Editor’s Note: Stu Singer taught high school mathematics for forty years. Stu taught a wide variety of math courses including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. Stu’s perspective as a respected teacher leader proved invaluable to our school and me as principal. It is my hope that his frequent posts on this blog will inspire school leaders to seek the counsel of their valued teacher leaders.
By Stuart Singer, The Teacher Leader
The contents of the letter were hardly groundbreaking.
It would take three pages to list all of the posts on “The Principal Difference” that have previously discussed the very same issues. What makes this communication worthy of note is who wrote it, the recipients and most of all why it was deemed necessary.
In recent months Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has been under fire for the poor performance of its math students on final exams. In one of the most affluent and widely respected systems in the nation, these tests have had a failure rate of more than 50%. It was not surprising that significant finger-pointing quickly ensued after these devastating numbers were released. MCPS policy-makers immediately appointed several study groups to determine the cause of the problem and parent groups expressed extreme displeasure. To the surprise of virtually no one in the teaching profession, school staffs soon found themselves in the crosshairs of the accusations.
In response, the math department of Poolesville High School wrote an open letter to the parents and County Board of Education in Montgomery County explaining what they believe were the contributing factors to this debacle. While their list may not be unique or innovative it can serve as a checklist of mistakes that are being constantly repeated in school districts across the country.
Fundamental issues that need to be addressed
The teachers’ letter was divided into two components: academic concerns and county-wide policies. They began with the curriculum-based factors:
“Acceleration: Over the last eight years, a large majority of students have been accelerated through the math curriculum, as teachers and principals have been pressured to meet unrealistic targets. As a result, students have accumulated gaps in their understanding…there is still a target for 71% of students to pass Algebra 1 in 8th grade in 2013 in spite of recommendations by math resource teachers and the 2009 K-12 math workgroup that all targets be removed…
“Honors curriculum and placement: Honors math courses are not substantively different from regular courses (to allow greater upward mobility), and as many students as possible have been placed in honors. The result is that higher-performing students lack sufficient challenge and the small percentage of students not in honors find themselves in classes with no peer role models and a culture of failure…
“Calculator use: The ubiquitous use of calculators in the early grades has resulted in students who lack number sense and basic skills and thus struggle to make the leap to algebra. The CCSS emphasizes number sense in the early grades and includes procedural fluency as a goal for all students, and end-of-course assessments will include timed, non-calculator portions…
“Alignment of Algebra 1 with High School Assessments: The Algebra 1/Data Analysis High School Assessment does not require algebraic manipulation. Therefore, the Algebra 1 course de-emphasizes these important skills, leaving students unprepared for Algebra 2 and higher courses. The CCSS might mitigate this problem in time, but no provisions have been made for transitioning students who have not had the benefits of new curriculum K-8.”
The math teachers then turn to county-wide policy problems:
“Credit and Promotion: Middle-school students taking high-school courses are required to pass the final exam to receive credit. Extending this policy to high-school students, or even better, raising the requirement to a C or better on the final exam should improve performance on exams and in subsequent courses.
“Grading & Reporting Policy: For many years now, K-12 teachers in all content areas have had to follow the same grading policy that specifies a minimum grade on assessments of 50% and requires reassessments. These practices do not prepare students for college and have negative effects on student motivation. Allowing teachers to assign grades that truly reflect mastery of content would result in marking period grades that better correlate with final exam grades and other high-stakes tests.
“Absence Policy: Poor attendance no longer results in direct academic consequences such as loss of credit or zeroes on missed assessments. The result has been a higher rate of absenteeism in many high schools and very damaging indirect academic consequences, especially in content areas such as math. Limiting the number of absences a student can have to receive credit in a course would send a strong message that attendance affects academic performance.”
Turning talk into action
The math staff at Poolesville has courageously given their educational leaders the broad outlines of a road map for improving academic achievement in math classrooms. As previously stated these proposals are not new or unique but they do serve as a powerful reminder that many of the answers to the problems facing education can be found by consulting the individuals working on a daily basis in schools. The closing comments in the letter eloquently state this belief:
“As the educational experts on the front lines, teachers must be more deeply involved in decision making. When new curriculum is rolled out, it is critical that teachers receive the necessary training and support, and that a transition plan is in place for both students and teachers. Any system-wide policies that have negatively impacted student performance need to be intensely scrutinized. Our students and our community deserve nothing less.”
Next: A point-by-point analysis of the MCPS letter