Math A Up Close

(Transcript Of the March 1, 2000 Teleconference)

Transmitted via New York 's Public Broadcasting Stations, produced by the New York State Education Department and the New York State Satellite Broadcast Network; recorded at the studios at Bulmer Telecommunications Center, Hudson Valley Community College.

For additional information, call or write:

John Quinn
Room 668 EBA
Office of Curriculum and Instruction
New York State Education Department
Albany, NY 12234
(518) 474-3954
E-mail: jquinn@mail.nysed.gov

For copies of the videotape and Facilitator Guide, contact Teresa Moore, Questar III BOCES, (518) 477-6749.

>> Rochelle: Hello. I'm Rochelle Cassella welcoming you to another edition of the State Education Department Satellite Broadcast Network's "Tools for Schools" series. Today's topic, Math A. The first test of the State's new learning standards for math came in June 1999 when math assessments for fourth and eighth graders were viewed. The results for the eighth grade: Just 40% of the State's students performed at standard or above, a shock to the system to be sure, but Education Commissioner Richard Mills says it's not a fatal wound. It does, however, point out that work needs to be done, and lots of it, if students are to meet future graduation requirements that they pass a math Regents in order to get a diploma.

Right now, New York high school students have a choice over which math curriculum to follow: Courses 1, 2, and 3, the so-called traditional math, or Math A, which also reflects the new learning standards. By June of 2002, however, that choice will be gone, and all students will have to take Math A and pass the Math A Regents exam to get a high school diploma. So our goal today is to let classroom teachers, school administrators and students across the state know that we are here to help you.

We'll talk about the differences between Course 1 and Math A, and we'll tell you about some state resources you can tap into for classroom instruction. And we'll show you that your school district is not alone in its efforts to move teachers as well as students from Course 1 to Math A. We'll visit a Southern Tier district that remains committed to Math A, even as officials admit to struggling with the transition. At two Buffalo City high schools, we'll see classes where the Math A curriculum is being taught with two programs named to the U.S. Education Department's exemplary processes list. We'll also sit in on a meeting of math teachers from nearly a dozen school districts. They used a national grant to create a consortium where they can exchange ideas, share materials and generally support one another as they introduce Math A to their tech prep math classes.

We don't have all the answers here today and, as we said, these are districts that say they're still struggling with the transition, as we're sure many of you are as well. As always, as we talk and view today, we'll keep in mind our tools for schools. These are the elements common to all high-performing schools. They are again: Responsive leadership, comprehensive planning, ongoing staff development, engaging curriculum, flexible resources and parent and community involvement. And before we finish today, we'll make sure that you have some tips for introducing these tools to your school classroom.

With all the differences between Course 1 and Math A, why was the curriculum change made? With the answers to those and some other related questions, we turn now to Lynn Richbart, S.E.D. Interim Co-coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction.

We don't have all the answers today, Lynn, but we do have an answer to what are the major differences between Course 1 and Math A?

>> There are at least four things that we talk about when we talk about the difference between Course 1 or 2 and Math A. The four things involve content, format, context and scoring.

In terms of content, we have content documents. The Course 1 or the Course 2, of course, would use the Course 1 or 2 syllabi that's been around for 20-plus years. The Math A content really comes from the Mathematics Resource Guide with Core Curriculum, and that forms the basis for the content of Math A. Math A, generally speaking, includes a lot of Course 1, but Math A does not include the symbolic logic that came from Course 1. That means it does not include the work with tautologies that our teachers are familiar with. From the Course 2 end, it does not include the use of the quadratic formula and it does not include formal proof.

The formats are also quite different. Math A has no choice. Students must answer all the questions, and there are 20 multiple-choice, 5 two-point questions, 5 three-point, 5 four-point student constructed responses. Contrast that to the Course 1 and 2 where there's choices not only on Part 2, but there's even choices on Part 1.

Another change is the items. The items are in context. In Math A, 50 to 60% of the items are actually in a context or an application. Course 1 and 2 have much less. You may find a question on Part 2 that is in a sort of a context, but a lot of those are not.

The scoring is quite different, too. In Math A, we use some sort of scoring. Unlike Course 1, the raw score that is developed is not necessarily the final score of the youngster. There's a conversion table for each exam which really transfers or converts the raw score, which are a maximum 85 points, into a scale score or Regents score which, of course, goes from zero to 100.

What you see on your screen now are the last three administrations. So you can see that they have changed. In June, the equivalent of a 65% at a raw score of 43. In August it was at 47, and in January, it was at 44. And similar raw scores for the 55% newer curve. The scoring uses a specific rubric rather than a very simple answer sheet. Math teachers are used to one sheet of yellow paper where the answers for the Part 1 were on one side, and if you turned over to the other side, you merely had the questions and the answers for Part 2 or Part 3. Now, of course, our yellow sheet is a yellow booklet because it contains a specific rubric for every one of the open-ended questions that the youngsters actually work on.

People, of course, are asking when are things changing? The phase-out and phase-in, we have been announcing this over the last several years. In fact, we've even put on the Course 1 answer sheet the fact that the very last Course 1 is scheduled for January of 2002. I always caution people to remember that's January. The last June exam occurs in June of 2001. The last Course 1 is January of 2002. The last Course 2 is going to be a year later, in January of 2003. Course 3, it's not definite, but it's probable the last Course 3 will be January of 2004. That's somewhat dependent on the new Math B test, the higher-level test, which we hope starts in June of 2001. Once that gets up and rolling, we'll make a definite time in terms of dates for the phase-out of Course 3.

Now, the comments we got from the very first test of June '99, we bring this up just to mention that in fact June of '99, many of the youngsters who actually sat for the test were not the typical youngsters who would normally sit for a Regents exam in Course 1 and Course 2. Some people, and these comments that I'm sharing with you, came from our listSERV Internet people who had expressed their results and made comments. These youngsters, these kids who took course 1 last year and passed at least for local credit and then took a reduced version of Course 2 this year, they sat for the June '99 Math A. Only 54 students took the Math A and, of course, not surprising I guess on the first try for this type of student, we only had 41 of those score -- 41 of those scored below 65%. Not a very high passing percentage, and that will be reflected, I'm sure, in the overall results that are given for '99.

However, we could look at one individual school, one school that actually put all their youngsters into the program. Over 200 youngsters sat at this one suburban school that is near the capital district, and for that group, 23 scored below 55. That meant that over 12% got local credit by scoring between 55 and 64, and they had 47% who scored between 65 and 84, and even 67, or 30%, who scored 85 or above. Their results, they felt, were very equivalent to what they normally get with that kind of a Regents examination. We had another couple of results recently over the last couple of years about -- excuse me, the last couple of weeks, about the January test. The Math A January exam, we had one report from a small city that in fact showed that for 124 students who took it -- and again, this is after three semesters of work -- 87, or 70%, passed, and their definition up there of passing was 65%.

Although I don't have the slide on it, there was another comment on the listSERV that another school gave Math A to 71% of their students with 70% getting over 65 and over 87% getting greater than 55. Some of the resources that we hope you are all familiar with: We talked about the core curriculum. We do have the Mathematics Resource Guide with Core Curriculum that schools have had now, we hope, for a year and a half. It's also on the New York State Education Department web site. This year, we have also added a CD, a mathematics, science and technology CD that can be obtained, and in it, by the way, contains the entire Math Resource Guide as well as some other suggestions for integrating math, science and technology.

Schools did receive the Math A test sampler over a couple of years ago, and as we sit today, there are three full examinations of June '99, August of '99 and January of 2000 that schools can get. It should no longer be a mystery of what Math A is going to look like. Other resources we have include work with other languages because we do have a lot of other youngsters sitting for the exam who are not native speakers. So the exams themselves, both Math A and Course 1, starting a year ago, are now available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Haitian-Creole, Russian and Korean. There's even some glossaries that are word-for-word translations of mathematical words. They're available in many of those same languages and a few editions. For example, in Chinese, there's two: One for simplified and one for traditional. And besides the other languages we talked about, it's also available in Bengali, Burmese and Vietnamese. And certainly, as you know, you can certainly contact us at the State Education Department. Myself and Jackie Marcano, who both work in Curriculum Instruction, we can be reached at the same phone number that's listed there. And Carolyn Richbart, who works for School Improvement, she has a different phone number. We three, as the math specialists in the New York State Education Department, have been and will continue to be there to try to answer any of your questions as we go throughout this transition period.

>> Rochelle: Okay.

>> And that's some of the changes.

>> Rochelle: Why the change at all?

>> Well, of course, the main thing is the learning standards. Back two or three years ago, the Board of Regents passed the learning standards, the core curriculum, and the decision was made that all youngsters were going to have to sit for a Regents exam, all of our youngsters. Well, we had at that stage probably 25, 30 different programs that were out there in New York State. Schools were doing variance exams. If they did a project or a program that was different than our traditional Course 1, 2 and 3, they would write their own exam, submit it to us and get approval.

The Commissioner decided that as we moved into the requirement that all youngsters must pass the Regents exam for a diploma, he wanted to level the field and make sure that all youngsters took the exact same test. So then it became paramount that we created one test based on the learning standards that was independent of Course 1, 2 and 3, or independent of any of the programs that are out there. So now schools are much more free to use whatever mathematics program they wish as long as, by some point, the youngsters can meet the learning standards that we picked.

>> Rochelle: There is some concern and some frustration on the part of teachers, parents and students themselves as this transition is made that this is too difficult; students are not succeeding in the way we would like them to be. Reaction?

>> Well, I'm glad I have a little bit of the results I gave you today. I mean we all have that fear: Are we creating something much more above than what we would expect? A lot of the concern is not so much about Math A as it would be about any Regents exam where we -- in the past, we had youngsters who were taking the competency test who now have to pass the Regents exam. All freshmen of 1997 and later have to pass the Regents exam to even get a local diploma.

Now, the effort was made that for the first four years, freshmen of '97, '98, '99 and even 2000, that they only have to pass one Regents exam, and to get a local diploma, they probably only have to get 55, if your school district permits. That's not a requirement. Some schools have up to 65%. The State doesn't move it up until 65 until the freshmen of 2001. So we're hopeful that gradually moving in to the higher standards, gradually moving in subject by subject, English language arts -- and English, of course, Regents occurred with the freshmen in '96, math in '97, then social studies for the freshmen '98, and now this year's freshmen have the addition of science. Hopefully that will allow the schools and the youngsters to really become up and running in terms of a Regents program.

>> Rochelle: Okay. Thank you, Len. The Elmira School District in New York's Southern Tier began that transition to the new learning standards almost as soon as they were introduced. Four years later, they're still making some adjustments to teaching styles. The district now has brought scheduling and inclusion students for both general ed students and those with disabilities. There have been some successes and some frustrations, but everyone remains committed to Math A's curriculum.

>> Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today is a C day...

>> We're trying to get kids ready for the Math A assessment, obviously. We're working at bringing technology into the classroom. Obviously, the Math A assessment allows the use of the graphing calculator. So we're trying to accomplish group work, getting the kids used to working with one another.

>> So what I'm going to end up with here is negative 2X plus 6. Does anybody want to say 6 minus 2X?

>> We were in a 40-minute class schedule up until two years ago. Now we're in a block schedule and I have a lot more time to do those kinds of activities. I think with the Math A assessment being so problem-solving oriented, it gives me a chance to do more of that kind of thing and see what the kid can do -- what the kids can do, collectively, maybe individually. Having the other teacher in the room, obviously that's one more body that can get around, and you get to more kids obviously that way.

>> Actually, I'm not just focusing on my students. I try to circulate around the whole room and provide any support that those kids need. As Mr. Decker is talking, maybe I can sneak down and answer a quick question or help solve a problem that they're having.

>> You now know why that happens?

>> No longer do we segregate students. We are now moving towards an inclusion model. So some of our students with the most difficult needs are also now in a regular ed classroom, being instructed next to other students who, although not classified, had other very strong needs. It presents an unbelievable challenge for the teacher in the classroom.

>> Do you have any other maybe possible suggestions about that?

>> No, that's just what I was doing in the notes when I was showing --

>> Good.

>> The goal, obviously, is to get the kids ready for the new Math A assessment. It's new to us; it's new to the State; it's new to the kids. We're trying a lot of different things to meet that goal.

>> If I put that in the calculator as 2X plus Y equals 6, the T.I. doesn't know what I'm asking it to do.

>> Early on, as early as 1996 when the first pilot exam was going to be administered, we worked with the pilot and administered it to some of our students. What we had been doing for our students we didn't think was working so we were looking for something new, something different, in the hopes that it would service our students better.

>> The Math A is asking the students to document their work and to actually write about mathematics. The kid will give you the number, you know, "Here's the answer; it's 3," and not show you any of the work involved. So I think that's the big hurdle that we have to overcome. We have to get our kids to understand what it is to communicate using mathematics.

>> Now, where am I going to put it? Put it right here?

>> Right under here. That's what I do. Like this...

>> The major obstacle, I think, in the test itself is how much problem-solving there is on the test. I mean, these kids are used to taking the old R.C.T., which there was no -- they didn't have to solve any real problems on it. So that's what these kids have the most difficult time with.

>> This is a challenging assessment. It's frustrating because you're so used to teaching to the course 1 assessment, Course 2 and Course 3 where it's very easy for a teacher to get in the mode of teaching to the test. Math A assessment isn't real easy to teach to the test because the questions involve bringing in a wide variety of skills.

>> Y minus 2X equals 3. Opposite of subtracting 2X... is to add 2X, okay?

>> The test scores have shown, on one side, I would say, that certainly some students can move to this higher standard. Some students are performing at a level we may not have thought they were capable of and yet for us, here in our situation, not at a level that's deemed satisfactory.

>> You know, you're constantly redoing, redoing. At the same time, you're trying to look ahead and say, "Okay, how do I get these kids to that goal, that Math A?"

>> I would agree that we can't do the same old thing. These students, as I said, not only learn at different rates, but they learn in different ways. We have to be prepared to meet those needs.

>> There's a math teacher that's available every single minute of every day during the school day itself. We're obviously available before school, after school... this district is looking at the possibility of an evening, an evening program which could be beneficial to the kids that we're trying to remediate. As a teacher, you come in every day ready to go, prepare a good lesson, know what your goal is for the day, what your goal is long range. You hope that the kids are buying into you. You have to get them to see that "Hey, you're not getting out of here until this requirement is met."

>> What do you have?

>> Y equals one-half of X minus...

>> That's all there is to it. Like I told Andy, it's nothing more really than bookkeeping once you write down the algebra. The rest is just bookkeeping. What do I have? And just drag everything down.

>> We do see more students studying more mathematics at a higher level. Although percentages are lower, we see more students passing both the old Regents and the new Regents. So there's no question that students are performing at a higher level.

>> There's another point...

>> But regrettably, as I mentioned earlier, also some students are failing at a higher level.

>> Building a student's confidence, kids that just repeatedly say, "I can't do this. I can't do this." We just try to desensitize them to the "I can't," and try to get them to the "I can." That's a big piece that I think will help us get them over the edge and be able to meet the State assessment.

>> No matter where the zero is, if you have an equal sign, it doesn't matter if it's here or here.

>> Our responsibility is just to make learning a fun process, you know, to do the best that we can and provide what we have to those students.

>> I think that really the ball is kind of in our court. I mean, I think we just have to get these kids ready and maybe it's going to take us, you know, a little practice for us.

>> All of us are well aware of the task at hand, and all of us, you know, have got our shirt sleeves rolled up, are down in the trenches, working hard every day. Change is never easy and all of a sudden we have to do something different.

>> Rochelle: Joining me now in the studio is Bill Caroscio. He is a math teacher at Elmira South Side High School. He also served on the State Ed's Math A committee. Welcome. Delighted to have you here.

I hear some frustration as you talk about the changeover, a real need to get students involved and motivated and going, but some frustration as well. What are your main concerns?

>> Our main concerns are probably typical of most classrooms: Student attendance, availability of resources, class size, things of that nature. We're excited about the new standards. We're excited about kids performing at a higher level. But some of the traditional concerns are still there, and they're the things that cause us difficulty as we try to help kids meet this new standard.

>> Rochelle: One of the things that you talked about was "We've had to change. You can't do things the same old way." What are some of the things that you have done in your classrooms that you think are adjustments you have made as you move to Math A from Course 1 and 2?

>> Some of the adjustments have been made self-initiative type of things. Others are more imposed, things like inclusion classes. A change in regulation requires students to be placed in the least restrictive environment. Certainly that changes the nature of the classroom. I particularly have kids work in pairs. Other teachers have them work in small groups. There's no way we can lecture at them for a full 80-minute period. The good side of that is it gives you time to actually have that guided practice where the student has the opportunity to actually work in front of you. You're able to diagnose better where the students are having difficulties. So those are the positive sides. The difficulty is just trying to meet all these diverse needs all within this higher standard setting.

>> Rochelle: One of the things that we noticed is that the special ed teacher who was in this classroom is also a certified math teacher. That makes a big difference.

>> It makes a critically big difference. Our special ed staff has really stepped to the fore as our district has moved this year to this model. But they don't all have that luxury of having the mathematics' background, and it's been a phenomenal struggle for them. They have worked diligently to increase their own skills, quite frankly, so they can assist students in improving their skills.

But skills is something that we need to continue to work on. I think staff development is an area where that could be done. Our district has done some work in the areas of pedagogical changes, helping us do cooperative learning types of things and things of that nature, but we haven't provided any of the content kinds of things, especially for our special ed colleagues, which are development needs that they'll have as they work with the regular ed classroom.

>> Rochelle: Okay. And this is something that we want to point out, as we talk about high-performing schools, which means high-performing students, the need for those critical elements: Leadership that responds to the needs of State mandates and also what teachers need in the classroom to be able to perform well, and that ongoing staff development, staff development that is ongoing, that supports teachers so that they can support students.

>> Absolutely.

>> Rochelle: Okay. We're going to take a look at the Buffalo City School District which has been using the University of Chicago School Mathematics Program and the Carnegie Learning Program in its high school. Both are on the Federal Education Department's exemplary list. We also want to point out that Math A has been used in the Buffalo District. There is no Course 1 and 2 available anymore. Debra Sykes is the supervisor of mathematics for the Buffalo City School District. She's here. I would like to know a little bit about the University of Chicago program and the Carnegie program.

>> Those programs are application-based as opposed to defining skills. We have been using the University of Chicago program for about ten years now, when we first did a pilot with it, and the Carnegie Learning we have been using for three years, and that's a curriculum where they're in the classroom three days a week and then a computer lab with a cognitive tutor the other two days. The cognitive tutor looks at how people would solve problems and prompts children along in their responses, the way they would normally do problem solving.

>> Rochelle: So, in a way, if it's more applications-based, it's more in line with what Math A has suggested that you do, which is what we have heard before, make that change with that applications-based.

>> They're getting real-world problems on a daily basis. It's forcing them to write and read mathematics on a regular basis in those courses.

>> Rochelle: How were those programs selected?

>> The University of Chicago program was selected in the early '90s as a pilot for a city honor school. And it exceeded expectations at that point and it went into more of the schools, so that's when we asked the State for a variance and it's now in all the schools. And it came about because of the standards that came out in 1989/90, and graphing calculators were available at that point and we wanted to use those things. The University of Chicago program incorporated all those things into their program. Then the Carnegie Learning was selected because we were having some difficulties with other students. We wanted all students in algebra. We knew Math A was coming, and we had to put all freshmen in algebra, regardless of background. So we started looking at other urban areas and what had worked there, and we found the Carnegie Learning Program.

>> Rochelle: These would also probably work very well for limited English proficiency students? I know that there was some discussion about that as well.

>> Yes, some of our schools -- Grover Cleveland High School has students from 40 different countries and I believe there's 36 languages spoken in that school.

>> Rochelle: Okay. All right. So we're going to see those programs in action. We visited two Buffalo high schools. Leonardo da Vinci's High, we sat in on Ilene Gelber's math class and to Grover Cleveland High to see the students working with the cognitive tutor program.

>> Okay. Check your homework.

>> With the Chicago Math Program, I need to do a lesson a day. We don't wait for students to have mastery. So every day when they do homework, their homework involves the reading questions; it involves the application questions, but every homework assignment has review questions that spiral through the entire course.

>> Okay. The Canadian Province of Saskatchewan is shaped roughly like an isosceles trapezoid. Estimate the area. What's the formula?

>> B1 plus B2?

>> Okay. So the area of the trapezoid is one-half the height times the sum of the bases. All right?

>> We weren't using Course 1, 2, 3. We had a variance from the State for the program we're using, the University of Chicago School Mathematics Program. But with the changeover in Math A, we had to switch to it or else go back to Course 1, 2, 3. So we weren't going to go backwards, so from Day 1, we've just been staying on top of Math A and where it's going.

>> I want you to move into your groups. I'll pass out the papers. And each group is not only going to solve -- try to solve these, but I'm going to give you transparencies so you can write on them and then show the other group what you did.

>> Major differences are for Courses 1, 2 and 3, it had a lot skills work; it had a lot of repetition, very little problem solving. In the University of Chicago Program, students have to read the contents, and they have to read for content. They actually have a whole section on reading questions. Then there's application questions. The application questions delve into real-life kinds of applications. So in the reading and then later on in the review section, a lot of skills questions are asked. But we also have a lot of representations and uses, and that is the main difference. My classes are very activity-based. Students work in groups; they work in pairs. A lot of class participation where they actually come up and teach a topic.

>> And somebody from Gina's group...

>> I want them to actually discover and think through and do the problem solving so that they can see that they can attack other problems. The Math A exams, we have seen three of them now. The problems are not identical. They're not like the old kind of Regents exams where on Course 1 exams, they were basically the same questions over and over. They are totally different on each of the three exams so far. They meet the same key ideas, and the students need to be able to look at it and say, "Oh, I know what that's testing. That's giving me maybe an area problem." They may not be asking it the same way. So the student needs to be able to look at a problem and actually figure out how to solve it.

>> This is 6... And this one, right here, 6...

>> They explain it to each other. It's a different level of explanation. The students are very patient with each other. They will go back and re-explain it to the student who's lagging much more patiently than I can. I want them to do well and to achieve, and if I see that they're doing poorly, I will then ask them questions to try to lead them to the correct results. I will not give them the answer. They need to discover for themselves. They need to be successful.

>> Okay. So if you're going to get up and teach the other group, you have to know.

>> At this point, we have administered the examination this past June, August and now January. We have some students that have not been successful. But what we have done, after the teachers we grouped for -- after the scoring is done, we have a form we use, under each key idea, how many points it was worth, and we do a profile on every student that failed. There's an extra help/extra time program that runs in some schools an hour before school and an hour after the school.

>> Some schools have instituted an extra period of mathematics every other day in the students' schedules.

>> Is every one going to be exactly the same?

>> No.

>> I think this is the way math has to go. In the field of mathematics, we can't just teach students the skills; they need to be able to apply them. Businesses, the real world, they want students to have the critical thinking and the problem-solving capabilities. And that's what we need to teach them, so they can go out and be responsible adults. And I think working with the core curriculum, the Math A curriculum, definitely leads them to that end result.

>> We've been in-servicing teachers K through 6 and asking every grade level to turn it up a notch basically and expect a little bit more from the students than they did in the previous years.

(Bell ringing)

>> How many feet down are we when we've reached the surface?

>> Minus 12,000.

>> That's when we started; that's right. But now when we get to the surface, when we've come all the way up, how many feet underwater are we?

>> The district started looking at -- when the MST standards came out and we realized all students were going to have to take the Math A assessment, therefore when they entered high school, they needed to be in an algebra course. And the U.C. S&T programs, the reading level --there's a lot of reading involved and a lot of higher expectations that all of our children were not quite ready to meet yet. So we started looking around at some other programs that were out there and we mainly looked at programs that were working in other urban areas who would have the same concerns we have. We found the Carnegie Learning Program in Pittsburgh. We started at this school -- both at Cleveland and then at South Park High School in September of '97.

>> For many students, the first time they enter this room, it's very difficult for them. Not only have they never seen a computer, but now it's in a different language.

>> Did you get it? Good job.

>> When you see me bouncing around the classroom like that, I'm looking for -- if I see a student who is on the same screen for too long a time -- some kids will not ask me and some kids will ask me too many questions. So you have to look and see where they're stuck, and you'll see that "Aha!" expression on their face, and they go, "Oh, yeah, I have done that 100 times. How come I forgot to do that here?"

>> So put the whole equation here?

>> Yeah, but not the Y equals. Got it?

>> Yeah.

>> That's why you do that.

>> You see that they are beginning to read English, beginning to pick out the important data from the problem, the important information. They can proceed at their own rate and so they learn what's good information, what information they don't need to solve the problem, and they slowly learn to read English, and we as teachers can see how they're progressing in English as well as in their math skills. They don't have the adult fear that it's a computer. They just go at it. They know that they're not going to break it. So what's the worst thing they can do? Make a mistake.

>> Now, what's the formula?

>> X times Y --

>> No.

>> X times 12.

>> Right. Okay. So now you're done with the work sheet. What do you do next after you have finished the work sheet?

>> You have to graph it.

>> Right.

>> The kids can see their math in different ways. They can see their math done with pencil and paper; they can see their math done on a computer; they can see their math on a table; they can see their math on a graph. They can see the problem in many different ways, the problem that they're trying to solve. So it's not just simply learning and trying to memorize things, but they can look through things and see it represented in different ways.

>> It's 31 years ago, 1969. Now, how many condors per year?

>> They're writing. They have to constantly explain their answer. "In a complete sentence, write why." And in the first year of it, it's step-by-step how you're doing this. So by the time they see the Math A exam, it's not something new to them, "explain your answer..." It's something they have been doing for a couple of years. Students at Grover Cleveland and South Park performed better than most of the other academic high schools, which is what you would compare them to as opposed to a vocational or an honor school. >> Most of my children succeed or exceed my expectations. I am very surprised with this. I didn't think it would be any different than any other math program. But I have been pleasantly surprised.

>> Rochelle: Interesting setup. Debra, I can't help but notice the comment that the University of Chicago Program doesn't wait for students to achieve mastery before it moves on to the next lesson. If a student is starting to have some problems, how does a teacher know and what can be done about it?

>> There's quizzes built into that program around every fourth unit lesson. So they're assessing then and then again at the end of the chapter. But it also has a scaled score built into those quizzes and tests so that the students are building confidence and they're not being penalized, maybe the first time they see that problem on a quiz or test. It's an ongoing assessment.

>> Rochelle: Okay. What kind of programs do you have in Buffalo for students who may be falling behind?

>> All the high schools have, as part of their Academic Intervention Service Program, they have an hour before school and an hour after-school program. In addition to that, there's several academies that will be starting in March for students to help get ready for the Regents exams. Some of the schools have gone to math labs where a student goes to the regular math class but then has a math lab period built in every other day of the schedule.

>> Rochelle: Would that be similar to the cognitive tutor program?

>> It's not necessarily a computer lab. It's a lab with mathematics teachers in the classroom and they work closely with the classroom teacher. Sometimes it is the classroom teacher. They work on the same things that are happening in the classroom and more reading, writing and math.

>> Rochelle: I think it's really interesting and it certainly points out that need for schools to really do cross-curriculum in the fact that this, the Math A, if the student is having problems reading, you know, the English language arts skills of reading and interpreting what's being read, then they're going to have some problems in a Math A class, aren't they, Lynn?

>> They are. There's no doubt that there's much more reading required on the Math A than on the Course 1 and certainly much more than was on the R.C.T. for these youngsters. So it's very important. They're not going to necessarily lead mathematics just because they're good readers in other places; we do have to teach them a little bit of how to read mathematics, and that includes the problems that the application is built into.

>> Rochelle: And, Debra, this is part of what's so appealing about the University of Chicago Program. That's part of the regular instruction.

>> Yes, the students are expected to read the lessons prior to coming to class every day, and then some of the problems are in context, so they are reading on a regular basis and learning how to read mathematics and pull the content out. And we in-service our teachers on how to help with that.

>> Rochelle: Okay. And that's also part of that staff development we were talking about with Bill that's so important. What other kind of staff development programs do you have for teachers?

>> We offer Saturday mornings, 8:30 to 11:30, one a month, and we include special ed, bilingual. Everyone is invited and the topic is usually put out -- sometimes it's different grade levels. We're trying to do the K through 12 staff development. This isn't just an issue for the geometry teacher that has to give the Math A assessment. This needs to start much earlier, something else we have seen from the State results.

>> Rochelle: And that's also something that we need to think about in terms of Math A, that these students need to come into these courses prepared and hopefully this is what we're finding out and diagnosing and dealing with from the fourth and eighth grade?

>> Oh, yes. People are really learning the fact that the lineup is fourth grade, eighth grade and Math A. Some people say, "Well, you know, the eight grade test didn't reflect a lot of what was on the Course 1 exam." And the answer is no because it's not based on the learning standard. But if you look at the fourth and eighth and the A test, they line up perfectly: The amount of reading, the amount of context, the no choice, the answer written in the examination booklet. It's really designed to be a very comprehensive roll-through program.

>> Rochelle: Okay. So basically take a look at the learning standards and align your curriculum along with those learning standards, which is something that we have talked about in all these programs is very, very important in really being able to teach properly to prepare students. Bill, have you done any of that kind of curriculum alignment in your program?

>> We have. Not enough, but we have. Staff development in our district isn't as well organized as we just heard it is in Buffalo. I'm optimistic that as our district implements their special development plan, we'll see more of that in a well-organized teacher-driven, if you will. What do classroom teachers think they need? What kind of development are they looking for? Currently, it's much more haphazard and it's what someone else thinks that maybe a classroom teacher needs, but I'm optimistic that as we move forward, we'll improve upon that.

>> Rochelle: Terrific. We're going to take a look at a program right now that talks about staff development as a consortium sort of arrangement. Cooperative learning is important for students studying Math A. The chance to interact regularly with peers is just as important for teachers. Tech-prep math teachers in school districts in the greater Broome County area of New York have known that for a long time. They used a grant to fund formation of the Greater Broome County Tech-Prep Consortium years ago. As Math A moves into the scene, Joyce Golden of the Susquehanna Valley School District finds that her fellow consortium members offer her considerable support.

>> Thank you all for coming to this meeting, our regular bimonthly meeting for the Greater Broome County Tech-Prep Consortium.

>> The grant focus has been instruction, preparation for teachers to help students become prepared, so we have run a number of workshops, and the meetings are agenda making items.

>> If you're on that committee and coming to do exams, my suggestion is to make sure you have some Part 1 and Part 2 questions with you. It's going to be a lot quicker if you do that ahead of time.

>> One of the most active ones is the math group. We meet once a month, on a regular basis; we talk over different things. A lot of it is what's working in Math A, what's not working and what do we need to do different?

>> I wanted to get this out to everyone right now to review for the Math A exam. If you see anything in here you feel should be corrected or added, let me know.

>> Math A is a huge challenge and this gives us an opportunity to work together to solve the problems.

>> How can you expand the outlines, expand the resources so new people have an idea of what all of this means?

>> At a given meeting, we might say, "Oh, we really need to do..." and then you'll go to the leadership of the consortium who have been very supportive of providing whatever we need. We ran our regional workshop last June on the community college campus, and they supported the initiative.

>> I really do a lot more labs now. They definitely are enjoying them. I think they're getting more out of it. I just really started a few weeks ago, just really focusing in on what the purpose of this program is.

>> The very first workshop that I was involved with the Greater Broome Tech-Prep was an applied math workshop. That entire day we spent doing what we called math labs where we would do a lab and then come to conclusions based on the lab. It was probably the first opportunity that I had had to experience math in that form, and I found it was very beneficial. And I try to bring it as often as I can into the classroom.

>> You will need to construct a rain gutter. We're going to use the red construction paper. Our sheet metal will be red construction paper. For good drainage capacity, the gutter must have a cross-sectional area of at least sixteen square inches. How much of the twelve-inch rice paper should you bend?

>> The side of the gutter.

>> The side?

>> That would be an inch, right?

>> Most of what they did in that was cooperative group lessons. That was also an issue here. We had an assistant superintendent who was at that time running cooperative group training, so the two dovetailed together.

>> If I took a real rain gutter, this right here would be the cross-sectional area.

>> Probably the biggest challenge is trying to find the applications, the thinking processes as opposed to just the skill generation.

>> So my height is --

>> An inch right now... and ten inches.

>> The cross-sectional area...

>> Good.

>> It would have been typical on a traditional exam to say, "Solve the following equation," but it's not likely to be seen on the Math A. They have to read a problem, find the information, write the equation and then solve it. It puts them into a much higher thinking mode. Those materials are rather inaccessible, so it's trying to create enough supportive materials...My instruction style is probably still in a changing mode. We're continuing to try and develop the materials and the instructional expertise to get us to the goal we want. It's somewhat still driven by assessments.

>> Now, this question is worth two points. To get the two points, what you need to do is be able to factor correctly to get two binomials.

>> Knowing that students still need skills, so we definitely need the traditional mode, but we are working still in an evolving mode to tailor instructions.

>> Resource people in the room sounds like it's excellent.

>> I found that I had trouble, but because of the consortium, I have a number of resources and I found that to be probably the most helpful.

>> It's working. If we do more sharing because none of us have time to re-create all this ourselves and when we try to, it's just absolutely overwhelming.

>> You really do need support, and we've been very, very fortunate. I, at Susquehanna Valley, have had almost total support, unlimited support, from my administration, which has definitely fostered success in this district. We have also had unlimited support from the Tech-Prep associates. They have backed everything we've asked them to back. They have been very, very supportive.

>> Rochelle: Joining me now in the studio, Joyce Golden of the Susquehanna Valley School District. Joyce, welcome.

>> Thank you.

>> Rochelle: The consortium is fascinating in how you support one another and provide materials back and forth. What other kind of staff development is available at Susquehanna Valley?

>> Susquehanna Valley has a comprehensive program. We started with total awareness with faculty of the standards, task development, use of manipulatives, cooperative learning. We've had extensive cooperative learning workshops. And I've been very fortunate to have been involved with turnkey training for the Math A.

>> Rochelle: So you had some really responsive leadership who jumped right into the learning standards at that point in time and began planning and developing some things for you to work with?

>> Yes, and I think that's a very important component for schools to move ahead. Teachers need the support of the administration and their leadership.

>> Rochelle: Okay. One of the other things we were talking about is seeing this in that K through 12 continuum. There's some things being done at the junior high school, lower school, middle school level in Susquehanna Valley that's really kind of helping kids along. There's considerable academic intervention services.

>> We're optimistic in that the results in the Math 8 has been identified, and we scheduled any student in need of intervention with a teacher so that we would be able to, hopefully, eliminate some of the struggles in the Math A.

>> Rochelle: My understanding is that there's as many as four teachers who are available to work with students in designing programs specifically to help get them ready for that Math 8, as they come into school to work with you?

>> We're very fortunate because our special ed teachers have jumped in, as well as our entire 1, and we happened to have an additional math staff person who was able to schedule students during four different periods of the day. So we're all very hopeful.

>> Rochelle: One of the other things that I think is very interesting is that the community plays a big part of this. We also talked about getting parents and community involved, and I know that another concern that has been expressed is what's going to happen in the community, you know, when people in the community start to see some of the results and they may not like what they see? Susquehanna Valley has a full-time public information officer who's designed to work with the community and to help explain what's going on in the school out in the community. How does that help?

>> Very helpful because we're getting the message out. He developed a community paper and developed a newsletter which went out to parents. We had a variety of information meetings as well, and having someone who works full time to make that happen really is helpful.

>> Rochelle: Okay. There's still some frustrations, however, in the Math A. You're still finding -- what are some of the big concerns that you have and what are you doing with your students to help overcome them? I know reading the problems and understanding...

>> Our issues really are very similar to what we have already heard from Buffalo and Elmira, getting all students to reach this high level. We spent considerable amount of energy creating materials, problem-solving, real-world applications, the ability to communicate, the real repetitive themes, but the main concern is to help all students reach this level.

>> Rochelle: Once again pointing out the need that districts need to do cross-curriculum. A lot of the districts have talked about doing projects that involve social studies, math and the English language arts skills as well. Do you find those helpful, Lynn, when you see them?

>> Absolutely. You only have a certain amount of time during the day, and whenever you can put a few subjects together and teach them together, you're saving time.

>> Rochelle: Okay. Time now for us to take a look at our tool tips. Feel free to use any or all to help improve student performance in your school and remember, those important tools are very important elements in helping achieve student performance.

(Music)

>> Rochelle: We hope those tips have been helpful to you. That's all the time we have for today. My thanks to Lynn Richbart and to our panel members. We're delighted to have you with us. Thanks very much for coming in to Albany to our studio to help us. Thanks also to the students and the teachers who allowed us into their classrooms and to the Greater Broome County Tech-Prep Consortium for letting us sit in on their meeting. If you would like a copy of today's program or if you have questions about it, contact the Satellite Broadcast Network at rcassel1@twcny.rr.com or tmoore@questar.org. Phone number: (518) 477-6749. Fax number: (518) 477-4311. We would like to know what you thought about today's program so we have an on-line survey. Please visit it at www.nysed.gov. Hit the "Tools for Schools" link to complete that survey. For additional information about the Math A assessment or any state assessment, check out the Curriculum Instruction and Assessment home page. That's at www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai. Curriculum and Instruction. Programs to watch for in the future: Tuesday, April 4th, the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Students with Disabilities offers a look at effective practices in special ed. That program will be available by satellite so look for the coordinates to be made available to you late in March. It will air from 2 to 3 p.m. On Monday, May 1st, the "Tools for Schools" series wraps up the school year with "The Power Tools," a look at the challenges faced this year and how some schools handled them. We'll wrap up with the final VESID-sponsored program for the 1999/2000 school year on June 6th with an in-depth view of assistive technology. I'm Rochelle Cassella. Thank you all for watching. Have a good day.