The Calculus Project: Re-envisioning the Brilliance of ... · In June 2014, Brookline Public Schools graduated the first cohort of students from their Calculus Project program. The

The Calculus Project: Re-envisioning the Brilliance of Black and Latino Students in Mathematics

Dr. Adrian B. Mims Sr.

05/04/2019 Cambridge Education | The Calculus Project 2

10th Grade Report Card Present 179 out of 180 days

1 2 Exam

Semester

3 4 Exam

Semester

FINAL

English III C B D C B C F C C

Algebra II B B F C B B F C C

Biology 431

C D D C B B C B C

Spanish II B B D C C C D C C


Dr. Koffi Fadimba


Here was the challenge at Brookline High School

• Black students comprised approximately 12 percent of the student body, but less than .05 percent in AP Calculus in 1993 (The lowest participation rate of any race)

• On average 60 to 70 percent of Black students withdrew from Geometry Honors freshman year and enrolled in Geometry Standard after the second quarter (The highest withdrawal rate of any race).

• As graduating classes matriculated, through attrition, almost no black students enrolled in AP Calculus


Investigate

• Interviewed Black students who withdrew from Geometry Honors

• Interviewed Black students who remained in Geometry Honors

• Analyzed student performance data for all races


Findings

The achievement gap in Brookline Public Schools is a manufactured crisis!


Technical Challenges Adaptive Challenges

Sequence of courses Students’ perceptions/assumptions of themselves, peers, and teachers

Grade Inflation Teachers’ perceptions/assumptions of themselves, students, and parents

Course recommendations Parents’ perceptions of themselves, teachers and their children

Root causes of the manufactured crisis

TCP is a grassroots-style LEADERSHIPinitiative to dramatically increase the number of students of color and low-income students who complete AP Calculus in high school.

TCP is research-supported and defined by its comprehensiveness, its very high expectations, its cultural sensitivity, and its commitment to sustainability. Calculus Project programs culminate in middle schools and expand to high schools over a five-year period.


What is The Calculus Project (TCP)?


• Summer Academy• The Academic Center• The Pride Curriculum • Peer Teaching• Grouping Strategy

What are the primary components of TCP?

Component Researcher/researchThe Summer Academy: Teachers pre-teach the high-level math course students will take in the fall. Additionally, teachers help students improve their note-taking and organizational skills. Students learn to work collaboratively with their peers and develop team strategies to improve their performance on assessments. Further, students learn how math is applied in careers by participating in coordinated field trips.

Based on Uri Treisman’s work at the University of California Berkeley to improve the performance of Black freshmen in an Introductory Calculus course.


Component Researcher/researchThe Academic Center:Teachers re-teach and tutor students in math after school during the school year, providing content knowledge, developing problem-solving skills, and building confidence to succeed in high-level math classes. Small cohort study groups are developed in the academic center with the goal that the school-based study groups become independent study groups in the community over time.



Component Researcher/researchThe Grouping Strategy:Calculus Project students take the same math sections during the school year so they can support one another and hone their collaboration skills learned during the summer.

Based on Uri Treisman’s work at the University of California Berkeley to improve the performance of Black freshmen in an Introductory Calculus course. Signithia Foredham’s theory on Racelessness.

The Pride Curriculum:Students learn about the historical accomplishments of STEM professionals of color, and meet successful STEM professionals of color – at school and in the community.

Based on Claude Steele’s research on Stereotype Threat, Carol Dweck’sresearch on growth mindset and Geneva Gay’s work on culturally responsive teaching.


Component Researcher/researchPeer Teaching:Calculus Project 11th and 12th graders who exhibit scholarly excellence in honors and advanced level mathematics courses have the opportunity to participate in the peer teaching training program upon completing their sophomore year. Students who enroll in the program learn how to support the summer academy teachers through paid internships. The comprehensive training also prepares the students to enter the teaching profession.



Nationwide, 48% of high schools offer calculus. Moreover, 33% of high schools with high black and Latino student enrollment offer calculus, compared to 56% of high schools with low black and Latino student enrollment.Office of Civil Rights

Success in higher-level school mathematics courses is strongly associated with college enrollment and attainment of an undergraduate degree. Completion of calculus in high school is the strongest predictor of college completion. Adelman, 1999, 2006; Harrell & Forney, 2003; Horn & Nunez, 2000

High school math achievement and math self-efficacy strongly predict intent and entry into STEM majors. Wang, 2012

It’s well-documented that the United States needs a strong science and technology work force to maintain global leadership and competitiveness. The minds and talents of underrepresented minorities are a great, untapped resource that the nation can no longer afford to squander. Improving STEM education of our diverse citizenry will strengthen the science and engineering work force and boost the US economy.Dr. Freeman Hrabowski IIIPresident of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County

On average, students lose about 2.6 months’ worth of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills during their summer break.online college.org

Why do we need TCP?


What are the benefits?

• Well-prepared students who achieve in honors and AP-level math courses

• Increased engagement and enrollment in higher-level math for students, including underrepresented groups

• Better performance on state assessments, PSAT, SAT and ACT

• Improved parental involvement• Enhanced teaching capacity and teacher satisfaction• Greater numbers of students assuming leadership/peer-tutoring roles• Partnerships with external stakeholders to support the program and

STEM education in general


Student Academic and Social Support Model


Adaptive Change Model to Close the Achievement Gap


TCP Sustainability


79.3

90.7

77.2

88.2

70

75

80

85

90

95

7th grade 1st quarter 8th grade 1st quarter 7th grade 2nd quarter 8th grade 2nd quarter

Salemwood Middle School: Malden, MAGrowth Comparison from 7th grade pre-algebra to 8th grade algebra

TCP data for Salemwood Middle School


8th Grade TCP Students Salemwood Middle School (SMS)

9th Grade StudentsMalden High School (MHS)

81 percent of SMS students scored higher than 70 percent on the midterm exam.

28 percent of MHS students scored higher than 70 percent on the midterm exam.

96 percent of SMS students passed themidterm.

57 percent of MHS students passed the midterm.

* The 8th grade TCP student average for the midterm algebra exam was 81 percent.

Malden midterm algebra exam results


8th Grade TCP StudentsSalemwood Middle School (SMS)

9th Grade Students Malden High School (MHS)

55 percent of SMS students scored higher than 80 percent on the final exam.

38 percent of MHS students scored higher than 80 percent on the final exam.

85 percent of SMS students passed the final exam

82 percent of MHS students passed the final exam

* The 8th grade TCP student average for the final algebra exam was 78 percent.

Malden final algebra exam results


05/04/2019 Mott MacDonald | Presentation title 22

“Data from our first year with TCP is most encouraging. It is our belief that TCP has the capacity to connect the academic and cultural pieces that will ultimately result in a transformative experience for students and teachers alike.”--David DeRuosi Jr., Ed.D., Former Superintendent of Malden Public Schools

7th Grade Students 8th Grade Students

18.9% of OCPS students passed the Algebra EOC exam

26.8% of OCPS students passed the Algebra EOC exam

* OCPS led all Florida school districts with the highest Algebra 1 EOC pass rate of 45.7% for 7th and 8th grades. --Orlando Sentinel

Orange County Public School Algebra 1 EOC Spring 2017



“I’m getting good grades in math, but since I’m doing ninth grade stuff, and I’m in seventh grade, I was like, ‘wow”’

--Makeda Mahoney, Calculus Project Student in Orlando (Orlando Sentinel)

”There is a perception it can’t happen here.”

--Robin Brown, Meadowbrook Middle School Principal

In June 2014, Brookline Public Schools graduated the first cohort of students from their Calculus Project program. The success is extraordinary:

Nearly 75% of students enrolled and succeeded in Calculus Honors or AP Calculus.

Average math SAT score for the first cohort was 587 – 10% higher than the national average for math that year.

100% of the students are now in college; many are majoring in STEM disciplines.

Brookline High School


TCP Course Roadmap in Brookline, Massachusetts






(access + opportunity)a + (educators)b + (parents)c + (students)d + curriculum(math + pride) – bias policies – bias practices = Successful mathematicians of color

Each variable: a, b, c and d is > 0.

The Mims Equation for

closing the achievement gap in mathematics


Efforts to make students of color comfortable in schools will make some educators uncomfortable.

One Major Lesson I’ve Learned Over The Past Ten Years

My questions for you to ponder are:

1. Should we prioritize making educators comfortable in schools or students?

2. Since the achievement gap is politically incorrect, is it possible to solve a politically incorrect problem with a politically correct solution?

3. How can education researchers work more effectively with superintendents, principals, teachers, students and parents to make data-informed decisions?


“On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right?

There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Thank you For more information, please contact:

Dr. Adrian B. Mims, [email protected] 781.636.4073M 617.594.4851

Documents

The Calculus Project: Re-envisioning the Brilliance of ... · In June 2014, Brookline Public Schools graduated the first cohort of students from their Calculus Project program. The