february/march 2007 mathinstruction: will reading be ...promse.msu.edu/_documents/catalyst...

WILL READING BETHE ROADBLOCK TO

INDEPENDENT REPORTING ON URBAN SCHOOLSFEBRUARY/MARCH 2007

Vol. VIII Number 3

CLEVELANDCLEVELANDFEBRUARY/MARCH 2007 INDEPENDENT REPORTING ON URBAN SCHOOLS

www.catalyst-cleveland.orgA Publication of Urban School News

MATHINSTRUCTION:MAKING ITADD UP

Chaotic curriculum and poor teacher preparationstunt math achievement here and elsewhere.In Ohio, some debate whether state standards are part of the problem.

Chaotic curriculum and poor teacher preparationstunt math achievement here and elsewhere.In Ohio, some debate whether state standards are part of the problem.

MATHINSTRUCTION:MAKING ITADD UP

Charlise L. Lyles

Clearly intended to thwart thethreat posed by charter schools,Sanders’s plan is rooted in choice thatwill give parents and students a freshmenu of educational options, fromboarding schools to single-sex acade-mies. And he has called on the community—businesses, clergy,foundations and others-to support itas foot soldiers.

Sanders says he is proceeding withall “deliberate speed” despite the dis-trict’s bleak financial outlook. (Thedistrict is forecasting a deficit nextyear, and neither City Hall nor 6thand St. Clair expects voters willapprove a tax hike any time soon.)

However, there are some small,promising signs from the south forstate funding reform:

Newly elected Gov. Ted Strick-land, a Democrat, has vowed that hisadministration “will bring all partiestogether to craft a new method offunding schools that is consistentwith the demands of the Ohio Consti-tution. That’s what law-abiding gover-nors and law-abiding states do.”Strickland said the new method must(1) be directly linked to quality edu-cation and real accountability, (2) finda proper balance between state andlocal responsibility and (3) make theproperty tax a fairer and more reliablesource of revenue.

The challenge: Strickland is upagainst a long-time lack of politicalwill. Though Democrats gained some

ground in the House and Senate inNovember’s election, the Republicanmajority that has refused to tackleschool funding still reigns.

Waiting in the shadows of thewidely know DeRolph vs. Ohio fund-ing case is a little-known federal law-suit that might break the funding log-jam. Doe vs. Ohio, a class action suitfiled on behalf of 250,000 Ohio stu-dents with disabilities, alleges that thestate has failed to provide adequatefunding under the federal Individualswith Disabilities Education Act(IDEA) and, therefore, is in violationof the 14th Amendment, “equal pro-tection under the law.” Amicus briefsfiled by the Ohio Education Associa-tion, the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding and other groups emphasize fundinginequities for both non-disabled anddisabled students, citing disparities indollars due to the system’s heavyreliance on local property taxes.

The challenge: Since it was filed in1995, the case has been mired in legalmotions and still is not scheduled fortrial in U.S. 6th District Court inCincinnati. It’s time for the court tofind for the plaintiffs, such a rulingwill put more pressure on the OhioLegislature to act.

Finally, the “Getting It Right forOhio Amendment” offers some hope.In January, school funding reformadvocates launched a campaign for astate-wide referendum in November

that would give every Ohio student a“fundamental right” to a “high qualitypublic education.” The plan wouldgradually reduce the local share of taxes while increasing the state’s shareof funding for schools. Money collect-ed across the state would be redistrib-uted more evenly among all 612 districts. The amendment would givethe Ohio Board of Education authorityto determine how much a “high qual-ity” education would cost each year.But the Board’s price tag could bedenied by the legislature, with a three-fifths majority.

The challenge: To win the public’sconfidence that the amount neces-sary for a high quality educationremains a reasonable and manage-able sum in light of other budgetdemands. So far, a slight majority ofrespondents to one poll expressedreluctance to make education fund-ing the top priority over all otherbudget items.

Meanwhile, as we wait for the legislature’s and judiciary’s historicallyslow train to get moving, CEO Sandersis speeding headlong into change. Wecan only hope that Cleveland’s wearytroops can muster the energy to follow despite the lack of sorelyneeded resources.

FROM THE EDITOR

2 Catalyst Cleveland February/March 2007

As district moves forward, there are signs that state funding will, too

You go, Eugene Sanders!

The chief of the Cleveland Municipal School District just announced a plan to radically and rapidly restructure schools.

Catalyst Cleveland February/March 2007 3

MATH INSTRUCTION

DEPARTMENTS

Needed: Clearer curriculum, better teacher preparation

CLEVELAND

Curricula arranged illogically and poorly prepared teachers who often opt out ofprofessional development opportunities are the primary challenges to improved mathinstruction in Cleveland schools and those elsewhere. This issue examines what’s beingdone to shape up instruction, creative efforts on the part of principals and teachers, and

what good math instruction looks like. PAGE 6

FOLLOW UPMaking progress on progress PPaaggee 1166

VIEWPOINT Is New Orleans charter takeover an

omen for Cleveland? PPaaggee 2222

Notebook 4 6th & St. Clair 20

EXAM BAR LOW FOR TEACHERSHow Ohio compares to other states.PAGE 7

DUNBAR PRINCIPAL GETS CREATIVEA look at one school’s efforts to bypass the obstacles.PAGE 9

TIPS FROM EFFECTIVE TEACHERSWhat it takes to connect students with concepts.PAGE 11

MATH MEMORIESInsights and experiences from civic leaders and others on valuable math lessons.PAGE 14

Shawanna Reddick teaches fractions to 6th-graders at Nathan Hale K-8School. As math specialist, Reddick is responsible for attending professionaldevelopment trainings.

TIM HARRISON

COVER PHOTO: GREG RUFFING

Catalyst Cleveland On-line has a new look! Go to

www.catalyst-cleveland.organd check it out.

NotebookIN REVIEW

One might think a formal partner-ship between the Cleveland PublicLibrary and the Cleveland MunicipalSchool District would have beenforged long ago. But it’s only this yearthat the two have struck a formal part-nership to help improve the readingskills of Cleveland’s children, whosescores remain far below proficiency inmany grades. In January, Catalyst Cir-culation Manager Daniel Gray-Kontartalked with Ridgeway about the newpartnership as the district seeks toboost its state ranking from “academicwatch” to “continuous improvement.”

How did the new partnership between theCleveland Public Library and the ClevelandMunicipal School District begin?

Well, to be honest, this whole reading piecestarted because of Catalyst. It was [after I read]your issue on reading as a potential “roadblock”to a “continuous improvement” [ranking] in thedistrict. When we met with the academic officerat the district’s administration office, I put yourmagazine on the table, and I said “this is why weneed to work together.”

So now that you’ve been able to seal thedeal, what does the partnership look like?

We have always done a winter reading clubin the Cleveland Public Library. There are sum-mer clubs that are done by almost every publiclibrary in the country, but we are one of the fewlibraries in the country that does a winter read-ing club. So, the partnership makes the winterreading club a literacy initiative in the schools.

In the past, we would go into the schools tomarket the club, but we never had a commit-ment from the schools to say that they will beparticipating in it. So now, there is a commit-ment from the schools, saying that they willencourage and track student reading.

Teachers and media specialists in theschools will work with their students to getthem reading as many books as possible fromJanuary to March. The whole goal is to get50,000 kids in Cleveland reading over thenext three months to improve literacy skills.

It seems this kind of partnership wouldhave happened a long time ago.

You’re right, it should have. But whether itwas because we weren’t reaching the right

Jan Ridgeway, head of branch and outreach services,

Cleveland Public Library

with ...Q&A

Dec. 19: Legislatureexpands voucherfunding

The Ohio Legislaturedoubles the number ofschools where students areeligible for the state’s pub-licly funded voucher pro-gram. Under the new rules,students attending a publicschool with a state rankingof “academic emergency” or“academic watch” for twoyears in a row—rather thanthe three years previouslyrequired—can now obtain a publicly funded voucher to attend private school.Vouchers cover tuition up to $5,900 for high schooland $4,250 for students inkindergarten through 8thgrade. Outgoing RepublicanGov. Bob Taft later signs thebill into law.

Dec. 29:Charter improvementtimeline set

Gov. Taft signs a bill that sets an improvementtimeline for low-performingcharter schools. Schoolsthat don’t improve scoreson standardized state testsand are designated in aca-demic emergency for threeor four years, depending on grade levels served, will face closure beginningin 2008. Exempt from thetimeline are schools fordropouts, such as the LifeSkills Centers run by Akronindustrialist David Bren-nan’s White Hat Manage-ment, Inc., the state’s largestcharter school operator, aswell as the dropout schoolthe district plans to open.

Jan. 3:Tougher core for Ohio students

Gov. Taft signs into law the Ohio Core, a highschool reform bill thatincreases math and science requirements.Today’s 5th-graders, as the class of 2014 the first to be affected by the law,will need four years of math and three years of alab-based science if theywant to attend a four-yearpublic university in Ohio.Only one-third of studentsin Ohio now meet the newrequirements. Students can opt out of the OhioCore, but it could limit their college choices totwo-year programs.

ELSEWHERECoshocton: Student pay tested


QUOTABLE“I couldn’t understand how a freshman at Cleveland State University

coming from a Cleveland public school could not comprehend the

basic language of math. I felt so angry and hurt.”

Cleveland Municipal School District parent Rasheedah Abdur-Razzaq addressing theSchool Board about her efforts to tutor district graduates now attending CSU.

In a three-year experiment funded by alocal businessman and conducted by aresearcher from Case Western ReserveUniversity, children in the 2,000-studentCoshocton City School District are beingpaid to get good scores on standardizedstate tests, Education Week reported.Participating grade levels at the district’sfour elementary schools are chosen bylottery. Individual students then receive

coupons worth $15 for every proficientscore and $20 for accelerated or advancedscores. The coupons can be spent at localstores, but only by children. Final resultsfrom the study are due this summer. More than half of the district’s studentsqualify for federally subsidized meals in this central-Ohio town that has seenfour major manufacturers leave since the 1990s.


people [at the district] or the people we werereaching had other items that were of a higherpriority on their plate…, I don’t know. But I doknow that [district CEO] Dr. Eugene Sanderscame into his position having had several meet-ings with our director [Andrew Venable] and[Dr. Sanders] asked what can the library do forus, and what can we do for you. He saw it as anatural partnership.

I also think the current climate in Clevelandright now—with our children’s [low] perform-ance on [achievement] tests, with the district’sliteracy initiative, with the whole socio-eco-nomic situation [helped]. But definitely, thenew CEO’s openness to working with the libraryhas a lot to do with it.

What about what kids are reading? For example, do you think popular graphic novels and “hip-hop literature”are appropriate for the club?

I think every generation has its own culture,and at some point, someone from outside thatculture judges it as not appropriate, using theterm “dummying down.” But I don’t think it’sappropriate for us to bring judgment. What’simportant is that they’re reading. And if that’sthe only way they read, we don’t want to discour-age it, because the more they read, the morecomfortable they become with reading. Andthen they begin to seek other forms and genres.

You talked about Cleveland’s socio-eco-nomic climate. How does it impact thelibrary’s business, and its willingness towork more with the district?

We cannot ignore the socio-economic con-ditions in Cleveland. For example, when I man-aged the Beachwood library, the averagehousehold had 2 ½ computers. In Cleveland,maybe three households out of 10 have a com-puter, and that may be high in some areas ofthe city. Even if they have a computer, manydon’t have Internet access, because thatrequires a certain amount of credit worthiness.Then, if you have Internet access, you may notknow how to work it. So, the public library has acritical role even in computer literacy.

BULLETIN BOARD

While Ohio students are ill-prepared for college, they are better prepared than students inmany other states, reports in recent years show.

The strongest indicator of student success in college is advanced math courses

taken in high school, according to a 2004 report by the National Center for Education

Statistics. In Ohio, 33 percent of 8th-grade public school students are proficient in

math, while nationally only 28.5 percent make the grade, the Education Week

Quality Counts 2007 survey found. In December, The Plain Dealer reported that

four of every 10 public college students in Ohio take at least one remedial class to

make up for inadequate preparation in high school, costing taxpayers $29 millionannually. Nationally, 49.3 percent of college students take one or more remedial

classes, according to the NCES report.

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAYAre Ohioans prepared for college?

by Stephanie Klupinski

What’s anotherway to writethe equation4+4+4+4+4?

More than 80 percent of American 4th-gradersanswered the multiple choicequestion correctly when theTrends in International Math-ematics and Science Study(TIMSS) exam was adminis-tered for the first time in 1995.

But fewer than half knewhow much bigger 25 x 18 isthan 24 x 18.

Twelve years later, studentsare likely to stumble on suchquestions again this springwhen the TIMMS—givenevery four years to 4th-and8th-graders—is administered.Even though the question “is

old, it’s still very timely”because the issue hasn’t been adequately addressed,explains Cleveland mathteacher Lisa Suarez-Caraballo.

The issue is that generally“students do better withprocedures than with itemsthat have to do with theunderstanding of theconcept,” says MargaretCaxton, who directs the OhioResource Center, set up bythe state legislature to provideteachers with web-basedresources for math, scienceand reading. “We want themto know their multiplicationtables, but we also want themto understand why they’redoing it.”

If students in Clevelandand across the country aregoing to boost math achieve-ment, three core areas mustimprove:

CURRICULUMMath concepts are oftentaught in an illogical orderthat lacks coherency andconsistency; STANDARDS

State standards in Ohioand elsewhere tend to betoo broad. They go a milewide but an inch deep,while often failing tochallenge students; TEACHERSMath instructors, especiallyat the K-8 level, are poorlyprepared.The problems play out in

math classes in both affluentand poor districts. “Thenature of the standards and curriculum is not verycoherently put together…andthey are not very demandingor rigorous,” says WilliamSchmidt, a Michigan StateUniversity professor and the

former coordinator of theTrends in International Mathand Science Study.

Schmidt adds, “Many ofour teachers, unfortunately allthe way to middle school, justdo not have a good and strongenough math background.”

This past September, theNational Council of Teachersof Mathematics (NCTM)offered a remedy to help makemath curricula everywheremore coherent. For eachgrade K-8, NCTM issued three“focal points,” the three topicsit considers most essential to deepening mathematicallearning at that level.

For example, one of the4th-grade focal points is“Number and Operations andAlgebra: Developing quickrecall of multiplication factsand related division facts andfluency with whole number


COVER STORY MATH INSTRUCTION

Chaotic lessons and teachers who lack strong content knowledge stunt math achievement here

and elsewhere. In Ohio, some debate whether state standards are part of the problem.

Needed: clear curriculum,better teacher prep


multiplication.” NCTM goes on toexplain that students should developfluency with efficient procedures,including the standard algorithm formultiplying whole numbers; under-stand why the procedures work (onthe basis of place value and proper-ties of operations); and use them tosolve problems.

The “focal points” are a “huge stepin the right direction” because cur-rent math instruction standards inmost states try to do way too much,says Schmidt, who helped review the focal points. Now, Schmidt isdesigning general principles thatstates can use to guide constructionof improved curricula.

STANDARDS: CONFUSING OR CLARIFYING? Like many other districts, a source

of Cleveland’s math problems is thestate standards, the guidelines forwhat students should be learning. Inmath, Ohio has six broadly definedstandards, including measurement;geometry, spatial and number sense,and operations.

But within each standard, thereare numerous benchmarks andgrade-level indicators that aim toprovide a clear set of what studentsare expected to learn and teachersare expected to teach. To some, theresult is a labyrinth of levels of guid-ance that may confuse more thanclarify.

The complex system tries toaccommodate the needs of teacherswho say they want instruction“spelled out” in detail, says Linda Hal-lenbeck, a retired Hudson mathteacher and the former president ofthe Ohio Council of Teachers of Math-ematics. She acknowledges that someparts might “be too minute” butpoints out that the state has tried tomake explicit what good mathinstruction looks like.

First-year teacher Jacob Johanssenworks at the Metro School, a new science, math and technology highschool in Columbus. Johanssenadmits he was not an initial fan of thestandards, citing confusing wording.But they have since grown on the young teacher. “The benefit is

“Because of the great shortage of [especiallymath and science] teachers, there’s a lot of pressureto make sure candidates can pass the test,” says LynnArthur Steen, professor of mathematics at. St. OlafCollege. Steen served on the panel of experts for the1999 Education Trust report “Not Good Enough: AContent Analysis of Teacher Licensing Examina-tions.”

The high performance compared to the lowexam bars may also be due to good teacher educa-tion programs that demand much more math con-tent knowledge than national math exams require,Steen adds. The praxis is “really a safety net test.”States do not want—and can’t have, under the NoChild Left Behind law—teachers who don’t know thesubject matter, he emphasizes.

Still, he cautions states against setting the cut-off scores too low. “If you can pass tests only knowingarithmetic and nothing else, that gets to be a big

problem,” Steen says. But figuring out how statesgo about determining cut-off scores is “a pretty indi-rect process that’s mysterious to the public.”

Ohio’s cut-off scores are determined by the StateBoard of Education. Each of the 31-plus states thatuse the exams can weigh questions differently, “caus-ing a different score with exactly the same questionsand answers,” Ohio Department of Educationspokesman J.C. Benton pointed out in an e-mail.That, he wrote, is the case in Ohio.

He also noted that the middle school math examwas in a brand new licensure area for the state.

But ODE does recognize that the bar may needto be raised. According to Benton, “We’ve now giventhe test for a number of years, and would have somedata that could be evaluated as we consider whetherthe cut score should be raised or not. We are plan-ning on giving an update to our Board this comingyear and see if they would like to raise the scores.”

HIGH SCHOOL: OHIO’S CUT-OFF SCOREHIGHER THAN MOST STATES On the 2006 MathematicsContent Knowledge exam, Ohiorequired a score of 139, fourpoints below the medianperformance of 143 out of 200points. But of the 31 states thatmandated the test for high schoolmath teacher licensure, only fiverequired scores higher than Ohio.Alaska and Virginia mandatedscores that exceeded the medianperformance.

Exam bar low for math teachers in moststates, including Ohio

MIDDLE SCHOOL: MOST STATESTOUGHER THAN OHIO On the 2006 National MiddleSchool Mathematics exam,Ohio set requirements 18 pointsbelow the median performanceof 161 out of 200 points. Of the34 states that mandated thetests for licensure, 21 had highercut-off scores than Ohio. OnlyVirginia’s required minimum of163 points exceeded the medianperformance.

story continued on next page

2006 Praxis II Middle School Mathematics Exam

VA

CT

PA

GAOH

NCSD

NationalPerformanceMedian

NationalRequiredMedian

165

160

155

150

145

140

135

Requ

ired

Scor

e

State

KY

2006 Praxis II Mathematics: Content Knowledge Exam

CO

VA

OH

SD

AR

NationalPerformanceMedian

NationalRequiredMedian

160

150

140

130

120

110

Requ

ired

Scor

e

State

MDTN

KY

Source: Educational Testing Service, 2006

Source: Educational Testing Service, 2006



knowing exactly what youneed to cover,” he explains,adding that it’s probably bet-ter for the state to err on theside of too many details toensure that everyone is on thesame page.

Schmidt notes that Ohio’smath standards are not theworst in the country, thoughhe does point to a lack of rig-

or. In a 2005 national reviewof math standards by the con-servative Thomas B. FordhamFoundation, only three statesreceived a grade of A: Califor-nia, Indiana, and Massachu-setts. Ohio received a C.

But in 1998 and 2000analyses by Fordham, Ohioscored A’s. The state’s decisionto revise its standards in 2001

“turned out to be a dreadfulmistake,” assert the inde-pendent researchers whowrote the report.

“There are serious defi-ciencies in these standards,including coverage of arith-metic and algebra indicators,”explain the authors. “Statisticsand probability are grosslyover-emphasized and some-

times require mathematicsnot yet covered in the otherstrands. …None of the grade-level indicators require stu-dents to learn the standardalgorithms of arithmetic.”

“I don’t completely agreewith that,” says Caxton of theORC, pointing to areas of thestandards that she sees ascontradicting the Fordham

EARLY CHILDHOOD (PRE K-3) COURSEWORK: Completion of eight semester

hours of general math and three semester hoursof math methods

TESTING: Pass two Praxis tests, one on the prin-ciples of learning and teaching, and another onpedagogy for early childhood teaching. It doesn’tget all that tough for early elementary teacherswho must take the general Praxis Pre-Profession-al Skills math test, but no other math contentknowledge exam.

A sample:Which of the sales commissions shown

below is the greatest?

a. 1% of $1,000

b. 10% of $200

c. 12.5% of $100

d. 15% of $100

e. 25% of $40

MIDDLE CHILDHOOD (4-9)COURSEWORK: Complete certification needed

in two subject areas. In math, candidates needthree semester hours of math methods and 24semester hours of math instruction in numbertheory; geometry and measurement; data analy-sis; statistics and probability; algebra; discretemath and calculus.

TESTING: Pass three Praxis tests, one on princi-ples of learning and teaching and two in contentareas. To be certified in middle grade math, candi-dates must pass the national Praxis II MiddleChildhood Mathematics Exam. The questionsare a little tougher than for elementary gradeteachers. But Ohio requires a minimum score ofonly 143 out of 200, 18 points below the medianscore for the 34 states where the exam is manda-tory for certification.

A sample:If a student takes a test consisting of 20 true-

false questions and randomly guesses at all of theanswers, what is the probability that all 20 guesseswill be correct?

a. 0

b. ( )20

c.

d.

ADOLESCENCE TO YOUNG ADULT (7-12)COURSEWORK: Completion of 30 semester

hours of math instruction for Integrated Mathcertificate in same areas as for middle childhood,but in more depth, according to a spokespersonfor the Cleveland schools.

TESTING: Pass two Praxis tests, one on princi-ples of learning and teaching and a contentknowledge test in math that is different—andmore difficult—than the content test for middlegrade certification. It gets a lot tougher on thenational Praxis II Mathematics: Content Knowl-edge Exam required for the Adolescence to YoungAdult credential. Still, an Ohio license requires aminimum score of only 139 of 200, four pointsbelow the median score for the 31 states wherethe test is mandatory.

A sample:What is the units digit of 33408?

a. 1

b. 3

c. 7

d. 9

—Stephanie Klupinski

Answers: b, b, a

With testing bar low, strong college math courses are crucial for better K-8 teachers In 2002, the Ohio Department of Education revamped teacher licensure

requirements.Drawing on recommendations from the National Council of Teachers of

Math, they look good on paper. An unpacking of the requirements, however,reveals there’s room for improvement.

For one, universities can do more to ensure that the math courses studentstake are more challenging. Cleveland State University math education profes-sor Joanne Goodell says that at CSU, the courses elementary teachers musttake are “pretty basic” and tend to be large. “I would like to see that the sizes of

those classes are reduced.” But she also points out that the department hasstrengthened its requirements for middle grade teachers.

Prospective elementary teachers in Ohio don’t even have to pass a contenttest in math; only the basic test that all teacher candidates must take to entera teacher education program is required.

And while the content tests required for middle and high school teachersare challenging, many states, including Ohio, set a low bar for passing.(See charts, page 7.)

Here are the coursework and exams that Ohio now requires for certification:

NEEDED continued from page 7

story continued on page 10

12

12(20)

12


Administrators andteachers acknowledge thelack of coherency and subpar teacher quality, aswell as the district’s specif-ic issues. Though formalprofessional developmenthasn’t gained enough trac-tion on a large scale,teachers and principalsappear to be exploring a range of tactics and creative strategies to shoreup math instruction. (Seesidebar, page 10.)

For example, by offer-ing flexibility in teachingassignments and depart-mentalizing, even in theprimary grades, principalscan help to ensure that themost qualified person for a particular subject isteaching it.

That’s what DarleneThaxton, in her 8th year asprincipal at Ohio City’sPaul Laurence Dunbar K-8,does. If students get a goodfoundation, she says, theycan build upon it. “I believein putting almost all myresources in primary.”

Third-grade teachersMercia Sima and JulieWhite take advantage ofthe flexibility; they com-

bine their classes for mathand let intervention spe-cialist Melissa Smith teachthe students.

Sima explains thatSmith loves math and canmotivate the students.During that day’s lessonon telling time, studentsenthusiastically wavedtheir hands in the air andliterally jump out of theirseats to answer questions.

As math area specialistfor the school, Smithmeets monthly with the district supervisor and attends professionaldevelopment training.The position is somewhatof an attempt to compen-sate for the loss of themath developers whotaught model lessons andprovided professionaldevelopment. Those posi-tions were eliminated in2003-04 due to budgetcuts. Other professionaldevelopment opportuni-ties are there, but teachersdon’t often take advantageof them. Smith now bringsback what she learns to theschool but there is a lessformal system for commu-nicating the knowledge.

“The people who are inter-ested come and then I tryto track the others down,”she explains.

Shawanna Reddick,math area specialist and6th-grade teacher atNathan Hale K-8 on thesoutheast side, says that ata district-sponsored pro-fessional developmentmeeting she attended inDecember, she received a$600 math kit that sheplans to use. But only sixother teachers showed upfor the training.

Apparently, outsideprofessional developmentis a challenge across districts. Linda Hallen-beck, a retired Hudsonmath teacher and the for-mer president of the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics, saysalthough the organizationhas about 5,000 members,not many attend meetingsand conferences.

In addition to district-sponsored professionaldevelopment that trainsteachers in how to useresources such as text-books and graphing calcu-lators, there are outside

programs like PromotingRigorous Outcomes inMath/Science Educationprogram (PROM/SE) andPartnering for Success,through which teacherscan purchase up to eight hours of professionalcredit.

Another popular one is the Math/Science Part-nership that develops con-tent knowledge. Clevelandteachers take two years ofclasses at Cleveland Stateor John Carroll and canearn 4th- to 9th-grade cer-tification in math or sci-ence. Smith, an MSP par-ticipant, will complete theprogram by the end of thesummer.

According to Sally Mas-cia, the district’s managerof mathematics assess-ment, 65 teachers havebeen newly licensed inmath at the middle schoollevel through the MSP inthe past four years.

“Professional develop-ment is key” to improvingmath instruction, assertsCleveland State Universi-ty education ProfessorJoanne Goodell. “If wecould improve the amountof time and money [given toward] profes-sional development at alllevels, but particularly atK-3, I think it would make a big difference to ourstudents.”

Dunbar principal gets creativeWhile professional development gets little traction, flexible teaching assignments

put the best teachers in front of students


In a high-poverty district like Cleveland, the problems of chaotic mathcurricula and poorly prepared teachers are compounded by a highstudent mobility rate, poor reading skills and budget cuts that haveeliminated math coaches for teachers, as well as other resources.



Deepening teachers’ content knowledge and teachingskill is not the only route to improved math instruction. SallyMascia, Cleveland Schools’ manager of mathematics assess-ment, and others, point to additional efforts:

INSIDE THE CLASSROOMDistributing and encouraging the use of a mathematicsmatrix—developed last year by the district—that organizesOhio’s complicated system of state math standards,benchmarks and indicators. Among other benefits, the matrix aims to help teachers see the importance ofwhat’s taught at particular levels and how it connects toother grades.

Administering quarterly pre-assessments and havingeach school, with help from the district, craft an improve-ment plan based on the results. “We’re building in justabout every kind of intervention possible to help theteacher make good choices” for students, says Mascia.

Requiring 3rd – 8th-grade teachers to give weekly mathwriting prompts to students, aimed at helping themanswer the short-answer and extended-response questionson the Ohio Achievement Tests.

Preparing for a textbook adoption process for grades K-5.That’s necessary, says Melissa Smith, a teacher andintervention specialist at Paul Laurence Dunbar K-8,because “The [current] books are pre-standards. They’renot helpful at all.”

Considering a mandatory daily “math block” to giveteachers more instructional time. Many teachers are frustrated at not having more time for math, says Mascia.A minimum 90-minute “literacy block” starts the day at all Cleveland K-8 schools. The National Council of Teachers of Math recently issued a position paper recom-mending at least one hour of math a day for students ateach grade level.

OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM Individual school outreach to alert communities to theimportance of math learning. Last fall, Sunbeam K-8 schoolon the east side hosted a “family math night” to help par-ents understand the math their children were being taught.

A stronger non-profit emphasis on math education.Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio is including math inits professional development plan for its artists who teachin area schools.

— Stephanie Klupinski

Beyond professionaldevelopment

report. “We have done a greatjob in stating what kidsshould know.”

TEACHERS STRUGGLE WITH CONCEPTS

But regardless of whetherthe state standards help or hinder math instruction,they are only half the prob-lem. The other challenge is to improve the quality ofteachers.

“The system we have hasweaknesses in both curricu-lum and preparation of ourteachers,” contends Schmidt,who is familiar with Ohio’sstandards as principal inves-tigator for Promoting Rigor-ous Outcomes in Math/Sci-ence Education (PROM/SE)program, which works withdistricts in Michigan andOhio to develop teachers’content knowledge.

If there were strong teach-ers with weak standards, or astrong curriculum and weakstandards, instruction mightbe better, he says.

Currently, Ohio doesn’trequire much math contentknowledge from elementaryand middle grade teachercandidates. (See glance boxon page 8.)

“The minimum has notbeen enough to prepareteachers to be able to teachmathematics to students,”says Elizabeth Taylor Boyd, aformer math teacher coachin the Cleveland schools whonow coordinates the area’sPROM/SE program. “Youhave to understand the con-cept well enough that youcan pull it apart and put itback together for kids.”

Visits to classrooms acrossCleveland schools showmany teachers struggling toteach fractions to their stu-dents. Some teachers usedpictures and diagrams; someused manipulatives; some

used charts comparing deci-mals to fractions. Very few ofthe teachers explained whyfractions are important, asidefrom a way to figure out howmuch a store item markedhalf off cost.

Schmidt says fractions areoften a stumbling block forstudents because they are notalways presented coherentlyin the U.S. Students are oftentaught that fractions are partof something—like one-thirdof a pizza. But they don’talways understand that frac-tions are related to the wholenumbers they already knowand can be put on the num-ber line, explains Schmidt.

As a result, many students“actually believe this hasnothing to do with anythingthey’ve done before,”Schmidt explains. “Whenyou disconnect these ideas inkids’ heads, it’s more difficult.It’s like memorizing phonenumbers.”

“There definitely is a needfor teachers to increase theircontent knowledge in mathe-matics in order to teach it,”says Taylor Boyd.

As an example, she pointsto an October training,where about half of theteachers agreed that it is acceptable to use equals signs in the equation20 + 30 = 50 +7=57 + 8 =65.

It’s not. An equal sign does not

mean here’s the answer;rather, it indicates balance orequality.

Of course, some individ-ual districts consider theamount of content knowl-edge teachers have. FormerBeachwood superintendentPaul Williams says that hetried not to hire teachers whohad not taken trigonometry.

Meanwhile, in Clevelandclassrooms, an unlikely sus-pect may be adding to the


story continued on page 17


To observe goodmath instruc-tion, Catalyst,a r m e d w i t ha d v i c e a n dinsight from

national, state and localexperts, headed to a variety ofschools: Cleveland K-8s; an all-girls private school in ShakerHeights; and a brand newcountywide public school inColumbus.

The experts pointed us tosome teachers by name; weidentified others via press cov-erage or other recognition.

We found that despite obvi-ous differences in the schools,good math teaching lookspretty much the same every-where. These teachers knowmath well. But perhaps moreimportantly, they know how toteach it, employing a range ofapproaches: “holistic” instruc-tion that integrates variousways of understanding con-cepts, connecting math con-cepts to the real world, relatingto their students on a personallevel, and creating a socialenvironment where studentstalk about math.

In total, more than 10 mathclasses were observed, grades3 to 9. But we zeroed in on themiddle grades, 6 to 9. Why?That’s when the curriculumbegins to call on students tounderstand and apply mathe-matical concepts rooted inmore abstract thinking. Manystudents think, “‘I know theformulas, but which do I usefor this problem?’” explains

Linda Hallenbeck, a retiredHudson City Schools mathteacher and the former presi-dent of the Ohio Council ofTeachers of Mathematics.

Last year, at least 75 percentof Ohio’s 3rd- and 4th-gradersmet the standard for proficien-cy in math. But in grades 5through 8, fewer than 70 per-cent achieved it.

THE TEACHING LINE-UP:Dr. Caroline Borrow,Hathaway Brown, 8th grade

Ph.D. in math educationfrom Kent State University;taught in a few publicschools before coming toHathaway Brown.

Lisa Floyd-Jefferson,The Metro School, 9thgrade

B.S. in mathematical sci-ences from The Ohio State University; worked as com-puter programmer beforeteaching; advocated recentlybefore Ohio senate educationcommittee for mandatorycollege-prep curriculum forall students.

Jacob Johannsen,The Metro School, 9thgrade

B.A. in math and Spanish,Ohio Northern University.B.A. in math and Spanish,Ohio Northern University.

Shawanna Reddick, NathanHale, CMSD, 6th grade

B.S. in education; master of science in education.Taught previously at DikeM o n t e s s o r ion the east side; former math specialist in district;National board certified inearly adolescence.

Lisa Suarez-Caraballo,Luis Muñoz Marín, CMSD,6th-8th grade, bilingual

Studied engineering atThe Ohio State Universitybefore returning to Clevelandfor personal reasons; B.S. inmathematics and master’s ofeducation, curriculum andinstruction from Cleveland


Tips from effective teachersConnecting concepts to the real world and getting kids to discuss fractions and infinity are key

Shawanna Reddick’s enthusiasm helps her students get excited about fractions, a key component of the 6th-grade curriculum. Reddick, who teaches 6th-grade at Nathan Hale in Cleveland, uses her Montessoribackground to help teach.

TIM HARRISON




State University; National Board certified in earlyadolescence mathematics;recipient of a MilkenFamily Foundation NationalEducator Award.

USE A “HOLISTIC” APPROACHToo often, “kids are trying

to remember all these isolatedpieces of information andthey’re not really experiencingmath,” says Elizabeth TaylorBoyd, the Cleveland coordina-tor for the Promoting RigorousOutcomes in Math and ScienceEducation (PROM/SE) pro-gram that works to improve K-12 math and science teachingand learning. “They [see] howmuch more interesting math iswhen they look at it from amore holistic point of view.”

The Metro School endorsesan approach called the “Rule ofFour” to teach math. It meansstudents are expected to

understand math conceptsalgebraically, graphically,numerically and verbally.

“The trick is to get past justthe [one] application so the kidknows how to use it” in othersituations, explains PrincipalMarcy Raymond.

Failing to think in the differ-ent ways adds to the difficultystudents face, particularlywhen lessons demand moreconceptual thinking like alge-bra, says Floyd-Jefferson. “Stu-dents don’t realize that for everyconcept they learn there’s [arule of four].”

Floyd-Jefferson also drawson her Montessori backgroundto teach. “It helps you diagnoselevels,” she says of the approachthat encourages students tomove around and have anactive voice in their own learn-ing. “It helps you give themwhat they need.”

Cleveland teacher Lisa

Suarez-Caraballo is a big pro-ponent of helping studentsactually experience math.Enterprising Suarez-Caraballohas received thousands in grantand award money and uses it tocreate a math amusement park,full of technology that helpsstudents grasp math concepts.

In class, students worked ingroups with robots and com-puter programs to learn aboutdegrees, diameter and circum-ference. There needs to be more in math with “kidsplaying with numbers usingtechnology,” Suarez-Caraballoexplains.

But not all students under-stand math by using the tech-nology. Some only need to readthe text and practice problems.“Making [math] relevant doesn’t work for every-body,” Suarez-Caraballoexplains. That’s why she uses acombination of the book andmanipulatives to teach.

Reddick previously taught atDike Montessori; that experience also taught her tothink more holistically abouther teaching. She still usesMontessori approaches atNathan Hale.

For example, students in herclass struggling to identify thegreatest common factor refer toa large poster on the wall listingeach number one to 100. Eachnumber has a multitude of dif-ferent colored circles around it,depending on which factors,two through ten, go into it.

The color coding is veryMontessori, Reddick notes. Asmath specialist for the school,

one of her responsibilities isattending professional devel-opment training.

CONNECT MATH TO THE WORLDFloyd-Jefferson is always on

the prowl for ways to connecther students to math. “I was justlooking at Jamie’s shoes andthinking, there’s a slope prob-lem,” she says to her students,nodding to the young woman’shigh heels.

Floyd-Jefferson began theyear with what could be anassignment for an English class:Students read and discussed“Fermat’s Enigma,” a literary,nonfiction book that exploresmath from ancient Greece tothe 20th century. When stu-dents get tests back, they ana-lyze and discuss scores, usingstatistical terms such as mean,median, variance and standarddeviation.

Students even do math inFloyd-Jefferson’s “advisory”—an enhanced sort of homeroomthat helps student build studyskills and work on community-oriented projects. They recordhow they spent time on week-ends and graphed the results onpizza boxes, which were alsodecorated with pictures andartifacts representing the stu-dents’ interests.

At Metro, integrating onesubject into another is part ofthe school culture. Earlier thisyear, a school wide “garbology”project assigned students tosort trash into five piles—paper,plastic, Styrofoam, food, alu-minum, glass—to learn aboutthe economic and environmen-

HELPING STUDENTS THINK ABOUT MATH CONCEPTS“How would the world be different if we only had whole numbers?”

Lisa Floyd-Jefferson asks her 9th-grade students at the Metro School. The questiongets at Ohio’s math standard for number sense and operation and leads to adiscussion on when to use exact numbers and when to use estimates.

Metro School teachers Lisa Floyd-Jefferson and Jacob Johanssenembrace a multiple intelligences approach to math. The “Rule of Four,”developed by the Harvard Calculus Consortium, is based on a belief thatstudents should learn and understand math concepts algebraically,numerically, graphically and verbally. The Metro School is in Columbus.

JAY LAPRETE

TIPS continued from page 11


tal impact of waste. Students used math skills to calculate the currentaverage waste and predictwhat it will be by 2010.

Hathaway Brown’s Dr.Caroline Borrow says shestresses the importance, evenin the younger grades, ofteachers connecting math tothe “real world,” she says. (See glancebox.)

In Suarez-Caraballo’s class,real world connections areeverywhere, from the postersin the back that describe thevarious contributions of othercountries to math, to therobots that help studentsunderstand that math can be cool.

CONNECT WITH STUDENTS“With respect to math, or

any subject, it’s important toconnect with their back-grounds,” explains HowardUniversity education professorDr. Gerunda Hughes. Goodteachers “find something that isof interest to [students] thatconnects with the lesson youare trying to teach. You mightgo into adolescent culture; youmight go into race or genderculture.”

The personal connection isespecially important in math,as some students fail to see itsrelevance to their lives. Hav-ing a teacher who deeplybelieves in its importance canbe a big help.

Cleveland State Universityeducation Professor JoanneGoodell says math remains

a cultural issue in Americaand “is still seen as a maledomain.” She cites the still lownumbers of women earningPh.D.s in math compared tomales. But in elementary edu-cation, where female teachersoutnumber males, Goodell

points out that that most“boys don’t have male rolemodels in elementary schooluntil they get to middleschool.”

Over at Nathan Hale K-8 onCleveland’s southeast side,students stop by Reddick’sroom for advice on all sorts ofmatters, not just those per-taining to school.

In class, she strives to giveher students confidence inmath—especially, she says,her girls. To Reddick, confi-dence doesn’t come from highscores. “I don’t think the testmakes you good or bad inmath,” she explains. “What

makes you good is the prac-tice.”

In a recent lesson, studentspractice fraction problemsfrom their books. It wasn’t themost exciting lesson, Reddickadmits. But it’s an importantone—working with fractions is

a key component of 6th-grademath.

At first glance, the lessonresembles a stereotypical mathclass: Students work quietly ontheir own and at the end of class, a few volun-teer to write and explain theiranswers on the overhead pro-jector.

But a closer look showssomething much more. Stu-dents who struggle to solve theproblems seem to know howto figure them out on theirown, using the “Greatest Com-mon Factor” poster and otherresources in the room. Red-dick moves around the room

to help students, but nevergives them the answer.

“I want to set it up [theclass] so you can think, and if you don’t know it you canfind the answers,” Reddickexplains later.

Suarez-Caraballo at Luis

Muñoz Marín K-8 is alsofriendly but demanding, withhigh expectations for her class.Upon entering the room, stu-dents excitedly greet her, andone playfully sneaks up frombehind in an attempt to startleher.

Knowing that many of themath skills her students gain inher class might evaporate inthe chaos of high school, shestrives to keep tabs on her for-mer students once they get tohigh school.

Over at Hathaway Brown,Borrow also works to build theconfidence of her students. “Iconnect with the girls here and

Lisa Suarez-Caraballo at Cleveland's Luis Munoz Marin K-8 uses grant and award money to obtain technologyfor her classroom. Here, students work with robots and computers to deepen their understanding of mathconcepts.

TIM HARRISON

CONNECTING MATH TO THEREAL WORLD

“ Let’s say I am teaching 6th-graders.The problem is 2 ½ divided by ¾ . Kidslearn how to multiply by the reciprocal.That’s a rule, but why does it work? Initially, I’d want the kids to know howmany ¾ are in 2 ½, maybe through a concrete example, like we are making bows from ribbons,” explains Dr. Caroline Borrow at Hathaway Brown.




show them I really care abouttheir math learning.” Mathlearning, she explains, is see-ing math as “not just theseskills” but as the conceptsbehind them. In her geometryclass, students write geometrictheorems in their own wordsand share them with theirclassmates.

MAKE MATH CLASS SOCIAL“The best classrooms are

where kids are talking aboutmathematics,” says Hallenbeck.“It should be social.”

Solely having studentspractice problems over andover again—called “kill anddrill” in education jargon—isunlikely to create the socialenvironment conducive tomath learning, experts say.

“There’s not much commu-nication if all [students are]doing is dividing 147 by nine50 times on a worksheet,”explains Taylor Boyd, thePROM/SE coordinator.

Getting students frustratedby doing the same thing overand over again may not beeffective, but getting themfrustrated about not under-standing can be, observes Hal-lenbeck. “If we can get the kidsto be perturbed, it’s more likelyto get them to stop and thinkabout the mathematics they’relearning.”

Classrooms certainly seemset up for conversations aboutmath. Most classrooms nowhave tables or desks set up inclusters rather than rows;teachers are more willing togive students some time towork with others.

But simply letting studentswork together on mathproblems is not exactly whatHallenbeck means when shesays math class should be social. “Talking aboutmathematical ideas—that’swhat a good mathematicsclass is about.”

“A good teacher would havea balance of a teacher-cen-tered and student-centered[approach],” explains Dr.Hughes. “There is a time fordirect instruction but there is atime for cooperative groupinstruction, peer instruction,taking it out to the community, doing projects.”

“I love math talk,” saysReddick. She sets up astructure where her studentscan talk with one anotherabout not just what they aredoing, but about what they arelearning.

Jacob Johanssen from theMetro School agrees. “I wantthem to be able to talk aboutmath,” he explains. In hisclass, students take tests inde-pendently but also work in“families” that are heldaccountable for each person inthe group. This, Johanssenexplains, helps develop skillsas collaborators and commu-nicators. Some students havemade up their own assign-ments to help other studentsin their family understand thematerial, says Johanssen.

Johanssen’s classroom isloud as students work togetherto match complex equations totheir answers. Next door,Floyd-Jefferson’s class is qui-eter, but still social. She teach-es a similar curriculum in avery different style. The stu-dents are preparing to presenttheir math portfolios andexplain what they have learnedin class to an audience of areaprofessionals, includingresearchers and statisticians.

Metro student AdamLachapelle loves the socialapproach. At other schools, hesays, “they’d tell you how to doit.” What he likes about Metrois that he gets to work with oth-ers. “The teachers let youstruggle, but not too much.…it just gives me a chance tosoar.”

RONN RICHARDCEO, THE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION

“I had a very strangeexperience with regard to myearly math education.I attended an elementaryschool that was basically forpoor kids, heavily minority.I was the best in my class inmath every year, and I thought I was a mathgenius. Then, when I started middle school, all of us kidsfrom the ‘poor school’ got merged in with the kids that hadattended the ‘rich’ public elementary schools. I suddenlyfound myself at the bottom of the class and had to struggle tocatch up. As a result, I began to think of myself as being verybad at math. Thus, I avoided subjects that required math.Later in life, I developed a love of math and technology andtaught myself a great deal. Now I am constantly telling myson that ‘math is the most important subject for you oranyone else, I will not allow you to do poorly in math so youbetter do your math homework first every night!’”

Math memories

PHO

TO C

OU

RTE

SYO

F TH

E C

LEV

ELA

ND

FO

UN

DAT

ION

Hands down, math is not as popularas English and other less abstractsubjects. In fact, it can be ratherforeboding. Catalyst Data Analyst

Joy Brewington, the most mathematicallyinclined on staff, asked civic leaders, a student,parent and a Catalyst associate editor to sharetheir experiences and insights on learning orteaching math. Brewington also included herown. Here are their math memories:

TIPS continued from page 13

Learning and teaching math leave life-long

impressions on civic leaders, students, even

Catalyst staff

CORY CALHOUN8TH-GRADER, JOHN W. RAPER PREK-8

“My favorite math teacher, Mr. Davis (at Martin Luther KingMiddle School) was the only male math teacher I had. He mademath fun and I was able to comprehend the problems quicker.One project we did taught us how to manage money in real life.We prepared our taxes, picked jobs we wanted for the future,and found out how many years of school we would need. Wefound out that if you graduate [high school], you get a better jobthat pays more money.”

JOY BREWINGTONDATA ANALYST,CATALYST CLEVELAND

“As often as I could I wouldapply what I learned in mathclass to real life. In the firstgrade I opened a candy storefrom my bedroom window. As soon as I learned about prob-abilities, I began hosting casinonight at my house and invitedthe neighborhood. When myyounger brother came to livewith me in college, I passed the same love for math on to him.I showed him how relevant the subject is and because he sharedthe same entrepreneurial spirit as I, it took him no time to beginusing what he learned in algebra to help him price his scootersfor his online scooter business. For him, solving for x becamesimple and applicable. …It made sense! Now, as an adult tutor,I have found that offering just a little math support can tremen-dously help out a student. I remember tutoring my mentee inher pre-algebra class. We met for dinner two nights a week andtalked through her homework. After only a few weeks, hergrades on pop quizzes and assignments rose from failing to ‘A’sand ‘B’s. At the end of the semester, her middle school movedher up to a higher level math class.”

MONIQUE SPARKS MOTHER OF A 1ST- AND AN 8TH-GRADER AT IOWA MAPLE K-8

“I didn’t like [math] much but I got through it. I asked a lotof questions in class and got extra help from teachers if Ineeded it. But the teachers today have such a strict schedule tofollow it doesn’t take into consideration that kids learn ondifferent levels. …[Teachers] need more innovative ways toteach math, more interactive. I would like to see them thinkout of the box.”

STEPHANIE KLUPINSKIASSOCIATE EDITOR, CATALYST CLEVELAND

“In grade school, I wasgood—and fast—at math. Infifth grade, we played a gamecalled “math football” based ona team’s ability to solve prob-lems quickly. As quarterback, Iled my team to the schoolSuperbowl and was devastatedwhen we lost.

I loved math until high school calculus, when being able tomultiply and divide quickly wasn’t so helpful. In college, I majored in English and avoided math courses. But I began tolike math again—and feel better about my skills—during a sta-tistics class in graduate school. I guess I need to see a purposeto doing math, whether it’s winning football games or analyzingand evaluating public policy. But I do like a good math chal-lenge every now and then, like the problem from the mathexam for grade 7-12 prospective teachers on page 8.”

TRACEY MARTINCHIEF OF EDUCATION,OFFICE OF THE MAYOR (FORMER PRINCIPAL ATCHARLES LAKE)

“One time a 5th-gradeteacher came to me becauseher kids didn’t understandthe difference between amile, a foot and a yard. I toldher to take them for a milewalk, this will help themunderstand a foot, a yard and a mile, and ratios at the half milepoint. It’s simple opportunities like that [students] have to visu-alize and they have to experience it to learn it for themselves.Teachers have to learn, what is their thought process, where arethey going to get confused? Math can be so abstract, it’s veryimportant to make a concept concrete so that children can tru-ly understand what the concept is all about and how it connectswith other concepts. When they see it, understand it, and con-nect it, they are able to move on to the next level. You needhands-on activities so they can manipulate the numbers andvisualize the problem.

“Professional Development is key to making teachersunderstand how to set up a math concept.”


PHO

TO C

OU

RTE

SYO

F TH

E C

ITY

OF

CLE

VEL

AN

DPI

ETVA

N L

IER

PIET

VAN

LIE

R


The near west side school haddone well enough to make AYP in theprevious two years, but had addedupper elementary grades last year tobecome a K-8.

After notching 79 and 82 percentscores in reading for 2004 and 2005,Dunbar’s 3rd-grade proficiency ratesdropped to 67 percent last year—justbelow the 71 percent AYP target.

“We were close in a lot of grades,”says Thaxton. “But like they say, closedoesn’t count.”

Dunbar was far from alone. Lastspring, 35 other schools in the dis-trict failed to meet the requiredbenchmarks for the first time.

Not long after, however, a surpris-ing thing happened at Dunbar.

Battelle For Kids, a statewide non-profit education group with strongbusiness affiliations, recognizedDunbar as one of 16 schools in thestate that made “high academicprogress in multiple grade levels andsubjects over the past three years.”

Battelle’s pilot evaluation program compares student progressto that of similar students, whileNCLB requires schools to meet specific test score goals every year.The federal law’s ultimate aim is tomake sure 100 percent of studentsare proficient in math and reading by 2014.

Advocates of “growth” or “value-added” models like Battelle’s want tomake them part of NCLB, whichCongress is scheduled to reauthorizethis year.

Recognizing schools’ success inboosting student achievement iscritical, in part because such recog-nition can provide hope to schoolslike Dunbar where students oftencome in below grade level, say theseadvocates.

Critics worry such alternativemeasurements could water downNCLB, undercutting its effectiveness.

How Dunbar failed the AYPaccountability measure and excelledusing the Battelle model illustratesthe differences between various rat-ing systems—and foreshadows howschools in Ohio and nationwidecould be rated in the future.

PILOT TESTS NEW METHODStarted five years ago with 42

Ohio districts, including Cleveland,the Battelle rating system measuresstudents’ progress over three yearsand credits schools for matching orbeating the improvements of othersimilar students. Success in meetingAYP goals is not considered.

The Battelle approach is similar tothe state’s new method of measuringachievement by student growth,

which it will begin using statewidestarting in 2007. (See November 2005Catalyst for details)

The motivation behind develop-ing these new models is that theycredit schools for significantly boost-ing student achievement even if thekids are not excelling. The schoolsrecognized by Battelle this fallincluded a mix of suburban, rural,and urban schools and, according toBattelle executive director JimMahoney, this shows that “it’s notwhich kids you get to teach, it’s whatyou do with them.”

In 3rd-grade reading, for example,Dunbar students scored seven per-centage points higher in 2006 thanother 3rd-graders across the statewho had earned similar scores in thepast. (The complete data from theBattelle study are not public.)

Not all growth models are thesame, however.

STATE PROPOSES DIFFERENT MODELEven if Congress delays NCLB

reauthorization scheduled for thisyear, as many Washington insidersexpect, changes could go throughstatewide if Ohio’s proposed growthmodel plan is approved by the U.S.Department of Education this winter.

Both the Battelle model and thestate’s new plan measure studentprogress rather than using staticstandards to rate schools. But thestate proposal doesn’t compareschools or students to each other. Itfocuses solely on whether studentsare on a trajectory toward makingproficiency by the time they leave

FollowUpMaking progress on ‘progress’Growth models like an Ohio pilot measure improvement and are part of proposed updates to No Child

Left Behind. Critics worry that such changes could undercut pressure on schools to achieve.

by Alexander Russo

When Darlene Thaxton, principal of Dunbar School, foundout that her school had just missed making “adequateyearly progress” for 2005-2006 under the No Child LeftBehind law, she was disappointed—but not surprised.


that type of school (5th for a K-5school, 8th for a K-8 school). It meas-ures growth by subgroup, just likeAYP. And it only uses the state tests,not assessments like the Stanford 9used by Battelle.

Under the new state proposal,schools would have four ways tomake AYP:

outright, by meeting AYP bench-marks;through the safe harbor provision(a 10 percent reduction in thenumber of nonproficient stu-dents in each subgroup);through a two-year average of aschool’s scores;through growth for subgroups aswell as school wide.The U.S. Department of Educa-

tion has approved five states for par-ticipation in its growth-model pilot;Ohio is one of nine states whose pro-posals are still under consideration.Officials here hope to know by Aprilwhether Ohio’s proposal will beapproved.

How this pilot program will influ-ence changes to NCLB is unclear.

NCLB SUBJECT TO CHANGENo one knows exactly when

NCLB is going to be reauthorized orhow substantial changes are going tobe. The official timeline calls forCongress to revisit the law five yearsafter its enactment, meaning some-time in 2007. But the change in con-trol of Congress from Republicans toDemocrats, combined with a back-log of other laws needing attentionand the 2008 Presidential elections,suggest that it may not be updateduntil 2009, a full two years from now.

Proposed changes to NCLBinclude growth models. If adopted,these changes mean more schoolslike Dunbar that don’t make mini-mum test score requirements underthe AYP system could soon be recog-nized for their progress

Meanwhile, officials in Ohio don’tknow exactly how their new meas-urement would change school rat-ings. The number of Clevelandschools affected could be minimal,based on Battelle’s growth modeland the experiences of other states.

But the new list could berevealing.

“I suspect that we will findschools in Ohio that serve studentswho come in far behind and that doa very good job of helping those stu-dents catch up,” says MitchellChester, senior associate superin-tendent for the state.

Not everyone is enamored ofgrowth models, fearing that theycould weaken pressure on schools toimprove student achievement.

“The concerns that have beenvoiced about growth models revolvearound state accountability systemsthat rate schools as being adequate ifthey achieve any amount of growth,”says Kevin Carey, research and policymanager for the Education Sector, anonpartisan education group inWashington, DC. “A good growth sys-tem gives schools credit for makingsignificant progress while not losingsight of absolute standards.”

The state’s growth model is notjust an easy way for schools to makeAYP, according to state officials.Making the grade is “a tough bar tomeet even with the growth model,”says Chester.

Despite concerns, the growthapproach is increasingly popularand is being used in several districtsto measure the impact of teachers onstudent learning and to reward thosewho have above average impact onachievement.

“Absent a growth measure, a lot ofschools are being unfairly character-ized as poor performing even if theyare making incredible progress withtheir students,” says Battelle’sMahoney, who argues that growth

measures are not only more accuratepictures of school performance butalso essential ingredients for schoolimprovement.

“Growth models fuel hope,” says Mahoney. “Without hope, peo-ple just quit, there’s no reason tokeep going.”

In the meantime, the challengecontinues at Dunbar this year, withthe arrival of even more new stu-dents from closed schools like near-by Thomas Jefferson. “Here we goagain,” says Thaxton, about theinflux of new students, which sheestimates at 25 percent. “We’ve hadtwo years of constant upheaval,haven’t had time to settle.”

From Dunbar’s perspective,rewarding progress seems like theright way to go. “I think it would bebetter that way,” says Principal Thax-ton. “It would give us a chance.”

teacher quality problem—technolo-gy. While many Cleveland class-rooms may lack some modern tech-nology, such as computer programs,found in wealthier districts, schoolsare not without their gadgets.

A popular one is Flashmaster, ahandheld electronic device studentsuse to practice multiplication tables.Some classes spent over 15 minutesa day using Flashmasters. In one5th-grade class, students use themin a competition where speed is val-ued over accuracy: the winning stu-dent had answered the greatestnumber of questions, but missed afew along the way.

“Technology could be useful, butin many instances, it’s just one moreincoherent thing added to an inco-herent system,” notes Schmidt. “Alot of what people do with thesethings is just trivial stuff that doesn’tcontribute.”



The school year did not beginsmoothly in New Orleans. The hurri-cane and flooding caused some ofthe massive dysfunction that hasbefallen schools. But the rest can beblamed on the reform philosophyembedded in NCLB: that changingthe management and governance ofurban public schools will closeachievement gaps. It mandates thatwhen a public school has been des-ignated “failing” for five years, theentire school must be reconstituted,made into a charter or taken over bythe state. The reinvented NewOrleans schools employ all threestrategies.

No doubt, before the hurricane,New Orleans’ public schools neededimproving.

Achievement was tragically low,and a New York bankruptcy firm hadbeen hired to clean up the finances.When the winds blew in and the lev-ees broke, the Louisiana Legislatureseized the opportunity to take overthe public schools and begin a con-version to charter schools.

However, a change in manage-ment cannot begin to address manydeeply rooted challenges facingNew Orleans public school students.In 2005, the Annie Casey Founda-tion rated Louisiana 49 out of the 50

states in overall child well being.Students in Orleans Parish Schoolsare among the nation’s most highlysegregated—93 percent African-American and 3.8 percent white in2001-02. In the same year, 77.3 per-cent were identified as poor.

Despite the need for significanttargeted spending to fund schools tobetter serve children in overwhelm-ing poverty, the expenditure perpupil in Orleans Parish Schools was$5,587 in 2001-02, well below thenational average of $7,376, and alsobelow that year’s average expendi-ture per pupil in Louisiana of $5,804.

Lance Hill, a New Orleans civilrights activist, explains: “With a verylarge percentage of children in pri-vate schools and a two-thirds super-majority required to pass a propertytax levy, it has been very difficult forthe school district to raise propertytaxes in the past 25 years. Over time,disinvestment in programs hasmade the failure of the school dis-trict a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

When school opened last fall,operations in the Louisiana StateRecovery District quickly unraveled,largely because of the state’s deci-sions about staffing. Act 35, bywhich the state took control, dis-missed the district’s 7,500 employ-

ees and eliminated collective bar-gaining for teachers in the RecoveryDistrict and charter schools, some ofwhich have hired former OrleansParish teachers for salaries severalthousand dollars below their paybefore the storm.

In August, the Times-Picayunereported: “Hiring was delayedbecause the state initially hoped tocharter all of the schools under itscontrol, leaving the hiring up tothose charters. …But it failed toreceive enough strong charter appli-cations.” The state did not begin ini-tial screening of applicants for itsschools until July 17, when it adver-tised for over 500 applicants.”Although the state promised care-fully screened teachers, in October,it reported a shortage of 59 qualifiedteachers, “with many of the vacan-cies in essential subjects such asEnglish and math.” And althoughthe state even used a temp agency tohire substitutes, some high schoolsare holding classes with more than a100 students. Serious disciplineproblems, fights, and turf conflictsamong students in schools that sud-denly have district wide, rather thanneighborhood admissions, have leftmany parents fearful of sendingadolescents to school.

ViewpointGUEST COLUMN / JAN RESSEGER

Today 59 percent of all New Orleans public schoolsare charters, a conversion jump-started afterHurricane Katrina by a $21 million charter schoolgrant from the U. S. Department of Education. It’s

unlikely Cleveland will be struck by a hurricane. Still, whathas happened in New Orleans public schools in the past yearportends trouble for Cleveland and other urban districtsstruggling to improve, if the federal No Child Left Behind lawremains on its current course.

JAN RESSEGER

Is New Orleans charter takeover an omen for Cleveland?

Jan Resseger isMinister for PublicEducation andWitness for theUnited Church ofChrist, headquar-tered in downtownCleveland.Resseger is anadvocate forreforming Ohio'ssystem of fundingpublic schools. Sheis also a memberof the CatalystCleveland EditorialAdvisory Board.

A publication of Urban School News.1621 Euclid Avenue, Suite 1530, Cleve-land, Ohio 44115. Phone: (216) 623-6320; FAX (216) 623-6651. Copyright2006, Community Renewal Society. Allrights reserved. The opinions expressed inCatalyst are not necessarily those of CRS.Catalyst is a trademark of the Community Renewal Society.

PUBLISHED BYUrban School News

PUBLISHERLinda Lenz

EDITORCharlise L. Lyles

DEPUTY EDITORPiet van Lier

ASSOCIATE EDITORStephanie Klupinski

DATA ANALYSTJoy Brewington

MARKETING/ADVERTISINGMANAGERDaniel Gray-Kontar

DESIGN CONSULTANTJoyce Leiby

ILLUSTRATORMike Konopacki

PHOTOGRAPHERSRick Doll, Jr.Tim HarrisonBetsy MolnarGreg RuffingPiet van Lier

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARDAndrea GaleAnise JeffersonErik JohnsonKristien Marquez-ZenkovJan Resseger

CIRCULATION(216) 623-6320

WEB SITEwww.catalyst-cleveland.org

[email protected]

FUNDED BYThe Cleveland FoundationThe George Gund FoundationThe Joyce FoundationPeter B. LewisThe United Black FundThe Thomas White Foundation

Catalyst Cleveland is an independentpublication created to document, analyzeand support school improvement effortsin Cleveland’s public schools.


Fragmentation of serviceshas left young children withouttransportation even thoughtheir schools are far from theirneighborhoods, because charterschools were not required toprovide transportation. After alawsuit secured spaces for 2,000special education students inthe spring of 2006, charter andRecovery District schools havebeen required to accept a per-centage of students with specialneeds, but there is no evidencethat schools have been able tohire teachers certified in specialeducation or to design appro-priate programs for deaf, blind,or autistic children.

Rev. Torin Sanders, a mem-ber of the Orleans Parish SchoolBoard, believes that the explo-sion of charter schools will exac-erbate inequity rather thanexpand opportunity for NewOrleans’ poorest children: “After

the hurricane, legislators saidAct 35 created the charters todemonstrate innovative ideasfor at-risk students, but thehighest-performing schoolswent charter first. The law wasused to make these privilegedschools unencumbered andautonomous.”

State Recovery School Dis-trict Superintendent RobinJarvis brags, “Remember, we arechanging the entire culture of aschool system.” And SenatorLamar Alexander (R-Tennessee)proclaims: “New Orleans will bethe leading big city in Americacreating new charter schools.”

However, I and many othersare forced to ask whether thesum total of individual choicesin an educational marketplacereally serves the public good. It’simportant to celebrate theenthusiasm of those who havebeen able to create innovative

programs in the best charterschools. At the same time, wemust acknowledge that NewOrleans schools have beenweakened by reconstituting theteaching staff, fragmenting thedistrict into independent char-ters, and turning over the rest toinexperienced state managers.By condemning and disman-tling urban schools withoutacknowledging the role of segre-gation, abandonment by themiddle class, and disinvestmentin program resources, we walkout on our civic obligation tocare about the children andteachers in big cities. As we leavethem to be discredited andbranded as failures by NCLB,will Cleveland and America’sother big-city school districtsface the same fate as NewOrleans?

Urban School News1621 Euclid Avenue, Suite 1530Cleveland, Ohio 44115

R E T U R N S E R V I C E R E Q U E S T E D

Moving? Return your label with new address.

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

CLEVELAND, OHIO

PERMIT NO. 999

6TH & ST. CLAIR

CLEVELAND

MBNA EDUCATION GRANT TO BE SHUT DOWNThe MBNA Excellence in Education grant program,which awarded approximately $1.5 million toCleveland teachers last year, is on its last legs, afterMBNA was bought out last summer by Bank ofAmerica.

The grant program gave awards to academicprograms and materials for K-12 education in alldisciplines. In math, teachers used grants toenhance instruction through the purchase of mathcurricula such as “Everyday Math,” software andgraphing calculators.

Spokeswoman Alexandra Liftman says that Bank of America gives grants to nonprofits that supporteducation more broadly, such as JuniorAchievement and the Boys and Girls Club.

Cleveland teachers and administrators learned ofthe change last May. “We communicated [withteachers and administrators] as early as possible toprovide a smooth transition and to allow teachersto apply for grants in the 06-07 year,” explainsLiftman.

CLEVELAND CHARTER IS GRANT FINALISTCitizens’ Academy, a K-5 charter school locatednear University Circle, has been named as a finalistfor an expansion grant of up to $3.5 million. Itsselection means the charter will go through a six-month planning process geared to replicating itsmodel in Cleveland, as well as adding higher grades.

The school currently enrolls about 400 students,

mostly from Cleveland’s Glenville, Hough, Fairfaxand Kinsman neighborhoods. About 97 percent of them are African-American, and 80 percent qualifyas low-income. Of the nine charters selected asfinalists this year by the Colorado-based CharterSchool Growth Fund, Citizens’ Academy is the onlyOhio school. The $100 million fund, with a statedgoal of creating 100,000 new charter school seatsby 2015, is supported by the Walton FamilyFoundation, the Don & Doris Fisher Foundationand the Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation.

In the 2005-2006 school year, Citizens’ Academyreceived a state ranking of “continuous improve-ment” and met federally mandated “adequateyearly progress” standardized test score goals.

TEST-TAKING WORKSHOP DRAWS OVER 1,000A test-taking workshop held at Lincoln West HighSchool in December drew a large turnout of morethan 1,100 parents, students and communityleaders. The day-long, free event called “Step upto Victory” included sessions on test-taking tech-niques, test-anxiety reduction strategies and onlinepractice lessons—all focused on the Ohio Achieve-ment and Ohio Graduation tests. Staff encouragedparents to help students study for the exams andled “family literacy” discussions to deepen parents’understanding of the need to prepare young chil-dren for school. Topics included building vocabularybefore kindergarten, which is seen as an indicator ofhow quickly children will learn to read. Free

calculators, protractors and rulers were given away.Another “parent round-up” is scheduled for Febru-ary.

BOARD MEMBER, STATE UNION CHIEFMOURNEDSHIRLEY HAWK, the only member to serve on bothCleveland’s elected and appointed School Board,died Nov. 18 of an apparent heart attack. Hawk, 76,was serving on the Ohio Board of Education from1988 to 1993, when she was elected to the district’sBoard. She was dismissed in 1998 when formerMAYOR MICHAEL R. WHITE named the district’s firstappointed Board. Seven years later in 2005, then-MAYOR JANE CAMPBELL named Hawk to theappointed Board. An indefatigable, upbeatadvocate for students, Hawk organized and hosted the annual Grads-Net Foundation ofCleveland luncheon, which raises funds to recruitalumni volunteers. Hawk was a 1948 graduate ofCentral High.TOM MOONEY, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers, died Dec. 3, also of a heart attack.Mooney, 52, was also a vice president of theAmerican Federation of Teachers. A Cincinnatischool teacher, Mooney served as president of theCincinnati Federation of Teachers from 1979 until2000, when he was elected to lead the state union.Mooney was known for his support of educationreforms and teacher professionalism. He guidedinnovations such as a peer review program forteachers and an attempt to set up a career-ladderprogram for teachers.

february/march 2007 mathinstruction: will reading be ...promse.msu.edu/_documents/catalyst...

Documents