K-16 Mathematics Alignment

The K-16 Mathematics and Science Alignment Project was funded initially by a generous grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, with work completed under the National Science Foundation’s Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) grant. The Alignment work was designed to address the low level of student readiness for college-level mathematics and science. One of the factors contributing to the problem was that there was little consensus about what should be taught in key math and science high school courses; what should be expected of students successfully completing a course of study, such as Algebra I or Chemistry; and how to validly and reliably assess what students know and are able to do in relation to course standards.

This resulted in teachers, who taught the same course, teaching different topics at varying levels of depth. While virtually all educators acknowledge the usefulness of content standards, there remained a need to create coherent and aligned math/science frameworks that defined more specifically the knowledge and competencies students should acquire, and that guided instruction and assessment.

Goals

The goals established for the Mathematics and Science Alignment initiative were to:

• Fully align high school college-preparatory math and science courses, including Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, Chemistry and Physics to meet state and national standards, as well as college/university expectations and assessments;
• Fully align preK-8 math and science curricula with newly redesigned high school courses to develop a seamlessly aligned math/science teaching and learning program, K-16;
• Ensure that the frameworks provide clear descriptions of the range of expected knowledge and performance levels for students, and assist teachers in understanding the level at which students should know varying concepts, from procedural to conceptual knowledge; 
• Develop a valid and reliable Algebra II End of Course examination to facilitate assessment of student readiness for college-level mathematics;
• Integrate preK-16 alignment with postsecondary educators, including math/science teacher educators in both the Colleges of Science and Education;
• Introduce policy recommendations for local and state action to improve placement in and success of students in college-level mathematics and science courses;
• Disseminate widely the Collaborative’s K-16 Mathematics and Science Alignment process.

Results

As a result of the Collaborative’s K-16 Mathematics and Science Alignment work, the following was achieved:

• Curriculum Frameworks for all secondary mathematics and science courses, including Algebra I and II, Geometry, Pre-calculus, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, were completed and widely disseminated.
• K-8 Curriculum Frameworks in mathematics and science for each K-8 grade were completed and widely disseminated.
• The Collaborative’s Mathematics and Science Curriculum Frameworks were used as the basis for curriculum and instruction scope and sequence documents across area districts.
• Two versions of the Collaborative’s Algebra II End of Course (EOC) examination were developed, validated, piloted and finalized. The examination has been widely used by El Paso area teachers, and was utilized by one of two large area districts in all Algebra II classrooms. The professional development portion of the EOC implementation in that district was identified by Algebra II teachers as being their most valuable professional learning experience ever.
• Mathematics and science teacher preparation courses at UTEP and EPCC were aligned with the Collaborative’s Math and Science Curriculum Frameworks.

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