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NUHS works on analyzing its mathematics curriculum

NEW ULM — New Ulm High School is developing a new process for analyzing where its mathematics curriculum can be improved.

At Thursday’s District 88 School Board study session, the board was given a rundown of where the project is to date. The project began around the beginning of the school year. The first phase is coming to a close.

“The goal is to improve our MCA scores and the district has a goal of 10 percent growth,” said Math Interventionist Lorie Granzke, one of the minds behind the new system.

Granzke is referring to one of three goals that were part of the school board’s action plan. This one focused on student growth in local and state assessments.

The program begins with the standards of teaching mathematics, of which there are 11. Each standard has specific goals, or benchmarks beneath it. There are 71 benchmarks in the mathematics curriculum.

The method is enacted through a series of questionnaires that Granzke has been sending teachers.

Each one examined a benchmark. The goal was to find out which classes teach the benchmark and how heavily it is emphasized.

That data was processed into tables that compare the teachers’ responses to how the district did on the state-issued targeted goals for MCA scores, collected from the Minnesota Department of Education.

Teachers then look at the tables and answer five questions. Did the school meet or exceed the targeted goal for the benchmark? Is it taught to every student? Is there consistent emphasis between teachers? Is it taught in secondary classes and is emphasis consistent?

Answering those questions leads teachers to rate the school’s performance on the benchmark by color depending on how many are answered yes.

Green means fine, yellow means it should be checked, red means there is definitely a problem and then there is black.

The black rating is referred to as a “crash.” It means that every question is answered yes except the school is failing to meet the benchmark’s targeted goals from the state.

Crashes are considered the worst rating because while the school appears to be doing everything right, it is not getting the necessary results.

After rating the benchmarks by color, teachers are required to come up with an action plan for improving them. With a crash, that is going to take extra work.

“I think what it is going to require is going back to this and studying the benchmark,” Granzke said.

The color coding is planned to be done before the end of December. From there action plans will be drawn up. The district will see whether or not it worked on the next MCA scores.

There is already talk of expanding the examination to other subjects, specifically science. Granzke thinks that no matter the subject, her system should have no problem with it.

“Science has standards, science has benchmarks,” Granzke said. “I am thinking it is the same.”

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