I just had a math vertical team meeting today. Every time we talk it we always seem to bang heads on one specific topic: tracked math classes. Many math people on our staff feel that we should teach math differently than our other classes and track them. They think we should have a separate algebra class and geometry class for some kids and then have regular math classes. Our principal feels that this is not the direction to go in since he believes that we can reach all learners within a differentiated classroom. It seems like we keep coming across this because faculty believe the only way to service students who need a "harder" math class is by pulling them out.
To me, this goes against middle level philosophy. I do not recall reading (or listening) about tracked math classes in our exemplary middle schools project. Am I forgetting any? Anyway, I was just wondering what your schools do for math and how successful you feel it is - keeping in mind what our principal keeps coming back to: you may feel that you are meeting the needs of the higher end students but you are making the struggling math students feel inferior.
As a little extra background info for you last year the 5th grade started tracking their math classes (without discussing this with us which I believe is an issue since we do not run our math program that way). This year, I have students who are surprised that they are doing so well in math since last year they were in the "low" or "dumb" math class. I also have students whose parents are absolutely irate to think that their child will not have a pull out math class with the one gifted and talented teacher we have for our whole school. Anyway, your thoughts and some ways that you feel math works for your kids is greatly appreciated!
We have struggled with the same issue. This year is actually our first year with an Algebra class for 8th graders. There are 12 students who go to that class instead of going to math with their team. I pushed for having Algebra in 8th grade based on how our high school schedules math. Without completing Algebra 1 before entering high school, it is very unlikely that a student would be able to take an AP math class in high school. This to me seemed to be a disservice to our top students. On the other side, I have seen some students acting superior because they are in this class. Since they do return to their class for every other period of the day, we are able to remind them of the importance of heterogeneously grouping. Personally, I took Algebra as an 8th grader and had more options in high school because of it. As a teacher, I have mixed emotions because it does go against the middle school philosophy. I am anxious to talk with people at MAMLE about how other schools structure their math program.
ReplyDeleteWow! Lee it is always so nice to know that we all have such similar conversations going on at our schools. We did an exercise a month ago or so and the same topic came up in regards to math specifically. I taught one year of math at the 8th grade level a few years ago and it just happened to be the last year we had NO Algebra 1 class in our middle school. We now have two Algebra 1 classes offered to 8th graders. They are chosen based on a test taken at the end of 7th grade. The test is only given to kids who score a certain something on standardized tests given throughout the year. Then, the pick the top 40 kids (give or take, I don't know exactly but that's the gist). I have SOO many problems with this part of it for obvious "excluding anyone who doesn't test really well" and "where is this totally arbitrary cutoff" reasons. I also have the other major problems with tracking:
ReplyDelete1st: As a former math teacher, at the 8th grade level, I had all students in my classes. I often differentiated in the class and had a group in the class working more in depth on concepts and sometimes going ahead while I had other students revisiting basic concepts. But sometimes, we did projects and were all together. I firmly believe that I challenged all of my students and I had some very bright kids; kids who were way better at math than I will ever be! But, it can get done.
2nd: At our High School, kids can take Algebra 1 their first year and still make it to calculus. It does mean they will have to double up in some places and they may have to make a decision between an extra and math at some point but, it can work. Like SBR, I would love to take a true polling of what colleges would rather, a student who comes to college with a solid foundation in math skills or a student who takes high school calculus and barely makes it through ultimately having to retake it in college anyway. Sure there are kids who get a 4 or 5 on the AP tests in calculus but again, I would love to get statistics from our high school or others to see how many kids are really in this group and how many kids still pass this who do not receive Algebra 1 in 8th grade. I think this would be a great place to start in this whole discussion with schools.
3rd: My district, as do many, does Everyday Math k-5. Does Everyday Math track or allow for tracking or differentiation? I think this is an interesting topic as Everyday Math and it's 7-8 grade counterparts are all over and are touted as the best thing to happen to math education ever! Just a thought . . .
4th: Last but not least, tracking in one subject, in most teaming configurations is not possible. Our 8th grade sort of works becasue kids from all teams are pulled into two classes. But, think about our "high achievers" in math. They are most often our high acivers in every other subject. So if they are all in one class on a team for math, there are three (or two or one depending) other classes going on without any of those "high achievers". On a two person team like mine, one person is teaching math while the other teaches science. So it is an impossibility to track the math class and not track the science class. If you're talking about a four person team where everyone teaches one subject, tracking four different groups means the same thing. The only way that would work is if every class was tracked. Unless team structures were changed, say everyone teaches math at the same time, it just doesn't work.
Whoa! So sorry that I went off like that. Touchy subject . . . I hope I didn't offend because I definitely didn't mean to! Very interesting issue though!
Math is almost always the sticking point...and thanks for the excellent discussion about it here. We talked about how even in Mark Springer's Soundings Program, math was a separate pull-out, albeit, taught by both teachers. That was a community requirement and frankly easier to "give" on that so they could do the rest of the curriculum in an integrative fashion.
ReplyDeleteSarah mentions de facto tracking when you track on subject and that automatically tracks the rest of the day...or you group as S suggested and that causes the groups to be unbalanced.
Part of the problem is the difference between teaching Algebra I and teaching algebra...the course versus the concepts of algebra. I like the way that S talked about teaching a heterogeneous math class at 8th grade. It can work well. But, there is a mystique about math that many people think/believe that it must be taught separately.