CREATING A PRE-ALGEBRA COURSE Samantha Haas –DoCI – STEM

Presentation Agenda Key Project Elements Context & Data to Define My Problem Aim of Project Project Charter Overview Project Adjustments Next Steps Measures of Success Potential Impact Summary of Learning Roadblocks Success Were I to do this again… Personal Growth

OUR MISSION Graduating all students as critical thinkers and self-directed learners prepared for success in college, meaningful careers, community involvement, and family life.

DATA: What we’re up against among all cities with naep results reported, Milwaukee’s 8th Graders are the 3rd least prepared for high school

OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS WHO FAIL S1 ALGEBRA DATA for our 9th graders Algebra Readiness Entering Carmen 9th grader average math PreACT score: 14.9 8th grade ACT benchmark score: 17 9th grade ACT benchmark: 18 College readiness benchmark: 22 Algebra Success Rate The 2015-2016 Algebra pass rate was 68% (post-SS) The 2016-2017 Algebra pass rate was 61% (post-SS) OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS WHO FAIL S1 ALGEBRA (2014-15 9th grade data) Students who failed S2 of their 1st year 18/18 = 100% Students who failed S1 of their 2nd year 10/13 = 77% Students who transferred (still unprepared) 5/18 = 28%

Data For Algebra skills Right now, we enroll students who struggle in math in algebra and algebra skills concurrently. Algebra skills is another math period that is meant to be used to bolster math skills prerequisite to algebra. Data indicates a problem with equity– we seem to be failing to help our lowest-skilled math students

State Report Card Data

STATEMENT of the problem The current sequence of and support in math courses at Carmen High School of Science and Technology – South Campus is not bringing the lowest-skilled 25% of math students up to grade level and is leaving our lowest-skilled math students with decreased confidence in math, an artificially low GPA, and a credit deficit.

AIM OF PROJECT ORIGINAL AIM: Create a year-long pre-algebra course to support our lowest skilled math students SETBACKS: In order to stick to my original plan, I would need… Reliable math placement testing Informed consent from students and families/guardians Math credit to be given for Pre-Algebra Support from my Head of Schools and College Transition Director I likely would be unable to get all those things, so I needed to make some modifications

SEEKING HELP FROM MY Guiding Coalition/Stakeholders I’m grateful for the help of the following people/groups Jenna & Janice (Algebra team) for providing me with strong rationale for a pre-algebra class (and data) and for writing the new placement test Beth (Director of College Transition) for strategizing around math sequence to get pre-algebra approved with our Head of Schools Amanda (Instruction and Professional Development Manager) for her help in the areas of preparation and persuasion Janis (Principal) for her guidance with all things math, for her assistance in navigating the network, and for her ideas around the placement exam Patricia (Head of Schools) for approving my proposal for a S2 pre-algebra course Dave (Algebra skills) for allowing me to pilot the new placement exam with his class and for taking notes on errors Algebra Skills Students for agreeing to take the new placement test and for offering up suggestions for improvement

Adjustments & NEW AIM New Counter-measure Issue Fix Placement test Write a new placement test, and give it to current Algebra skills students to check validity Informed Consent Help families make decisions after semester 1 grades are finalized. Have students and parents sign a “contract” Credit We are not able to offer pre-algebra for a MATH credit, but we can offer elective credit (to help GPA) Support Stakeholder analysis with students, math teachers, the principal, the College Transition Coordinator, and the Head of Schools New Counter-measure Pre-Algebra Curriculum offered is offered during semester 2 for students who failed semester 1 due to skill deficiencies, with student and parent consent.

NEXT STEPS The Timeline Receive approval for a new math credit offering (ideally pre-algebra) Rewrite the algebra placement exam by June 1, 2017. Pilot with students Select a teacher for the pre-algebra course Directors of Curriculum and Instruction have all incoming 9th grade students take the math placement test Directors of Curriculum and Instruction score all placement tests by August 1. In our math department meetings, create a curriculum for a pre-algebra course, due by October of 2017 Get that curriculum approved for 0.5 elective credits at Carmen High School of Science and Technology by November, 2017 Director of Curriculum and Instruction – STEM and algebra team select students to enroll in the pre-algebra course during S2 based on S1 failure data. Director of Curriculum and Instruction – STEM informs parents and students of the recommendation to enroll in pre-algebra and acquires parental and student consent Create course midterms and final exams for approval by the Carmen Curriculum and Assessment Review Team.

Measures of Success and Potential Impact Pass Rate of Algebra (Goal: 80%+) There will likely be other impacts as well Potential Impact Increased pass rate of algebra Increased average GPA of the 9th grade class Increased confidence in math

ROADBLOCKS We cannot make the course yearlong Pre-algebra can be a credit-bearing course on transcript, though it will not fulfill a math requirement Mindset shift: Pre-algebra is not lowering the bar; it is providing necessary support We will have a brand new algebra and algebra skills team this year

The course was approved! SUCCESSES The course was approved! I am hopeful that this option will feel like less of a punishment to students with low skills

Personal Growth I certainly engaged many more stakeholders in my project than I normally would, thanks in part to our Maximizing Stakeholder Relationships class First major curricular project I’ve taken on First endeavor in changing math curriculum

WERE I TO DO THIS AGAIN Start earlier Schedule meetings to help fight procrastination Engage math team in inception stages

Questions? Many thanks to the Carmen- South Leadership Team for their support throughout my project!