Getting All Kids to Graduation: The High Stakes of Failure in

Algebra I

Presentation to MASBOctober 31, 2008

Judy Bonne, Wayne RESAGayle Green, Macomb ISD

Ron Koehler, Kent ISDKaren Szcodronski, Traverse Bay ISD

When you see what is right, have the courage to do it.

Chinese proverb (Confucian Analects)

“The best servants of the people, like the best valets, must whisper unpleasant truths in the master’s ear.”

Walter Lippman, U.S. journalist, 1914

“Using data can make an enormous difference in school reform efforts by…replacing hunches and hypotheses with facts concerning what changes are needed.”

Victoria Berhardt, Executive Director, Education for the Future Initiative

Michigan Merit Curriculum 2006

• New graduation requirements, including Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II for all students

• New high school course content expectations, much more rigorous than before

• New state test at the high school level, including a college admissions section (ACT) and a work readiness assessment (Work Keys)

We are in year 2 --how are we doing?

ISD Data Collection Project• 5 ISD’s agreed to collaborate to the highest

degree possible in collecting data to answer the question

• Kent (6), Macomb (28), Traverse Bay (5), Wayne (12) and Washtenaw (0).

• Technology staff at all five ISD’s worked together to make data collection as easy as possible for the schools.

• Despite different software packages and operating systems, data collection went smoothly.

• Participation was voluntary and individual results strictly confidential.

Results

• 51 schools participated

• Total enrollment: 56,590 students

Course Enrollment Failure %

Algebra I 14,414 (26%) 33.1%

Geometry 14,104 (25%) 15.9%

Algebra II 9,897 (18%) 13.1%

Biology 16,370 (29%) 16.7%

Chemistry 10,869 (19%) 10.2%

Physics 4,300 (8%) 7.3%

Kids in the “Bubble”: Class of 2011

How many 9th graders failed 1 or more classes in 2007-08? 35.9%

16,758 in Class of 2011: 35.9% = 6016

off track for graduation with their class!

Immediate problem? Credit RecoveryFuture solution? Intervention to prevent

failure

Support for Struggling Math Students

Credit RecoveryInterventions

Future Initiatives

Credit Recovery

•Nova Net

•E2020

•Plato

•MVU

•7th Hour, Zero Hour classes

•Traditional summer school

•Dual enrollment

Interventions

•Double block scheduling

•Summer School

•Algebra boot camp

•Pre-high school programs

•Freshman academy

•Carnegie Math/Math Labs

•After-school tutoring & targeted testing retakes

More Interventions

•Early identification in middle schools

•Personal education plans based on learning styles

•CTE and other interest-oriented programming that includes core content

•Regional pre-high school programming; 5th year pre-college programming that combines CTE and dual-enrollment opportunities

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers

“School doesn’t have to be the way you remember it.” Dr. Howard Gardner

It All Comes Down to Quality Instruction

• We should be using results to inform classroom practice. The results are only useful if we use them to “…change instruction tomorrow.”

Michael Fullan

Principles of Teaching and Learning

• Higher order thinking and problem solving

• Deep knowledge

• Substantive conversation

• Connections to the world beyond the classroom

Where Do We Go from Here?

Ongoing Professional Development

PreAlgebra Teaching Strategies

Functions Approach to Algebra

K-12 Focus on Mathematics Best Practices

The Future Depends on what We Do in the

Present

Passion and Persistence

Rick DuFour