Math Support

Harvard-Kent Elementary School Boston, MA

Located near the countrys largest housing project Harvard-Kent Elementary School (2009-2010) in the Charlestown neighborhood, Harvard-Kent Principal Jason Gallagher Elementary Schools rates of low income (96%), School Schedule 9:25 AM 3:25 PM Special Education (21%) and Limited English Grades Served K1 5 Proficient (47%) students are among the highest in Number of Students 456 Boston Public Schools (BPS). In an effort to raise Performance 2010 MCAS Results student achievement in math, the school increased math supports by restructuring their school day and providing a self paced after- school program for targeted students last year. Throughout the 2009-2010 school year, student math improvement in accuracy and speed measured by the computer based math program, Math Matters has encouraged the school to expand the after school support to additional students, with the support of private funding. Increased Math Support for All Students: From 60 to 90 Minute Math Blocks In 2009, Harvard-Kent increased its math periods from 60 minutes to 90 minutes each day for all students in grades 3 to 5 without changing the length of the school day. The school accomplished this by shifting 30 minutes from the social studies period and incorporating that subject matter into students ELA classes. The decision to extend the math period was made after analyzing the schools prior years math performance using TESTWIZ. We thought more time for math would do the most to raise our scores, says Dianne Gould, the schools Speech Pathologist and Data Coordinator, Its really our kids strength, but the 60 minute period didnt allow us to get through the curriculum. The additional 30 minutes in each math block allowed for the integration and alignment of the MCAS items and open response questions with the BPS mathematics curriculum. In addition, all students in grades 2 through 5 receive 20 minutes of computerized math practice twice a week during their computer lab period. In the 2010-2011 school year, Harvard-Kent students are using the new math software, IXL, during their computer lab period and twice per week in their classrooms. Increased Math Support for Some Students: AfterSchool Math Remediation From December 2009 to April 2010, through Supplemental Educational Support (SES), Harvard-Kent instituted a 20week after-school program, serving approximately 75 students in grades 3 to 5, in addition to 50-second graders starting in February for 12 weeks. Each after-school session ran for 90 minutes, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesdays. Key Questions When does this take place? How much total time? Who participates in the program? How are students selected for participation? How many students per teacher? What are students doing during this time? After School Math 2009-2010 2010-2011 December to April* October to April 60 hours 58 hours 125 students 160 students 8 teachers 8 teachers MCAS, classroom MCAS, classroom performance, performance, teacher observation, teacher observation, parental consent parental consent 5 to 12 5 to 12 Complete math packets Complete math packets

*2nd grade students received after school math from February to April

National Center on Time & Learning 24 School Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108 www.timeandlearning.org

Students received a snack and homework help for the first 15 minutes of the session, and then moved to classrooms to begin work on individual math packets with teacher support. During this time, students were placed into groups based on MCAS performance and teacher observations, with some consideration given to social dynamics. Every student was placed into one of twelve groups, each staffed by one of HarvardKents math teachers. Struggling students were placed in groups of five, while high performing students were placed in groups of 12, allowing teachers to provide more individual support to the former. Throughout the 20 weeks, teachers met each week to discuss student progress and occasionally switched students into higher or lower performing groups. During these after-school sessions, students completed packets assigned to them based on their ability levels. Students worked in pairs, peer groups, and received individual support as needed. The math packets were developed by a group of veteran teachers using prior MCAS tests and content from MCAS preparation materials. All grade level packets included practice in number sense, geometry, patterns & relations, statistics & probability, measurement, and data collection, and contained material below, above, and at each students grade level. Success and Next Steps In 2010, Harvard-Kents third grade math proficiency rate reached 68%, compared to only 31% in 2009. In addition, the school also demonstrated impressive growth in 4th and 5th grade. The schools Student Growth Percentile (SGP)an index comparing each student to those with similar achievement histories was 63 and 73 for 4th and 5th grade, respectively. This indicates that the median 4th grade students improvement in math exceeded 63% of students with comparable prior years math scores, while the median 5th graders improvement exceeded 73% of his/her comparison group. The state does not report SGP for 3rd grade.

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

Comparison of MCAS Math Proficient and Above: 2009 to 2010

68% 31% 39% 42% 22% 21%

100 80 60 40 20 0

Comparison of MCAS Math SGP: 2009 to 2010

63 28 63 73

Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 2009 Proficiency 2010 Proficiency

Grade 4 2009 SGP

Grade 5 2010 SGP

Teachers attributed success to the additional time for math utilizing a variety of strategies including: 90 minute time blocks; flexible small groupings with teacher instruction based on student needs; computer based instruction; and the after-school programs. Continual review of data allowed for flexible groups based on student achievement during school as well as after-school. In addition to the raised test scores, teachers noted a greater enthusiasm for math and increased confidence among students. In the 2010-2011 school year, Harvard-Kent has extended the after-school program from 20 to 24 weeks, beginning in October, while keeping daily math periods at 90 minutes along with small group instruction. The extended after school program now targets 160 students in grades 2 to 580 in the fall, and 80 in the springfor one hour twice a week.

National Center on Time & Learning 24 School Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02108 www.timeandlearning.org