Last Year’s Data We don’t

  20. 4 M ATH ORE Last Year’s Data II. The Interviews What’s Going On Out There?

  21. 4 M ATH Issaquah School DistrictDistrictMathSpecialist ORE We stopped tracking 3 years ago We have no “slow boat” classes We offer a self-select process into Math Path I or II Math Path II is Geometry in 8th grade 1/5 of our 8th graders are in Geometry We stopped being the “gate keepers” Last Year’s Data Source: Individual interview with district

  22. 4 M ATH Kent School DistrictOffice of the Superintendent ORE We are undergoing a shift and believe all middle school students are capable of doing Algebra 1 Students in “Under Math” [anything below Alg 1 in 8th grade] receive 1’s on their Math MSP and 50% or lower on the Orleans Hanna test Our goal for next year is 100% Algebra 1 or Geometry for 8th graders Last Year’s Data Source: Individual interview with district

  23. 4 M ATH Enumclaw School DistrictCurriculum and Assessment Director ORE Everyone of our 8th graders takes Algebra 1 or Geometry All of our classes are “equally mixed” of high and low achieving students There is no tracking The lower achieving students are now getting turned on to earn the high school credit as they watch their peers do it We feel Algebra in 8th grade gives students better preparation for the Algebra course in 9th grade if they need to re-take it Last Year’s Data Source: Individual interview with district

  24. 4 M ATH Federal Way School DistrictCurriculum Director ORE Every student is given the opportunity to get into Calculus meaning they need to have Algebra 1 by 8th grade FWSD is standards based — if a student meets a standard, then they go onto the next math level The standard is passing (e.g. 3 or 4 on MSP Math, and more.) You are right on track to realize that Calculus by 12th grade is the goal Last Year’s Data Source: Individual interview with district

  25. 4 M ATH Bellevue School DistrictMath/Technology Curriculum Coach ORE We moved away from tracking and put everyone on an honors track Tracking just serves the strong students while strugglers fall farther behind Heterogeneous grouping has given many kids opportunities who would have otherwise missed out It has worked, our data is remarkable To mitigate the achievement gap, we built in support classes for strugglers Last Year’s Data Source: Individual interview with district

  26. 4 M ATH From the Office of AdmissionsStanford University ORE Our most competitive freshman applicants often have: 4 years (grades 9-12) of English 4 years of math (including Calculus) 4 years of social studies 4 years of science (including Biology, Chemistry and Physics) and 4 years of a foreign language Last Year’s Data Source: Stanford University Website

  27. 4 M ATH From the Office of AdmissionsUniversity of Washington ORE Many colleges are impressed with Calculus taken during or before Senior year Applicants without rigorous math and other core courses may not fare well in the review process The requirement is 3 years of math, but we want to see students go above and beyond that We’d rather have the student make the decision on their pathway than a school district make a decision on their pathway We want school districts to provide rigor and support We do not look at a student’s 8th grade scores Last Year’s Data Source: Individual interview with admissions office

  28. 4 M ATH College Access NowProgram Director & Executive Director ORE Last Year’s Data Colleges MUCH prefer 4 years of math in high school. It also makes a big difference if students make it up through Calculus — this is increasingly true the more selective a college is. Dedicated to making college admission possible fortalented, motivated and economically disadvantaged students www.collegeaccessnow.org Seattle Public Schools Source: Individual interview with program director

  29. 4 M ATH Recommendations by Colleges for Today’s Eighth Graders ORE Last Year’s Data

  30. 4 M ATH Recommendations by Colleges for Today’s Eighth Graders ORE Last Year’s Data

  31. 4 M ATH ORE Last Year’s Data IV. Example Math Paths

  32. 4 M ATH Different Math Pathways to 8th GradeAlgebra ORE Last Year’s Data Issaquah School District’s Math Paths For those who need an additional year of Alg Source: ISD’s 2009-2010 Parent Letter to Incoming 6th Graders

  33. 4 M ATH Different Math Pathways to 8th GradeAlgebra ORE Last Year’s Data Bellevue School District’s Math Paths Source: BSD’s 2010-2011 Middle School Course Guide

  34. 4 M ATH SVSD High School “Standard Math Sequence” ORE Last Year’s Data Given to students and parents once they enter high school * Idea * We could expand this sequence to include 6th-12th grade and provide it in middle school Source: MSHS 2011-2012 Course Catalog / Cut & Pasted

  35. 4 M ATH How Can Students Make it Through the Sequence? ORE Last Year’s Data Take by this grade Middle School 8th Grade 9th Grade High School 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade Source: MSHS 2011-2012 Course Catalog / Cut & Pasted

  36. 4 M ATH ORE Last Year’s Data V. Conclusion

  37. 4 M ATH Closing Ideas & Thoughts ORE • Academic rigor for all • Reconsider ability-grouping • Provide all 8th graders opportunity to take Algebra 1 • Align math path terminology with neighboring districts (e.g. Math Path I = MP I) • Standardize math across district middle schools • 1) Text books, 2) Curriculum, 3) Math Paths, and 4) Parent Notification. Policies for each of these made at the district level and not decentralized. • Communicate to parents what they need to know • Math Paths offered and why they matter • Placement policies (e.g. ability-grouping grid and qualifiers used) • Their student’s placement (e.g. YOU ARE HERE arrow) • Pathway to “jump up” if student is behind • Provide parent choice • Ability for parents to choose where incoming 6th graders are placed • Ability to for parents to override placement when criteria met (e.g. opt-in) Last Year’s Data

  38. 4 M ATH What’s in it for the School District? ORE Easier to administer Less curriculum paths to manage Easier to teach Everyone will be on the same page Easier to communicate Demystifies process and builds trust w/parents Students avoid falling through the cracks They can re-take Algebra as Freshmen. District not responsible for being “gate keeper”. District can say “Rigor for All” Standardization across district middle schools Teachers and administrators don’t have to be the “bouncer” for the advanced classes Last Year’s Data

  39. 4 M ATH Next Steps: Snoqualmie Valley School District ORE Our 8th Grade EOC Results were compelling. Hmmm— can even more students achieve that?

  40. 4 M ATH Next Steps: Implementation ORE Share Goals & Action Plan • Provide Awareness • Involve Stakeholders (Teachers and Building Administrators) • Reach Out to Neighboring School Districts Re-assess Current Placement Criteria & Assessment Tools Establish Common Practices Provide Teacher Training & Support Inform and Educate Parents New Math Pathways for More Students in Algebra and Geometry in 8th Grade

  41. 4 M ATH Next Steps: Revised Math Paths ORE

  42. 4 M ATH Kudos to the Snoqualmie ValleySchool District ORE Noteworthy: Utilizing parent team as a value added resource Communicating openly regarding data and practices Trusting parent duo to present to key leadership team Implementing new pathways and placement program within one year of meeting with a “couple moms with some data”. SVSD is showing strong achievement scores in many areas.

  43. 4 M ATH ORE Q & A

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