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Texas governor, legislature
issue call for stronger math education
A new Texas Math Initiative
begun by Gov. Rick Perry and the state legislature marks this
state as a national leader in preparing students with the mathematics
skills needed to compete in a global economy.
The goal is to raise students' math skills just as the Texas
Reading
Initiative has worked to raise their reading skills, the governor
said recently. In addition, says Education Commissioner Jim Nelson,
today's kindergartners will live in an information economy requiring
a strong foundation in problem solving, logic and reasoning skills.
The Texas Math Initiative will strengthen teacher training,
develop new ways to analyze students' mathematics skills, identify
best practices for mathematics instruction, and more.
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FWISD's early
improvements in math instruction add up to success
The Fort Worth Independent School
District has pioneered positive change in advance of state and
national calls for improvements in teaching mathematics. Examples
of the district's reforms include:
- Elementary Mathematics Specialists
program (1996) - an elementary teacher at 20+ elementary schools
focuses on math instruction only; program expands to additional
schools; intensive training for all elementary teachers; new
materials developed to strengthen instruction.
- Result: In 2001, more than
80 percent of students in grades four through eight passed the
math portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. The
achievement gap in math narrowed between racial and socioeconomic
groups at all grade levels.
- I Can Learn algebra labs (1999-2000)
- self-paced computer instruction, individual and group instruction
by a specially trained teacher; began in high schools, then expanded
to seventh-grade for pre-algebra (2000-01).
- Result: In 2001, on the state's
algebra end-of-course exam, students in I Can Learn computer
labs scored 18 percentage points higher than those in traditional
courses. Of 6,600 FWISD high school students studying algebra
last year, nearly half were enrolled in I Can Learn algebra labs.
- Programs funded by a Ninth-grade
Success Initiative grant - example: summer classes for freshmen
needing to complete Algebra I credits or needing algebra readiness
skills.
- Result: Of 540 outgoing freshmen,
85 percent completed Algebra I last summer, and 225 incoming
freshmen gained pre-algebra skills.
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National dialogue
renews emphasis on mathematics
Mathematics education is under
scrutiny nationally, particularly after research from the Third
International Mathematics and Science Study found that American
students are behind their peers in other industrialized countries.
For example:
- A National Research Council
mathematics study released earlier this year stressed that even
preschoolers need to acquire skills and an understanding of mathematical
concepts.
- Educational organizations and
university researchers are preparing position statements or reports
on appropriate mathematics instruction for young children.
- The National Assessment of Educational
Progress, which conducts sample testing nationally, may modify
its mathematics exams to emphasize algebra at the eighth-grade
level although many eighth graders across the nation may not
study algebra until high school.
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Mathematics
Initiative changes expected to multiply successes
Not content to rest on past accomplishments,
the FWISD is advancing to the next stage of higher student achievement
by enhancing its Mathematics Initiative to prepare its youngest
students for rigorous course work when they reach high school.
- Four-year-olds are learning
math with the help of a new textbook, Growing with Math for Prekindergarten,
one of the few appropriate for that age group.
- Technology will offer third-
through fifth-graders at 44 schools a chance to polish math skills
at home when they check out computer devices with Lightspan software.
- At 43 schools children in kindergarten
through fifth grade will benefit from the Saxon method of direct
instruction in math. Much like FWISD's powerful and successful
Reading Initiative, the math program provides highly focused
instruction for students and scripted lessons for teachers. Teachers
receive intensive training.
The Saxon program overview states
that the objective is to help all children develop a "solid
foundation in the language and basic concepts of all areas of
mathematics."
Continuity in the curriculum,
from terminology to content, prepares students from their earliest
classroom experience for algebra and geometry. The courses are
required by the Recommended High School Diploma program and for
the new exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills that
begins in 2003. Those successful in algebra and geometry may
also see value in the rigorous honors and Advanced Placement
courses available at all high schools.
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