Math curriculum raises math success significantly

A few years ago, the Milford school district revised our math curriculum to meet new standards.  Dr. Jill Chin shared an overview of the program and the results our students are achieving with this new curriculum.  If you would like to review the entire Power Point presented by Dr. Chin, please click here: Math Program Update Feb. 20, 2014.

There are six major shifts in the new standards, and our curriculum addresses them all:

1. Focus:  Concepts are narrowed and deepened, so students learn more deeply instead of broadly, as with past standards.
2. Coherence:  Learning is connected within and across grades so students build new understanding onto foundations built in previous years.
3. Fluency:  Students are expected to have speed and accuracy with simple calculations.
4. Deep understanding:  Students deeply understand and can operate easily within a math concept.
5. Application:  Students are expected to use math and choose the appropriate concept for application even when they are not prompted to do so.
6. Dual intensity:  Students are practicing and understanding.  Both occur with intensity.

To reach these standards, the math curriculum committee chose Math Investigations for grades K-5 and Digits for grades 6-8.  For junior high and high school math, different tiers from intervention to cohorts that are two grades ahead meet the needs of all students.

The results are showing the success of these new programs at all levels:

Achievement Results K-5

Advanced and Accelerated
Year                        3^rd Grade            4^th Grade            5^th Grade
2008                         52.7%                        53.2%                        48.5%
2013                        55.7%                        67.8%                        67.2%

Basic and Limited
Year                        3^rd Grade            4^th Grade            5^th Grade
2008                        9.9%                        11.1%                        24.3%
2013                        9.9%                        7.1%                        11.2%

Achievement Results, Grades 6-8

Advanced and Accelerated
Year                        6th Grade            7th Grade            8^th Grade
2011                         77.6%                        47.3%                        44.8%
2013                        79.2%                        53.7%                        56.9%

Basic and Limited
Year                        6^th Grade            7th Grade            8th Grade
2011                        7.8%                        11.3%                        13.8%
2013                        4.8%                        14.6%                        10.2%

High School Achievement Results

OGT 2013
Advanced and Accelerated    74.3%
Basic and Limited    9.5%

AP Calculus 2013
Average Score 3.4777
26 of 44 students earned a 4 or 5

Dr. Chin’s Power Point provides much more detail on all this information and our math programs:  Math Program Update Feb. 20, 2014