Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
John-Michael Bodi
Committee Member
Victor Schumacher
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
achievement, Albany, assessments, collegial sharing, Connected Math Program, curriculum alignment, data analysis, district assessments, faculty meetings, Grade 8 mathematics assessment, instructional quality, intervention strategies, mathematics achievement, mathematics instruction, mathematics reform, middle school students, Montessori Magnet School, New York State Testing Program, professional development, questionnaires, school districts, seminars, state learning standards, student achievement, teacher interviews, teacher reflection, teacher participants, test results, workshops
Abstract
The objective of this study was to find a means of increasing math achievement in the middle school grade levels of the City School District of Albany. Low math achievement was documented on the Grade 8 math assessment of the New York State Testing Program for 1998-2001. Possible causes include poor alignment of the curriculum to the state learning standards and the state testing program in math. In addition, professional development on topics of math reform needed to be made available to middle school math teachers.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether a program of math reform would provide students with experiences that would better address the expectations of the math learning standards. The writer followed the initial year of implementation of the Connected Math Program, a math reform program, at the Montessori Magnet School (a public school in the district). Important to this implementation was the professional development opportunities related to both math reform and to the Connected Math Program that were provided. Intervention strategies included aligning the curriculum with the state math standards and professional development with consultants and by teacher participants that included seminars, workshops, faculty meetings, and teacher reflection.
An analysis of the data revealed that no statistically significant improvement occurred in scores between the annual pre- and post assessments. Collegial sharing, teacher reflection, teacher interviews, and questionnaires indicated that a change in teachers occurred mainly in the quality of their instruction through providing a more compatible link to the standards and to math reform expectations. It is hoped that quality instruction ultimately will impact the subsequent learning of students and consequently will improve the achievement of Albany's middle school students on state and district math assessments.