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New York City high school students achieve math gains of 11 to 20 percent

Just two years ago, ninth-grade math teacher Edmond Farrell was searching for a better way to help his students at John Adams High School in Queens, N.Y., prepare for high school level math. Last year, his search turned to Math Renaissance, and soon thereafter amazing results started pouring in.

During the 2001–2002 school year, Farrell introduced students in four classes to Math Renaissance, and in just six months he was witness to 11 to 20 percentile point gains in all four classes.

“In the past, the best I could hope for was to reach a few motivated students,” says Farrell. “However, with Math Renaissance it’s possible for me to have every student functioning at the appropriate work level and working at their own pace.”

Also during the six-month period, the STAR Math reports for his classes indicated an astounding average Grade Equivalent gain of 1.5 to 2.3.

The gains in math achievement are even more remarkable considering that John Adams High School is a very ethnically diverse high school, says Farrell, with about 31 percent Hispanic or Latino, 31 percent African-American, 26 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, and 12 percent white.

“John Adams has the most diverse student population of any high school in New York City,” says Farrell. “The major problem I face as a math teacher is in trying to reach students who are unprepared for high school level math. I deal with students at all levels of math ability in terms of knowledge and abilities, and with Accelerated Math I can tailor instruction for each individual student.”

Two key Math Renaissance techniques contributed to the success at John Adams High School, says Farrell: Thirty minutes or more of daily in-class practice time, and a motivating system that included certificates of achievement for every 50 objectives mastered.

Talented youth take on year’s worth of math work in three weeks

Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth’s Accelerated Learning math program provides students, in the course of three weeks, one full year’s worth of math. Students work on a variety of curricula, from algebra to second-semester calculus, requiring the instructor to create individual lessons for each student’s skill level and goal. To address the challenges specific to their math program, WCATY began using Accelerated Math since 2000. According to Corwith, the benefits have been numerous.

Asked what were the keys aspects of Accelerated Math that proved a boon for the WCATY program, Corwith cites three:

1.      “For us, the fact that it does cover all of the different courses ... algebra all the way through calculus, is really helpful.”

2.      “Students like that there are so many problems available. They feel like they’ve really mastered a skill by the time they test on it.”

3.      “[The instructor and students] do like the simplicty of the program—it’s really easy for them to pick up and use.”

Another benefit to the program, says this year’s instructor Dr. Don Reynolds, is that students have the opportunity to take advantage of their ability to understand quickly.  “None of these kids have been able to work at their own rate before.”

That fact is not surprising, considering the caliber of students who attend the program. Most students, says Corwith, “usually have participated in Talent Search, a national testing program, as seventh- or eighth-graders.” In the Talent Search, students take either the SAT or the ACT, and those who score at or above the mean score of graduating high-school seniors receive information about WCATY.

Four years ago, eighth-grade math teacher Cornelius Lopez and the other three math teachers at McMurray Middle School felt as if something was missing from their curriculum, so they went out in search of a solution. The solution they came up with was Accelerated Math and STAR Math.

“The math teachers here were looking for something that would close the gaps, and for something that would personalize instruction for students at all levels,” says Lopez. “Well, we found what we were looking for with Accelerated Math.”

In Lopez’s math class, he requires all of his students to work on objectives in the basic Accelerated Math library throughout the school year. It is a requirement for all of his eighth-grade students, whether advanced or not, to complete 150 math objectives. The students are allowed to complete the 150 objectives on their own, and at their own pace.

“At the end of the year, my students take a high school math placement test, and the basic math library is a perfect review of all the math skills they need to have in order to do well on their placement test, and get into the high school class they want,” Lopez says.

“Accelerated Math is closing the gaps that need to be closed in order for the students to have the math practice they should have when they’re in high school.”

Lopez says that with Accelerated Math, the students actually spend more time doing math then they normally would—during study hall, after school, and at home—and they don’t seem to mind putting in the extra time.

“A lot of kids are really, really into Accelerated Math, and are flourishing with it,” says Lopez, who has been teaching for 39 years. “They welcome the challenge, and love to spend time on the objectives.”

One of the biggest advantages of Accelerated Math, Lopez says, is that it continually challenges his advanced students.

“We have good students here at McMurray Middle School, and the students’ test scores are usually higher then the state average, even substantially higher in many cases,” says Lopez. “The great thing about Accelerated Math is that the students are always challenged; once they master an objective, they can move forward at their own pace.”

Accelerated Math is also perfect, he says, when dealing with a wide range of ability levels simultaneously. Last year, Lopez taught a two-hour summer school math class, working with students that had failed, or had done very poorly during the previous school year. The summer school class was made up of students in grades six through eleven, he was using Accelerated Math libraries ranging from fifth grade through Algebra I. According to Lopez,

“Accelerated Math was the one thing that made it possible to run the summer school class,” because he was dealing with students on so many different levels. He says it would have been impossible to run the class with “traditional materials.”

“Accelerated Math was wonderful for my summer school class, as we could accommodate all of the students from the various grades who were on different levels,” says Lopez. “We didn’t use anything but Accelerated Math, and it worked out great, because it allowed us to move around the classroom to help the students that needed it most.”

Bob Yates, fifth-grade teacher at Lakeview Elementary School in St. Cloud, Fla., has completed 30 years in elementary education, and he believes that “Accelerated Math is the finest program available.”

“I truly believe the Accelerated Math program is the best in the land,” says Yates. “I raised 155 fifth-graders’ scores dramatically last year, and the only program I used was Accelerated Math. No text, no timed drills—no sweat. And the kids love it; their enthusiasm is overwhelming.”

Last year’s test scores, says Yates, were the second highest in the county (out of 14 schools). According to one of Yates’ fifth-grade students, Jennifer Scott, Accelerated Math gives her and her fellow students the practice they need to achieve success.

“I like Accelerated Math because the practice gets you ready for tests,” says Scott. “When you’re working on a test, Accelerated Math challenges you to make it to the next level. It’s really fun to do Accelerated Math, because it encourages students to do better. Mr. Yates always helps us on the questions we miss and shows us what we did wrong. I love math this year.”

Yates says he often talks to other teachers, as well as principals, about the advantage of using Accelerated Math, but he says the ones who benefit from Accelerated Math most, and the students.

“To truly get a good idea of how well Accelerated Math works, you have to talk with the students’ themselves— they love it,” says Yates. “I personally know of at least 250 children who have completely turned around their view of math because of it.”

Not only has Yates communicated with other teachers and principals about Accelerated Math, he even wrote a letter to President Bush and his brother Jeb Bush, current governor of Florida, to sing the praises of Accelerated Math.

"I’m still waiting for President Bush and his brother Jeb to come visit my math lab,” says Yates. “I wrote them two years ago and they replied that they would be in touch.”

The Blue Streak Academy is an Alternative Education Program for students in grades 9–12 at Harrisonburg High School in Harrisonburg, Va. Math teacher Linda Burner and special education teacher Elizabeth Sarco teach math in the at-risk program, which currently has about 150 enrolled students. As part of the program, Burner and Sarco cover anything from basic math and pre-algebra to algebra I, algebra II and geometry.

As part of the class instruction, Burner and Sarco use Accelerated Math, which allows them to tailor instruction for each individual student, regardless of what level they’re at.

“Many of the students we’re teaching have had to either withdraw from, or have failed classes in regular classroom settings once, or even twice before coming to us,” Burner says. “Accelerated Math has made it much easier for these students to understand the material and to receive credits for the courses. Some of the students are actually enjoying math class for the first time in their lives.

“We have students who are at different levels and in different math courses in the classroom at any one time,” Burner continues. “After trying different approaches to meet the needs of our students, we found the Accelerated Math program to be the solution.”

Burner says Accelerated Math allows her and Sarco to concentrate efforts on working with students on an individual basis, not having to worry about the tedious task of grading assignments.

 “With Accelerated Math, the students get personalized attention and are able to work at their own pace,” says Burner. “They enjoy the instant feedback from the program, which lets them find out on their own where they’re having problems. They can then receive help immediately when they need it.”

After years of trying to teach math to students at the same level, Marilyn Quinn says, “I was burned out.”

But Quinn found new enthusiasm for teaching with Math Renaissance, which allows her to easily adapt her instruction to the needs of each of her students.

Quinn and her colleague, Linda Day, both fifth-grade teachers at Central School in Holton, Kan., began implementing Math Renaissance in their classrooms in March of 2000. Now in the second full year of the program’s implementation, Quinn says she sees a tremendous difference in her classroom, with students improving their math skills by three grade levels during the course of the 2001-02 academic year. Quinn has discovered that all of her students love Math Renaissance—advanced students stay engaged, and students at lower levels no longer feel discouraged.

The difference is striking for Quinn, as well. “In thirty-six years of teaching,” states Marilyn Quinn, “this is the first time that I have had fifth-grade students who can do square roots.”

As part of their implementation of Math Renaissance, both Quinn and Day made their first trip to Renaissance Learning’s Annual Conference, held this year in San Antonio. According to Quinn, the enthusiasm at the conference was contagious.

“The best part of the conference were the classes where we talked with other teachers,” she says.

Behind a tall fence topped with razor wire, teenage boys convicted of violent crimes attend classes at Maple Lane High School, an incarcerated youth facility in Rochester, Wash. Within their troubled world, Accelerated Math is something that gives these young men a sense of accomplishment every day.

Even though enrollment is about 300 students at any given time, nearly 900 students move through the high school in a single year—a definite teaching challenge.

“This is the third full year I have used Accelerated Math and I absolutely love it,” says math teacher Jeff Blain. “It’s my core curriculum.”

Although he may only have seven students in a class, chances are each one is at a different level. “I can teach all seven math libraries at the same time and still address the individual needs of each student,” he says. While students work independently Blain moves around the room and does a 5- to 10-minute Power Lesson with each student. 

“Accelerated Math allows me to do more interactive teaching than I ever did before,” he comments.

Students move in and out of the high school quickly, which sometimes makes it hard to judge progress. The starting average math level is about a 3.5 grade equivalent, but with Accelerated Math, says Blain, students can progress very quickly.

“If I have students for three months, they usually improve an entire grade level,” says Blain. “That’s about 150 objectives in three months.”

The school recently purchased learning cards for the first-grade through pre-algebra math libraries. “When my students see their TOPS reports and which objectives need work, they find the matching learning card and pull off an example to study,” he says.

Blain is also pleased with how Accelerated Math greatly reduces bookkeeping and grading time.

“In our setting here, with kids moving between lock-up and open campus, we never lose track of where they are in their math studies,” Blain indicates. “Because Accelerated Math is campus-wide, any teacher can access their record and start them exactly where they left off before.”

AM gets big results in Sky Country

A few years ago, everyone at Blue Creek Elementary School in Billings, Montana was puzzled. Everything was in place for the students to do well on the state assessments. They were scoring well in reading. But no one could figure out why the students were scoring so low in math—just the 56th percentile proficient on the 2000 Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS).

Administrators had heard about Accelerated Math and figured it was worth a try. The software was implemented at the school for grades three through six that summer, and everyone participated in a one-day professional development session. When school started, everyone was up and running with Accelerated Math.

At the end of the year, when the state test scores came out, it was clear they’d found the missing element in their math curriculum. Scores skyrocketed to the 85th percentile—and have remained there since. In 2004, Blue Creek Elementary had the highest math test scores in the entire state for their age group. The results led school administrators to believe the students were capable but hadn’t been motivated until Accelerated Math entered the picture.

“Students who have been exposed to Accelerated Math for several years end up with huge gains. The longer they are here and the more they are exposed to it, the faster they advance,” said Juli McNeil, a Math Master Classroom Certified fifth grade teacher. “For the third graders, just the scanning and the newness of the program is motivating. But once they get to my classroom, I have to change things up to keep it fresh,” she said. “Having goals and motivators is really what helps our kids succeed and keep moving.”

• Let students take charge of their own goals. “To finish the fifth grade Accelerated Math library by the end of the year they must finish five objectives a week. The typical goal would be only 45 objectives per quarter. Most of the kids I meet with want to reach for 60. I have one student this year who has set a goal of 100 objectives. And I know he’ll reach it—I wouldn’t let him set that goal if I knew he couldn’t do it.“
  
  
• Incorporate fun. “When students score 85% or higher on both their exercises and tests on Double Scan Days, they get to put their name on the board. At the end of math time, we celebrate with a class cheer, a pencil, or sometimes I’ll just run up to them and give them a high five. Another thing I do to motivated them is have the students work together in Mystery Teams where they work with an unknown partner to achieve their objectives. I also have done Wacky Pen Wednesday, where they can use a fun pen to do their math.”
  
  
• Involve the parents. At the beginning of a new quarter McNeil asks the parents to think of something special to reward their children with if they reach their goals at the end of the quarter, such as a special dinner and movie night with just mom and dad. Then the parents write a letter, put it in a decorated envelope, and McNeil hangs them above the students’ desks. “You wouldn’t believe how hard they work! When they achieve the goal they take the envelopes down and open them. A lot of kids smile—some even cry—because they’re just so proud of what they’ve done, and they know it means a lot to their parents too.”
• “They get excited to do math,” McNeil said. “I have kids who will try to do Accelerated Math exercises during other times of the day. Some want to do math at recess. I assign the exercises as homework twice a week, but there are some kids who want to take it home every night.”
  

Successful tutoring program features Accelerated Math as a key ingredient

An army of Arizona retirees, backed by Accelerated Math, a computer-based progress-monitoring tool, has boosted sagging math scores, elevated students’ algebraic understanding, and altered the culture of learning at several schools.

The math revolution started in 1998 when Dr. Robert Springer, a retired researcher, began as a volunteer tutor to algebra II in high school to at-risk students, where he quickly learned many other students needed assistance.

“It did not take long to realize that all around me the rest of the school was drowning. Half the students were getting Ds and Fs. I tripped into a huge need. There were hundreds and hundreds of kids failing math,” Springer said of the high school students from San Manuel, Mammoth, Oracle, and Catalina, located not far from Tucson.

Known today as Project Catapult, the 20-person volunteer tutoring squad Springer started in 1998 has ballooned into more than 100. Scores of these tutors visit three high schools, four middle schools, and three elementary schools about 20 miles from Tucson.

Springer’s volunteer team took a giant leap forward once he added Accelerated Math into the equation. “Accelerated Math was the tool that allowed us to expand our tutoring,” Springer explained.

The tutoring is done during the regular math class, but in some schools there is a special class created for those who need serious help to pass Arizona’s mandated state exam, Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS).

Springer, who has received a number of awards for his work, including a 2004 Presidential Point of Light Award and a 2005 National Spirit of Service Award, said using Accelerated Math is superior to teaching without it. With its array of informative reports, Accelerated Math helps educators identify each pupil’s potential and weakness.

“Accelerated Math is like a high-powered microscope that sees what is often overlooked through standard instruction. It lets you zoom in to see exactly what a student does and does not understand,” Springer said.

Use of Accelerated Math allows Project Catapult volunteers to be far more effective in pinpointing exactly what each student’s needs are without having to evaluate each student manually. Thus, more students are reached, providing quality tutoring to a large quantity of students.

“Before Accelerated Math, we had to walk around the room asking kids if they need help. But things change when I can look at the data from the reports to tell me what the student is struggling with,” Springer said. “Accelerated Math gives us the tools necessary to provide individualized attention to each student.”

Springer says that while Accelerated Math is an extremely effective tool, it’s all the more powerful when used with tutors. He recommends schools bring in tutors to help manage Accelerated Math, thus pushing learning potential to the max.

“We are not just using Accelerated Math,” he said. “We are using a system where the tutor and the computer tool are inseparable.”

Springer points out that the tutoring and Accelerated Math combination has helped failing students pass the AIMS exam, which is the key to advancing to the next grade, or for high school.

Renaissance Professional Development 'turnabout moment' for educator

When first-grade teacher Anita Rodriguez heard her principal say the school would begin using Accelerated Math in December 2005, she was initially concerned. The school had been successfully using Accelerated Reader for years, and Rodriguez easily incorporated the software into her reading curriculum. She had even accomplished Reading Master Classroom Certification. But she was hesitant to try Accelerated Math with her first graders.

“I can tell you I was upset when I was asked to do Accelerated Math because I didn’t think young students could handle it,” Rodriguez, who teaches at LaPlace Elementary School, in LaPlace, Louisiana, recalled.

But she didn’t stay upset for long—she went from being reluctant about using Accelerated Math to becoming a Certified Math Master Classroom educator just five months later. She credits her turnaround to attending the 2006 Renaissance National Conference in Nashville.

“Attending the National Conference was the turnaround moment for me with the Accelerated Math experience,” she said. “I learned a lot at the conference, and was excited to get back to start the program.” 

National Conference is just one of the many options Renaissance Learning offers for educators looking to better implement both Accelerated Math and Accelerated Reader. This year, two Regional Symposiums will take the place of the conference, until it returns again in 2008. A full listing of all options—from onsite to Webinars—is available by visiting http://www.renlearn.com/profdevel/PD/.

Rodriguez quickly found that Accelerated Math could be used with first graders quite easily. “As I shared ideas with other first grade teachers and heard the presenters talk, I gained a better understanding of how Accelerated Math enables me to address every students’ needs. I also learned different ways to help first graders use it successfully,” she said.

For instance, Rodriguez learned that using an envelope cut at both ends helps the students keep track of the line as they fill in the bubbles on their scan cards. She tried it in her classroom, and was pleased to find how well it worked, even with her struggling students.

Natalie* had repeated kindergarten twice, and she was struggling in math and reading in her first grade year as well. Rodriguez had worked with her using many different tactics, but nothing seemed to work—except Accelerated Math.

Soon, Natalie’s self-confidence began to grow. “Her math ability not only increased, but she also became a better reader because of the practice involved in Accelerated Math,” Rodriguez said.
She was so excited by her students’ success, she began to pursue the goal of Math Master Classroom Certification. “The professional development played a big role in helping me achieve Math Master Classroom Certification because I was able to implement the program with less difficulty and less stress on both the students and myself,” she said. “With good ideas and a great plan, we all were able to enjoy the success of Accelerated Math.”

*Name changed for student privacy

Blue ribbon school principal shares secrets of success

Getting a school to turn around from “underperforming” to “exemplary” is a difficult process, but not impossible—and Woodland Heights Elementary School is a perfect example, earning them a 2005 U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School Award.

Prior to Principal Bob Turner’s arrival in 2002, Woodland Heights, a Title I, Pre-K–3 school in Brownwood, Texas, had historically been underperforming. A longtime fan of AR and the Renaissance Best Classroom Practices he’d learned earlier in his career, one of Turner’s first priorities was to bring that same professional development to his new school to help the staff learn to fully implement their AR software. That October, the staff completed professional development, and the following year, the school marked the first of three straight years that Woodland has earned an “exemplary” rating on their state test.

He attributes much of the school’s turnaround success to the implementation of what was learned through Renaissance professional development. “I think it is the biggest single factor in our school success,” Turner says. “You need the training to maximize the use of the Accelerated Reader software and all the tools available.”

Through professional development, they learned that students would achieve the greatest growth when 60 minutes of reading practice each day was implemented, which they have maintained. “When our kids get this much reading practice, both reading and math scores will benefit,” Turner says.

This philosophy has proven true at Woodland Heights. The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) has particularly high standards for third graders, requiring a passing score in both reading and math to be promoted to fourth grade. Last year, on the reading test, all of the students passed, with 55% of students scoring a 95% or above. On the math test, 99% of the students passed, with 53% achieving commended status.

The school has also been named 2005 Texas Business and Education Coalition Just for Kids Honor Roll School, and 2006 Title I Distinguished Performance School.

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