Negative Six Minus Eight (3-5-09)

First and foremost, my apologies for my recent hiatus. Life has been a little nuts, and as such I haven't been doing as much blogging or none at all for that matter. A big thank you to those who recently posted comments regarding my previous two posts. Your insights are thought provoking and greatly appreciated. Keep sharing as it makes all of us think a little more and that's how we get smarter.

On to today's blog...

Proctoring the CSAP is always the most depressing time of the year for me. Having only taught in the most difficult environments (low socioeconomic, urban) over the past 6 years I have yet to be part of a school that produces results greater than 15 % proficient or advanced on the 9th grade math portion of the assessment (compared to a state average of roughly 35 %). As I read through the directions of the math component on Tuesday and we embarked on the first of three math sections, I watched in complete frustration as my students answered the first sample question. - 6 - 8 = ____. The overwhelming majority bubbled the empty circle next to the response "2."

Nothing highlights my problems in succeeding as a teacher and closing the achievement gap better than that simple problem, - 6 - 8. We've worked with negative integers through out the year in a variety of capacities. From the "drill and kill" perspective, we've spent weeks going through mad minutes directly focused on adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. Not moving on to the next set of skills until we'd seen substantial growth in this area, the typical student moved from doing 4 to 5 simple problems such as the sample in 1 minute to being able to handle 10 - 15. In terms of applying this skill to a meaningful task, students were taught how to find an equation when provided with a set of linear data. Using the linear model, students worked on making predictions about the future and used their equations to analyze real world situations such as cell phone bills, population growth, and job opportunities. This entire process started with finding the slope of a line which requires students to subtract positive and negative numbers on a regular basis. To support this necessary skill, the DO NOW's, starting problems for each day, asked students to find the slopes of points involving both positive and negative integers.

The bottom line is this. We encountered/worked with adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers over a long period of time. Most, if not all students showed growth in this area as they improved their skill set. This growth was evident in their ability to answer 16 simple arithmetic problems, i.e. -3 - 6 or -5 + - 8, in a minute, their accurate completion of DO NOW's on a daily basis requesting them to find the slopes of a line when given two points, i.e. (2, 5), (-3 , - 6), and their ability to utilize this basic skill and apply it to more complex Algebra such as determining the equation of a line when given a set of linear data. Nonetheless, despite all of the data that I've collected to monitor their growth and despite the tremendous amount of practice they've received coupled with intense coaching, the students failed to answer - 6 - 8 correctly. I failed.

Take Aways

The reality is that our students enter the classroom more like 5th and 6th graders in their skills and knowledge, particularly in the area of mathematics. Therefor, it makes sense for us to emphasize and reward growth. Meeting grade level proficiency would be a nearly impossible task for 90 % of our student body as this would mean increasing 3 to 4 grade levels in 3/4 of a year (don't forget, CSAP's in early march). While recognizing improvement is valid and necessary, it doesn't quite get the job done in a "results oriented" society. It's beautiful to bring a 9th grader from 6th to 8th grade levels of proficiency in a year's time, but this doesn't ensure our students the chance to compete with their middle class and affluent competitors.

The biggest take away I have is the fact that we have to change our approach if we're going to get the job done and become true "gap-closers." The obstacles are clear to see, the biggest being how do we ensure mastery of such vast content in such a short time span. This year, more than any other, I've used objective assessment data to dictate instructional and curricular decisions. Although this is a valuable practice, it also throws a wrench in our plan. If we constantly teach, re-group students, and re-teach to ensure mastery than how do we get through the content? Teaching for mastery takes far longer than the traditional covering of content, and in turn, makes it impossible to get through the depth and breadth of material assessed on the CSAP. That is unless we change the system in which we're teaching.

Solutions

There is a reason that highly successful "no-excuse" urban charter schools have a longer school day and a longer school year. Their low socioeconomic students of color need the time to catch up. There's also a reason that a huge percentage of these schools have summer academies before students ever step foot in an actual class come fall of their first year.

My solution to the dilemma of developing proficient 9th graders who come in way behind grade level is multi-stepped.

1.) All students have to attend a math skills boot camp prior to entering 9th grade. For three weeks in the summer students would work on nothing but the foundation skills necessary to engage in Algebra (fractions, percents, decimals, integers, ratios, operations, etc.). Students who feel they already have these necessary skills could test out of boot camp by performing at a proficient or advanced level on a rigorous assessment tool. Students enrolled in boot camp would take this same assessment at the conclusion of their three week period. If at this time they still score below proficient, they are placed in an additional class outside of their Algebra class that runs for a minimum of 9 weeks. At the end of this time students would have another opportunity to demonstrate proficiency on the high-stakes assessment. If they reach a proficient level of mastery they may exit the class and replace it with a regular class from the menu of options, but if they don't they are enrolled in another 9 week session. The entire "boot camp" program/philosophy basically says that improving isn't good enough and that proficiency is all that matters. It also sends the message to students that the school is going to do everything it can to level the playing field, but that it's up to the students to own their learning and to prove their mastering essential content.

- Issues with this plan are both financial (who's going to pay for the program) and staffing based (what teachers want to run a 3 week drill and kill math boot camp). Solve these two potential road blocks and you may have a workable piece to the overall solution.

2.) Urban schools need more time to handle the math dilemma, especially at the 9th grade level.
Schools have to constantly instruct, assess, re-group, and re-assess students. As such, I suggest a norm of 2 hours, everyday of mathematics. Many "beat the odds" school already employ this double math time schedule and their results are evidence of its effects. Should schools use the additional time wisely, creating a sense of urgency in the classroom and making every minute count in addition to constant assessment and monitoring of student learning, the 2 hours a day should be enough to reach mastery of essential content. Keep in mind that in this model students might move around to different teachers based upon their results of their assessments. On a weekly or monthly basis students could be re-distributed to work with other students who have the same learning needs. Rather than force three-tiered differentiated instruction to take place in a single classroom, students could be moved around to work with distinct groups struggling with the same deficiencies.

- There are certainly a slew of issues with this plan from school schedule to staffing capacity. However, consider the notion of going slow to go fast. If 9th graders could get caught up then the rest of their high school career would look a whole lot brighter. It's often said that failing Algebra is a great indicator of student drop outs. Let's reverse the cycle, emphasize mathematics with time, resources, and staff, and really close the gap.