1. Algebra Readiness Program: 2012-13. C. Elizabeth Watson, MPA. EA13-149-4
. At-a-Glance lgebra Readiness was a grant funded program implemented to ...
Algebra Readiness Program: 2012-13 C. Elizabeth Watson, MPA
EA13-149-4
At-a-Glance lgebra Readiness was a grant funded program implemented to increase the preparedness of middle school students for Algebra I. Rider 42E in the General Appropriations Act, Article III of the Student Success Initiative, passed by the 81st Texas Legislature (Rider 42) provided for the Algebra Readiness grant program. The grant funded two phases of the program: planning and implementation. The planning phase began in January 2011 and ended in May 2011, and included curriculum planning and design as well as work with instructional coaches to implement the algebra readiness model on campuses. The implementation phase included the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years.
Cary Middle School, Fred F. Florence Middle School, John B. Hood Middle School, Kennedy-Curry Middle School, Pearl C. Anderson Middle School, Seagoville Middle School, and Sarah Zumwalt Middle School.
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Algebra Readiness campuses worked with staff from the University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Public School Initiatives to implement sustaining changes in the actions and behaviors of mathematics teaching and learning. These included using research-based key practices, including instructional coaching, extended learning time, common planning time, student engagement, supplemental resources, technology in the classroom, parent guidance and communication, and professional development.
Program Goals and Implementation The major goal of the planning phase was to design a program that increased teachers’ mathematics content knowledge and instructional effectiveness to improve performance for struggling students and those at risk of failure. The implementation phase sought to take this model and train teachers to best meet their students’ needs. The program aimed to increase the number of students who were academically ready to meet the passing standard on the Algebra endof-course (EOC) exam, and to equip school leadership to support teacher efforts to increase student achievement, while providing targeted intervention services to middle school students who are identified as unlikely to meet the end of course standards for Algebra I.
Student Demographics The majority of Algebra Readiness students were Hispanic (61.0%). African American students made up 34 percent of participants, and roughly five percent of students in the program were of other ethnicities. Female students comprised 48.8 percent of participant students, while 51.2 percent were male. A total of 1,758 students were limited English proficient (35.2%). The vast majority of Algebra Readiness students were economically disadvantaged: 4,689 of the program’s 4,999 total students, or 93.8 percent, belonged to this category. Professional Development The Algebra Readiness Initiative provided professional development opportunities for teachers at grant funded schools. Components of the initiative included: Middle School Students in Texas Algebra Ready (MSTAR) Foundations (Grades 5-6 or 7-8) as well as the Algebra 1 End-of-Course (EOC) Success training. In tandem with these training opportunities, the Elementary School Students in Texas Algebra Ready (ESTAR) training was available during the summer of 2012 to support elementary teachers in the vertical strand focused on Algebra Readiness. The MSTAR, ESTAR and MSTAR Geometric Approach to Algebra Readiness professional development series focused on addressing the needs of all learners through response-to-intervention (RtI) strategies that focused on integrating the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and creating quality Tier 1 lessons. Additional professional development opportunities were delivered via Project Share: the Texas Education Agency’s online learning community.
Public school districts were eligible to apply for funding on behalf of a campus that met both of the following criteria: the campus must serve students in grades six through eight or grades seven through eight, and have an average of 65 percent or fewer students in grades seven and eight who met the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) mathematics passing standards on the first administration when averaged over the preceding three school years. The Algebra Readiness program grant was awarded to seven schools in the Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) in January 2011 as part of the first grant cycle. These schools included Billy Earl Dade Middle School, D. A. Hulcy Middle School, E. B. Comstock Middle School, Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School, Robert T. Hill Middle School, Boude Storey Middle School, and T. W. Browne Middle School. Seven additional campuses were awarded cycle two funding. These schools included Edward H.
Results 1
In 2012-13, the seven cycle two grant awardees continued implementation of the program exactly as they had done in 2011-12. Cycle one campuses ended their participation at the end of the 2011-12 school year. Therefore, this evaluation considered two student populations in order to best gauge the gains made by the grants: 2012-13 cycle two middle school students (program participants), and 2012-13 ninth graders who participated in the program last year as eighth graders (high school cohort).
The percentage of sixth and seventh grade students at Algebra Readiness campuses who enrolled in Pre-AP mathematics courses was lower than for non-participant campuses in the district, as shown in Table 2. However, while the Pre-AP enrollment at Algebra Readiness campuses lagged behind that of the other district middle schools as an average, participant campuses did meet their goal of increased recruitment when comparing enrollment from 2010-11. This modest percentage point increase from the 2010-11 to 2011-12 school years allowed increased student exposure to advanced mathematics content. This trend continued into 2012-13, with program participant campuses increasing enrollment once again in both courses.
2012-13 Cycle Two Campuses Comparisons of the final mathematics course grades of participants and non-participants were made for each grade using a t-test to examine any differences in performance. As shown in Table 1, students at Algebra Readiness campuses had higher final course grades in Math 6 (77.51 versus 75.70, p < 0.000) than students at non-participant campuses. Students from both groups scored comparably in math courses in grades seven and eight. Notably, in 2011-12 (not shown here), Algebra Readiness students in Algebra I Pre-AP earned final course grades that were lower than students at non-Algebra Readiness campuses (p < 0.000) -- a difference that illustrated an opportunity for growth at these campuses. Of course, one should keep in mind that the campuses have a history of lower performance. To be eligible to apply for Algebra Readiness grants, campuses must have had an average of 65 percent or fewer students in grades seven and eight meeting the TAKS mathematics passing standards on the first administration when averaged over the preceding three school years. However, after continued program implementation, in 2012-13, Algebra Readiness students had significantly higher course grades in Algebra I Pre-AP than did students at other campuses (84.95 versus 83.17, p < 0.000).
Table 2 Student Pre-AP Course Enrollment by Program Participation
AR Campuses
Non-AR Campuses
Math 6
77.51
75.70
Math 6 Pre-AP
84.36
83.98
Math 7
75.31
75.18
Math 7 Pre-AP
80.94
82.87
Math 8
76.11
76.29
Algebra I Pre-AP
84.95
83.17
Non-AR Campuses
Math 6 Pre-AP
34.1%
39.0%
Math 7 Pre-AP
40.1%
44.8%
Course
2011-12 AR Campuses
Non-AR Campuses
Math 6 Pre-AP
36.7%
38.9%
Math 7 Pre-AP
42.2%
45.0%
Course
2012-13 AR Campuses
Non-AR Campuses
Math 6 Pre-AP
37.2%
39.2%
Math 7 Pre-AP
43.0%
45.0%
The 2012-13 school year marked the second year of implementation for the aforementioned campuses, under the original grant. Again, each campus principal worked with mathematics department faculty to implement the program’s best practices in an individualized manner.
Table 1 Mean Final Mathematics Course Grades by Algebra Readiness (AR) Participation
Course
2010-11 AR Campuses
Course
2012-13 Ninth Graders A total of 2,079 former Algebra Readiness students were enrolled in Algebra I as ninth-graders in 2012-13 across 19 campuses. Comparisons of final mathematics course grades of former participants and students who were never exposed to the program were made using a t-test to examine any differences in performance.
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satisfactory score was 3500). Fewer than one in six students from either group reached this level this year, and this illustrates the dire need for improvement in mathematics performance across the district, as well as mathematics staff’s commitment to strong curricular and organizational practices. The best practices contained in the Algebra Readiness program provide a strong framework from which to begin this uphill process.
As shown in Table 3, former Algebra Readiness students had a mean final course grade of 75.24 in Algebra I in 2012-13, as compared to 76.34 for non-participant students. While this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.000), the result is best considered taking into account the fact that program participant students came from traditionally lower performing middle schools. Table 3 Mean Final Algebra I Course Grades by Algebra Readiness (AR) Participation Course
AR Group
Non-AR Group
Algebra I
75.24
76.34
Table 4 Algebra I STAAR EOC Performance by Algebra Readiness (AR) Participation
Algebra I EOC Met at Level II Satisfactory (Phase-in 1 Standard) Met at Level II Satisfactory (Recommended Standard)
Comparisons of academic performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) end-of-course (EOC) assessments were made between the former program participant ninth-grader cohort and non-participant students. As shown in Table 4, fewer former Algebra Readiness students met satisfactory academic performance standards on the STAAR Algebra I EOC assessment than did non-participant students (72.5% versus 74.1%, at phase-in 1 standard). Performance in the level II satisfactory category indicated that students were sufficiently prepared for the next grade or course. They generally demonstrated the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts. Students in this category had a reasonable likelihood of success in the next grade or course but may need short-term, targeted academic intervention. Again, it is important to note that the program participant student group came from traditionally lower performing middle schools. Further, it is encouraging that both groups of students met the 2012-13 satisfactory standard at a rate of over 70 percent.
AR Group
Non-AR Group
N
%
N
%
2,027
72.5%
3,613
74.1%
199
9.6%
661
13.6%
Recommendations Continue to implement the best practices shared by the University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Public School Initiatives as part of the grant, including instructional coaching, extended learning time, common planning time, student engagement, supplemental resources, technology in the classroom, parent guidance and communication, and professional development. Many practices may be continued into the future at little or modest cost by individual campuses, and could be adopted by non-awardee schools, creating an opportunity for sustained and necessary improvement reaching far beyond the scope of the original grant award.
However, since the STAAR assessment is still being implemented as the new assessment system for all students in the state, the passing standards will be phased in. The Level II passing standards will be a four-year, two-step process for the Algebra I EOC. The phase-in approach was adopted because of the significant increase in the rigor of the STAAR program and because the distance between the initial and final passing standards for Level II was generally larger than the distance between the initial and final passing standards for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) program. The phase-in was meant to provide districts with time to adjust instruction, provide additional staff training, and close knowledge gaps.
For more information, please contact the Dallas ISD Evaluation and Accountability Department at 972-9256457.
By 2016, the final recommended standard for level II satisfactory performance will increase the score needed to 4000 (2012-13’s phase-in 1 standard level II 3
