Improving Middle Grades Math Performance: A Closer Look at District and School Policies and Practices, Course Placements, and Student Outcomes in California. Follow-Up Analysis

N

120

S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Middle School Students; Middle Schools; Mathematics Achievement; Educational Practices; Mathematics Teachers; Credentials; Followup Studies; Accountability; Administrator Role; Algebra; Cooperative Planning; Mathematics Curriculum; Educational Improvement; Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Grade 9; Educational Policy; Goal Orientation; Instructional Program Divisions; Intervention; Mathematics Instruction; Parent Responsibility; Institutional Mission; Predictor Variables; Principals; Public Schools; Charter Schools; Regression (Statistics); Research Methodology; Research Utilization; School Districts; Socioeconomic Influences; Standardized Tests; State Standards; Superintendents; Surveys; Scores

This report is a follow-up to "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" (Williams, Kirst, Haertel, et al., 2010). That study specified a comprehensive set of actionable practices that differentiated higher academic achievement among 303 middle grades schools in California. In doing so, the study provided a compelling and coherent account of middle grades schools that are achieving better student outcomes than their peer schools serving similar students. This follow-up analysis provides a different, more in-depth look at middle grades mathematics practices and policies. Appendices include: (1) Further data on Algebra I placement; and (2) The credentials of middle grades mathematics teachers differ depending on school grade configuration and teachers' grade levels. A technical appendix is included. (Contains 50 figures and 53 footnotes.) [For the related report, "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better. A Large-Scale Study of Middle Grades Practices and Student Outcomes. Initial Research Report", see ED508673.]

ERIC

50

ED558157, ED559739, ED546776

2011

ED516658