Dorchester 2 on a mission to change math instruction

Declining scores in math caused concern about all grade levels

Melissa Haneline
The Post and Courier

Toby Bishop works on a computer math program specifically geared to his strengths and weaknesses during differentiated instruction in Caroline McCurry's third-grade class at Newington Elementary School in Summerville.

Melissa Haneline
The Post and Courier

Caroline McCurry uses a small-group approach to teaching math Wednesday at Newington Elementary. Students in the third-grade class are divided according to skill level and rotate through different math workshop stations to allow the teacher to work with smaller groups.

SUMMERVILLE — There's no mistaking math time for play time in Caroline McCurry's third-grade class at Newington Elementary, even though students rotate through computers and card games.

Everyone is practicing their math skills, but the instruction allows lessons to be tailored to each child's level. Instead of introducing dot plotting, modes and ranges to more than 20 students at once, McCurry teaches smaller groups of six to seven at a time. "Some of my brightest students make mistakes, but in small groups, I can catch them and correct them right away rather than assuming they automatically understand," she said.

McCurry's grouping strategy soon could be replicated across Dorchester District 2, where district officials and top teachers are on a math mission. A task force recently has developed a model to guide math instruction in all elementary schools, and another committee of middle and high school teachers soon will design an approach for the upper grades.

The elementary math model will emphasize problem-solving, fact fluency, teaching to the state standards and trying the type of instruction that McCurry and some other teachers already use. Teachers on the task force will pilot the ideas in their classrooms next year, with the goal of extending the approach to all elementary school classrooms by 2009-10, said Jenny Singletary, the district's math interventionist for grades two through five who helped lead the committee.

Dorchester District 2's math passing percentage dropped in grades three through six on the 2007 Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test from the previous year, although scores still remained higher than any other local district as well as the state average. Since 2004, the district's passing percentage has declined by roughly seven points for grades three and four.

The downward trend concerned Superintendent Joe Pye so much that he asked the district's new assistant superintendent for instruction to conduct a comprehensive review of math instruction. Officials decided the district needed a more uniform approach to math, while leaving some room for teacher flexibility. The district designed a similar model for literacy several years ago, and officials have been pleased with those results.

"We spent a long time focusing on language arts, and that's paying off," Pye said. "But math, which was once our bread and butter, is dropping. We have a glaring need there. It's long overdue, and I'm only frustrated that we haven't done this sooner."

Pye also has approved giving the Measures of Academic Progress diagnostic test to kindergarten and first-grade students for the first time next year. The computerized test will provide an early indication of students' skills, and those who are ahead could be sent to a higher grade during math time to further accelerate their progress, Pye said.

He said he also wants to tinker with middle and high school math classes. He wants to see all classes include a warm-up exercise, direct instruction by the teacher and time for working in small groups where students can apply what they've learned. No longer will teachers lecture for 40 minutes and then pass out a worksheet to keep students busy for the remainder of class, Pye said

The district's math leaders hope to purchase more hands-on tools for all grade levels. In high school, that could mean ensuring access to graphing calculators and providing training to teachers so they know how to use the machine, Pye said. Elementary schools could align students' achievement levels with appropriate games that emphasize everything from counting to fractions, Singletary said.

Another aspect of the new math model calls for creating a notebook with lesson plans for students at every level identified by the Measures of Academic Progress test. This would be a valuable resource for teachers who want to reach students at different levels, Singletary said.

Reach Mindy B. Hagen at 937-5433 or mhagen@postandcourier.com.