A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Promising Practices

Taking the Right Courses. In 1990, the College Board launched EQUITY 2000 to increase minority enrollment in college preparatory mathematics courses. Originally piloted in six communities, EQUITY 2000 requires participating school districts to phase out lower-level mathematics in favor of all students taking college preparatory curriculum--beginning with algebra and geometry. EQUITY 2000 influences policies, curricula and student academic development at all grade levels, but particularly grades six through nine. These are critical years for mathematics education. During this period, parents, students, and educators make key decisions about which courses students should take and how they should begin planning for education and careers after high school. Equity 2000 provides on-going professional development to help teachers work with mixed-ability classes. It also trains administrators and teachers to use student enrollment and achievement data to drive school-based decision-making, helps schools establish support services for students who need extra time and effort to learn challenging content, and encourages and supports parents to become advocates on behalf of their children.

Increased parental involvement is a priority in Equity 2000. It recognizes the important role that parents play in nurturing and reinforcing their children's desire to attend college. Equity 2000 has sponsored Saturday and summer academies on college campuses for entire families. It also sponsors Family Math nights in which parents and students learn mathematics concepts together.

Results at the six pilot sites indicate that:

• All sites dramatically increased the percentage of students enrolled in algebra I by the 9th grade, and in three pilot districts, all 9th graders enrolled in algebra I.

• The percentage of students passing algebra I did not decline significantly, and in some cases rose, as more students from the discontinued lower tracks began enrolling in algebra classes.

Contact:

Vinetta Jones
Equity 2000
The College Board
1717 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 822-5900
http://www.collegeboard.com/equity/html/indx001.html

Texas: The Advanced Placement Incentives program was developed in the Dallas, Texas area by O'Donnell Foundation in reaction to low rates of college attendance and poor college preparation. The Advanced Placement Incentives program reward results in AP courses in mathematics, science, English, and the arts by providing performance-based financial incentives to teachers, school and students. Teachers are given financial incentives as well as registration and fees for attending College Board AP teacher training during the summer, and to teach AP courses. Students who complete the Advanced Placement course may take the AP exam at half-cost (the total cost for an AP exam is about $73). Those who score a three or better (on a five point scale) are given financial incentive and reimbursed for the cost of the exam.

In five years of operation in nine Texas public schools, the O'Donnell foundation reports that:

• The year before the program began in nine typical public high schools, 48 students took AP exams in mathematics, science, and English, and received a three or better. In the fifth year of operation, 1,099 students took AP exams and 521 received a score of three or better.

• In nine high schools in the Dallas Independent School District, the eighth largest inner-city school district in the country, with 85 percent minority enrollment, growth in AP participation has been outstanding. Students took 312 AP in mathematics, science, and English in May 1995, the year before the program started in the Dallas schools. In May 1997, the second year of the Dallas program, this number has grown to 1,750. The number of students scoring three or higher during that time period grew from 139 to 559.

• The Dallas school program has experienced proportional growth among female and minority students. The year before the program started, 94 females took exams in mathematics, computer science, and the sciences. In the program's second year, 452 female students took these exams.

• Minority participation has also grown in Dallas, from 64 African-American and Hispanic students taking AP mathematics, science, and English exams the year before the program began, to 734 in the program's second year.

South Carolina: With former Governor Riley's school reform package of 1984, South Carolina became one of the first states to legislate funding and other actions to boost student participation in AP classes. The state appropriated funds to train AP teachers and to help pay for AP exams, as well as required that public colleges accept AP courses if the student scored 3 or higher on the exam. As a result, from 1984 to 1997 South Carolina experienced:

• An increase in the number of students taking AP exams from 2,799 to 9,748.
• An increase in the number of AP exams from 3,461 to 14,890, with the mean grade remaining stable at approximately 2.7 - 2.8.
• An increase in the number of AP science exams (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) from 27 to 2,414.
• An increase in the number of AP math exams (Calculus AB and BC) from 46 to 2,767.
• Ninety-three percent of all the public high schools in the state participating in AP (184 of 197 public high schools).
• AP participation rates above the national average.

AP Exams Taken
(Eleventh and Twelfth Graders)

Contacts:

Macarthur Goodwin
South Carolina Department of Education 1429 Senate St.
Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 734-8382
http://www.state.sc.us/sde

Patrick Moore
O'Donnell Foundation
100 Crescent Ct.
Suite 1660
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 871-5800

Strengthening Curriculum and Instruction. Sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and Development Center, the Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning (QUASAR) Project aims to raise low levels of student participation and performance in mathematics. QUASAR is an urban middle school demonstration project that fosters the development and implementation of improved mathematics instructional programs in economically disadvantaged communities. The program revolves around three key principles: (1) all students are able to learn a broad range of mathematical content; (2) all students can acquire a deeper and more meaningful understanding of mathematical ideas; and (3) all students can demonstrate proficiency in mathematical reasoning and complex problem solving.

In QUASAR schools, teams of mathematics teachers, school administrators and "resource partners"-- generally mathematics educators from local universities -- collaborate to develop, implement, and refine mathematics instruction. All project schools have eliminated most forms of academic tracking, replacing it with the development of deeper student understanding and high-level thinking and reasoning for all students. While curricula, teaching strategies, and approaches to professional development vary, all QUASAR sites include extensive attention to professional development and teacher support. Additionally, the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and Development Center provides schools with ongoing support and updated information on their progress.

Data indicate that QUASAR schools build teachers' capacity to improve the quality of their mathematics instruction. Students increase their capacity to think, reason, solve complex problems, and communicate mathematically and they do so while continuing to learn basic skills. QUASAR school students, particularly those who are from minority groups and whose English proficiency is limited, have increased their understandings across a range of important mathematical ideas. Additionally, QUASAR students in grade 8 performed as well as other students on basic and traditional items of the 1992 NAEP Mathematics Assessment. They performed better than their peers on less traditional middle school mathematics content.

Contact:

Edward Silver
QUASAR
Learning Research Development Center
3939 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(412) 624-3231
http://www.lrdc.pitt.edu/quasar/quasar.html

Raising the Standard. The New York Regents Exam has spurred thousands more high school students to take and pass college-preparatory mathematics courses. In 1993 then New York Chancellor Ramon Cortines required all students to take tougher Regents-level mathematics and science courses traditionally reserved for college-bound students. Beginning in 1995, the state required that all students take Regents-level classes. The number of Hispanic and black students who passed the science portion of the Regents Exam more than doubled over the previous year. The state is now requiring all students take and pass Regents Exams. In addition, Commissioner of Education Richard Mills recently called for an increase in the rigor of the state's requirements for graduation from high school, including adding another year of both mathematics and science to the current two years required in each.

Contact:

Edward Lalor
New York State Department of Education
Education Building, 111 Washington Ave.
Room 675
Albany, NY 12234
(518) 473-7880
http://www.nysed.gov

Living Up to Potential. Twenty school districts from Chicago's North Shore joined forces in 1995 to provide their students with a world class education in mathematics and science. Calling themselves the First in the World Consortium, their first challenge was to determine what a "world class" education looked like. They then measured their current performance against that benchmark and developed an improvement strategy.

The Consortium's directed its efforts toward three objectives: (1) benchmarking performance against international standards in mathematics and science, using the Third International Mathematics and Science Study as a guide; (2) creating a forum to clarify world-class education standards for business leaders, policy makers, educators, and community members; and (3) establishing a network of learning communities for educators, parents, and community leaders within the Consortium school districts and beyond.

Students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in First in the World Consortium districts took the TIMSS assessment in Spring 1996. Fourth and eighth graders' results placed them among the top performers in the world, well exceeding U.S. performance generally.

The Consortium attributes its success to the fact that:

• Fifty percent of its 8th grade students took algebra or geometry compared to 25 percent of students nationally who take algebra;
• it had high expectations for students and teachers; and
• it had gained broad-based community support for improved student performance.

The First in the World Consortium is not resting on its success. Its "community of learners" approach continues to promote teacher participation and provide a context for long-term commitment to the consortium's goals and to growth in student learning. To this end, it has created teacher learning networks to strengthen curriculum standards, models of instruction, assessment, and use of technology.

The resources of the First in the World Consortium place it at an advantage. Yet, what truly distinguishes it is its willingness to identify its weaknesses and address them. The consortium credits both state and federal support for helping it focus on its goals. Its experiences demonstrate that, when given the opportunity, U.S. students can perform as well as, or better than, students anywhere.

Contact:

Paul Kimmelman
West Northfield School District 31, First in the World Consortium
3131 Techny Rd.
Northbrook, IL 60062
(847) 272-6880
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/firstwor.htm

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