Some math teachers say the district's focus is on hard numbers such as test scores and head counts when it should be on the beauty in numbers.
Ann Sobrato High School math teacher Zann Yates said she suspects students are pushed into math courses they're not yet ready for, and the proof is in the Standardized Testing and Reporting, or STAR, results released Aug. 14.
Yates said students are losing interest in math. There are too many subjects covered, so they have to skim the surface of math concepts when the focus on understanding math is lost.
Morgan Hill students' proficient or advanced scores - the two categories that count as annual yearly progress by state and national standards - fell four points since last year, from 37 to 33 percent, and algebra I's scores were a major contributor to the lower number. Students taking algebra I scored 21 percent this year, compared to last year's 34 percent, a 13 point drop.
Esther Corral-Carlson, the district's assessment director, said she'd rather talk about the number of students passing than the percentages. With more students taking algebra I in middle school, thanks to Superintendent Alan Nishino's mandate two years ago that eighth-graders take the course, there are more students taking and passing, Corral-Carlson said.
"Just from percentages, it does look like things are going down," she said. But, she pointed out that of the 74 seventh-graders tested in algebra I last year, 61 of them, or 82 percent, were proficient. In 2008, almost double that number, 136 seventh-graders, were tested in algebra I, and 80 were proficient or better, or 59 percent. So while the percent decreased, the number of students scoring proficient or better jumped by 19 students, Corral-Carlson said.
In July, the California Board of Education voted to require algebra testing in eighth grade starting in 2011, thereby mandating algebra as a required course.
"Whenever you are expanding access, you have more kids participating, and the count went up in terms of the kids who are now prepared," she said.
Forty one seventh-graders scored in the basic range. Corral-Carlson said she's confident that these children weren't far from scoring proficient.
"With just a little bit more focus and structure in eighth grade, these students could still go into high school geometry," she said.
Corral-Carlson said the district knows that transitioning from a particular program takes time.
"We know it can't happen overnight," she said. "Over time, there will be more kids enrolled and reaching proficiency - that count is going up."
Yates said she agrees that in time scores will improve and more students will have passed algebra.
"I feel sorry for those students who are swept up in the middle of (the change)," she said. "I just hope this all works. It's got to be for the kids, not just the test scores."
Yates said it's not just a numbers game - you can't shove all the kids in the same class just to push out higher numbers of proficient students. Yates said she has students who are taking algebra I for the third time.
"They feel like complete and utter failures," she said. "I believe they were pushed into the class too early. Now, they feel like they can't do it. I'm glad we opened the doors, I don't want to keep kids out. But they need a good foundation of math in order to get into algebra."
Yates said it's not just district officials who are eager to amp up the middle school algebra numbers. It's the parents, too.
"There's a prestige in being in algebra. But there's a standards class that's rich and important for kids to know," Yates said, referring to the general middle school math class. "We've always had seventh graders who did exceedingly well in algebra - when they were ready."
Yates said even if the numbers improve, students might be turned off of math once they get through the numbers system.
"They never have a chance to see the beauty in math, because we're just skimming the surface," Yates said.
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett covers education and city issues for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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