Project Overview Purpose: to partner with 9 th grade math teachers as they implemented a proficiency- based learning & grading system in their Algebra I/Geometry classes, & to provide them with professional development that guided & supported their efforts. Alignment: Consistent with the SDP’s Anchor Goal 1, 100% of students will graduate, ready for college & career, PARLO emphasizes accumulating knowledge rather than averaging grades. Students who are not yet proficient persist & reassess for Proficient (P) or High Performance (HP) on Learning Outcomes, as defined by teachers & aligned to Keystone Algebra 1/Geometry eligible content. Duration: March 2010 – February 2016 Participants: 16 (urban, suburban, rural) districts in Pennsylvania, 32 schools (including 10 SDP Schools), 85 teachers (including 16 SDP Teachers), over 4,000 students. Contributors/Stakeholders Funder: National Science Foundation ($2.4mil, DRL # ) Stakeholders: school districts & 9 th grade Algebra 1 & Geometry teachers committed to improving math teaching & learning; 9 th grade students & their parents/guardians. Resources: buy-in from admin & teachers; research team with experience teaching HS math, implementing PARLO, & studying formative assessment; consultants (current & former math teachers/coaches); software to monitor student progress. Activities Summer PD: Teachers reviewed PA math standards, eligible content, curricular materials, & Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, & collaborated to develop Learning Outcomes; teachers learned how to incorporate formative assessment & provide meaningful feedback with the shared expectation that students would act on it. PLCs: During the school year teachers participated in monthly 2-hour PLCs at individual schools that were facilitated by PARLO experts. Implementation In ways both big & small, the enacted PARLO study was clarified & strengthened in response to participants’ needs, concerns, & requests. PARLO in practice became vibrant as participants infused it with meaning, made it their own, & made it work for them inside the existing structures of individual classrooms & schools. Adaptation: In response to teachers’ feedback, after the first year, we asked the PARLO Experts who facilitated the PLCs to visit teachers’ classrooms monthly to observe their implementation & offer strategies that addressed their challenges (instructional, managerial, & logistical). This adaptation contributed to fidelity of implementation. Teacher Outcomes 1. 89% adopted new practices/routines to make PARLO work % changed their feedback process to help students focus on their errors/misconceptions & develop strategies to correct them. 3. During exit interviews, all teachers reported that going forward they would continue to implement all or some components of PARLO. Contact Information Nancy Lawrence & Kathleen Krier 21 st Century Partnership for STEM Education Michael Posner, Villanova University Sukey Blanc – External Evaluator Collaborating with 9 th Grade Math Teachers to Implement a Proficiency-based Assessment & Reassessment of Learning Outcomes (PARLO) System