Implementation

The Mathematics Goal Committee devised a plan to implement the problem-solving goal. During the first year of implementation, the goal committee led a discussion on what problems would be used at each grade level and how the problems would be determined. The committee needed to develop a system to assess growth within grade levels over a designated period of time. The staff agreed that the same problems needed to be used at the start of the school year within each classroom of the same grade level. The committee further determined that, in addition to the state assessment, a rubric would be used to measure the progress of each child as well as the entire class.

The staff was in-serviced on the implementation of the open-ended math problems as well as how to prepare and complete a rubric. Each grade level worked collaboratively on the selection of pre and post open-ended math problems as well as the creation of a rubric (Charles, Mason, & Gallagher, 1985). Some questions were raised about the validity of the rubrics used, but according to the Illinois State Board of Education Website, we realized Lieb was on the right track and continued to move forward making modifications along the way http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/mathrubric.htm. We continued to remind staff that this was "a process for staff, by staff, for students" (school improvement motto that developed over time). We were confident that staff was ready to start on their mathematics open-ended questions leading to school improvement. At this point, we felt the initial phase of the implementation of the math goal had been accomplished.

Data Collection

Collection of the results was our next area of concern. The baseline data would be collected prior to any implementation of improvement strategies. This way we would be able to determine if improvement strategies were truly having an impact on student growth.

During our first year of implementation, the specifics of our goal were further narrowed to encompass working on improving student's problem solving strategies with an emphasis on strategic knowledge. During the ongoing implementation of our math goal, we continued to remind staff that this was a process, and we would fine-tune our school improvement interventions along the way.

Staff members from within each grade level evaluated the open-ended math questions administered to the students. Staff for grades 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6 collaborated with goal committee members on the design of grade-level rubrics. These rubrics were designed using four point scales. Each rubric was grade-level specific and measured mathematical knowledge, strategic knowledge, and explanation. All of the rubrics were tallied by staff and graphed by the goal committee. In addition to assessing each student's progress through the use of the rubrics, we also analyzed the math data from the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).

Math target goal committee members updated staff with data collection results either through notes to the staff or at staff briefings. Goal committee members also designated specific time periods for staff to assess student progress. Reminder notes were sent to staff prior to the completion of student assessments. Results were tabulated by each staff member and then sent to a designated goal committee member. Once all the results were received, they were placed on a bar graph using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Office, 2000). Figures 1, 2, and 3 represent the data initially collected for grade five.

From our local assessment taken in the fall of 1999 and graphed in Figures 1, 2, and 3, we recognized a definite need for improvement in the area of strategic knowledge. From our baseline data, we concluded that only 30% of our fifth grade students received a four, the highest score, in this area. Only 7% of our students received a three, 29% received a two, 32% received a one, and 2% received a zero. More than half of the fifth grade students received less than a three in the area of strategic knowledge. We felt we needed to increase student achievement in this area.

Figure 1

 

Figure 2

 

Figure 3

The collected data once again reinforced staff's identified area of need for student improvement. Additionally, the initial data collection further identified an area of weakness on the part of Lieb School students. As a staff, we felt confident that strategic knowledge was the true essence of our goal. At this point, the goal committee met to formulate a strategy to address the area.

Math Wizard Wednesdays

From the math teams initial analysis of baseline data, it was determined that a school-wide campaign would be a necessary tool. Staff brainstormed "Math Wizard Wednesdays!" Math Wizard Wednesdays were offered as an intervention for students and staff that would serve as a reminder of the ongoing effort to reach the goal.

Staff members were provided with math open-ended sample questions to be implemented at anytime throughout their lessons, but especially on designated "Math Wizard Wednesdays" held at least once a month. One committee member designed flyers at the start of the school year promoting the idea of MWW (Math Wizard Wednesdays). Some of the posters read: "MWW coming soon to a class near you!" Anticipation was building among the students, as they began asking about MWW. Math Wizard Wednesdays were off and running! Staff was also given reminders prior to MWW either in a memo or an announcement on the main marker board in the school office. The ultimate goal was to offer reminders to staff to work on improving their students' abilities to solve open-ended math problems. In order to encourage our students, the goal committee suggested that each classroom celebrate its progress and hard work after each MWW.

Results

In the spring of 2001, the results from the local assessment were positive. We were definitely on the right track as indicated in Figures 4, 5, and 6. There was improvement in strategic knowledge for the fifth grade students (Figure 5). Results showed that 35% of the students received a score of four, 28% scored a three, 29% scored a two, 7% received a one, and 1% of the boys and girls received a zero. Less than half of the fifth grade students received less than a three in the area of strategic knowledge. Even though the results had to be interpreted with caution since the baseline data had been taken in the fall and the post-intervention data was gathered in the spring, it appeared that we had taken a step in the right direction and needed to continue to strive for improvement with our goal.

Figure 4

 

Figure 5

 

Figure 6

The results from the local assessment taken in the spring of 2002 were also positive as indicated in Figures 7, 8, and 9. We continued our success with this goal. There was great improvement in strategic knowledge for fifth grade students. Amazingly, 83% of the boys and girls scored a four, 7% scored a three, 7% scored a two, and 3% scored a one. There were not any students in fifth grade that scored a zero. Overall, improvement in the area of strategic knowledge was demonstrated.

Figure 7

 

Figure 8

 

Figure 9

 

During May of the second semester, staff was given a reminder to implement a second open-ended question using the same scoring rubric. The target goal committee met prior to our last school improvement day meeting of the year to prepare a presentation for staff. Each grade level shared and discussed the results of the graphs.

Staff Updates

At staff meetings, math target goal committee members shared the progress of Lieb students. This was a great opportunity for staff to collaborate on the importance of all of their hard work. During our school improvement meeting, it was noted that there was marked improvement in our students' strategic knowledge abilities. We divided staff into target area discussion groups to plan for the next school year. We also held a special staff end of the year luncheon to celebrate the results of our students. This has worked well and continues to reiterate to staff our commitment to the NCA CASI process.

Staff Member Perspective

The success of the implementation of our NCA CASI math student performance goal rests heavily on the high level of staff involvement. The Lieb School NCA CASI motto, "a process for staff, by staff, for students," gave all members a higher sense of professional involvement in the analysis process. We were not only allowed, but also encouraged, to creatively formulate strategies to implement, assess, and evaluate our results.

NCA CASI Workshops

The successes of our School Improvement Program are a credit to the availability of ongoing NCA workshops. These workshops have given us the opportunity to share with NCA CASI staff members and to network with staff members from various school districts. The workshops are a valuable tool in promoting the process and maintaining a high level of staff commitment.

Successes/Future

As displayed in Figure 10, our fifth grade students have become more successful on the Math ISAT Test over the past years. We contribute the increased success partly to the strategies that were implemented to help meet our math goal. In 1998-1999, 61% of our fifth grade students met or exceeded the standards. In 1999-2000, 67% of the students did, while in 2000-2001, 79% of the boys and girls that met or exceeded the standards. This represents a Standard Unit gain of +.53, substantial verifiable growth over time. We are very proud of our students' accomplishments.

Figure 10

 

We also saw an increase in the scores on our third grade local math assessment over the past years (Figure 11). In 1999-2000, only 23% of the third grade students exceeded our standard, while in 2000-2001, 43% of the boys and girls did. The percentage increased in 2001-2002 when 52% of the students in third grade exceeded. This change represented a +.79 Standard Unit gain, again substantial, verifiable growth in performance. The data clearly supported continued use of our interventions.

Figure 11

As a staff, we gained a great deal of experience working on our math goal collaboratively. It truly is, "a process for staff, by staff, and ultimately for students."

References

Charles, R., Mason, R., & Gallagher, G. (1985). Problem-Solving Experiences in Mathematics. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Illinois State Board of Education: Illinois Learning Standards for mathematics. Retrieved June 3, 2002 from http://isbe.state.il.us/ils/math/math.html

Illinois State Board of Education: math scoring rubric. Retrieved June 3, 2002 from http://www.isbe.state.il.us/assessment/mathrubric.htm

Illinois State Board of Education: mathematics. Retrieved June 3, 2002 from http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/math/mag6.html

Microsoft Excel [Computer software]. (2000). Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.

North Central Association, A Handbook for Schools, 1996. Commission on Schools, Tempe, AZ: NCA CASI.

Westley, J. (1994). Puddle Questions: Assessing Mathematical Thinking. Mountain View, CA: Creative Publications.