The Algebra Project in Cambridge, MA is developing and conducting research on what it describes as the Cohort Model for addressing the mathematics education of students that perform in the bottom quartile on state and district tests. The model has the following characteristics: 1) each cohort school commits to four years of reduced class size of 20 students and a common planning period for the teachers; 2) cohort students commit to take mathematics classes every day for 90 minutes for four years and to participate in summer institutes; 3) students use Algebra Project instructional materials for all four years; and 4) teachers agree to 2-3 weeks of professional development per year and classroom visits by Algebra Project team members. The predicted outcome is that most students will remain in the cohort for all four years and that almost all of those who do will perform well enough on college entrance exams to be admitted and will test out of remedial mathematics courses.
In this research, the Algebra Project studied a cohort model designed to "harness the peer culture" and accelerate mathematics learning for students who enter high school performing in the lowest quartile on the math portion of state tests. At six high schools, cohorts of ~20 students took math together with the same teacher for Grades 9-12. They used rigorous materials designed by mathematicians and teachers to engage low performing students through a unique pedagogy, and enable them to graduate on time ready to take college math courses for credit. The project’s classroom materials are designed to engage students who have experienced academic failure, who enter Grade 9 with conceptual foundations different from those of average- to high-performing students. Its materials and pedagogy build cognitive and noncognitive skills together. Public Curriculum Portal: www.algebra.org/curriculum/ Research included (a) preliminary studies at Edison High School, "little Haiti", Miami; and (b) a multi-site study of cohorts implemented "from scratch" in five demographically different high schools in Ypsilanti, MI; Mansfield OH; Eldorado, rural Illinois; and Los Angeles (Table 1). Nearly all students performed BELOW "proficient" in math on the Grade 8 state test. Intellectual Merit Graduation: In 4 of 5 schools in the multi-site study, Cohort students had 4-year graduation rates (federal formula) above 70% (from 71-80%) (Table 2). In 3, their graduation rates were 11-32% higher than the non-project students, matched for race, gender, math proficiency and language status. At the 4th school, rates were similar (~75%). But this Cohort comprised the lowest performing students in a class of 97, so they appear to have "caught up" with their peers. At the 5th school, graduation rates were similar and low: 43% (Algebra Project) versus 41%. But here the Cohort kept changing -- only 7 students were present for 3-4 years. Five graduated, approximating the <70% rates of the other Cohorts. Growth in Mathematics Proficiency: (a) Concept of Function: Mathematicians Ed Dubinsky (FIU) and Robin Wilson (CSU/Pomona) studied Algebra Project Cohort students’ development of the function concept at three schools. Cohort students acquired the concept at a level similar to college students, and even as well as some teachers in training (Dubinsky & Wilson, 2013). (b) Proficiency on State Tests in Ohio: At Mansfield High, the Algebra Project and nonAlgebra Project students entered Grade 9 averaging the same math proficiency: in both groups only 17% were < "proficient". Cohort student’s proficiency rose from 17% in Grade 8 to 82% in Grade 10, and averaged 30.2 points (+ 2) compared with only 19.3 (+ 2) points for all noncohort students, and 20.6 (+ 2) points for a noncohort sample matched on race, gender and Gr 8 top score. Development of Student Attitudes: Student progress was best in the 3 sites where most Cohort students also participated in the afterschool program of the Young People’s Project (YPP). In YPP they were mentored by College Math Literacy Workers to design, conduct, and debrief after school workshops 1-2x/week for Grade 4-7 students in the community. YPP assisted students to gain positive attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics achievement. Broader Impact The Algebra Project’s broad goal is to demonstrate to the nation how students in low income communities can achieve in mathematics to the level needed today for citizenship and family-supporting jobs. This project had an impact both locally and nationally, and in universities as well as schools. For example, a model materials development site was created at FL Hamer Freedom High School in Bronx, NY, where internationally-known Cornell Geometer David Henderson collaborated with two teachers to implement an innovative sequence in algebra-geometry. Mathematician colleagues at both Ohio State U/Mansfield and Southern Illinois Univ. are starting STEM institutes. At U. Michigan SOE, Mark Thames implemented an NSF study of the explicit and implicit teaching strategies used by Bob Moses, teaching low performing rising 9th graders in a lab setting for 2 weeks each of 3 summers. Educators and mathematicians attended from around the country. The Algebra Project collaborated with the Educational Testing Service to host national meetings to discuss project research and expansion, attended by researchers and national leaders (Math for America, 100k STEM Teachers in 10 Years; NACME, Children’s Defense Fund), as well as teachers, administrators and community activists. Math for America Fellows interned in a Cohort classroom in Los Angeles, and videos of teaching there were beamed to hundreds of students in other countries as part of Univ of Southern California’s digital teacher education course. At OSU/Mansfield, Algebra Project national teacher development specialists co-taught a teacher preparation course with OSU faculty. The district also asked them to conduct teacher professional development district-wide K-6 for 2010-13. Three new cohorts have started in Mansfield and Miami each. In Los Angeles, several Algebra Project teachers founded a new high school, August Hawkins, that combines Algebra Project pedagogy with Complex Instruction school-wide, across subjects.
