Rigorous & Aligned Curricula | EPCAE

K-12 Math and Science Aligned Curricula

The implementation and sustainability of standards-based curriculum and instruction in mathematics and science has been a key priority of the El Paso Collaborative. The Collaborative has worked closely with district curriculum and instruction staff in identifying the highest quality standards-based mathematics and science curricula, grades K-12. In mathematics, teachers have received professional development and resources to support their use of National Science Foundation (NSF) recommended curricula, including Everyday Math at the elementary school level, Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) for middle schools, and Systemic Initiative in Montana Mathematics and Science (SIMMS) for high schools. In science, the Collaborative supported the implementation of NSF recommended curricula including AIMS, FOSS, Active Physics and Cambridge Physics.

In addition to implementing standards-based curricula, the Collaborative spearheaded the development of K-12 Mathematics and Science Curriculum Frameworks. A key reason for their development was that despite state and national content standards, there was little consensus among teachers about what should be taught in various high school courses; what should be expected of students successfully completing a course of study, such as Algebra I or Chemistry; and, how to assess what students know and are able to do in relation to course standards. The curriculum frameworks address these issues and have helped teachers by providing timelines for covering each key topic in a course, aligning those topics to cognitive demand levels and state and national standards, and identifying assessments aligned to topics at varying levels of cognitive demand. Tools based on the curriculum frameworks have also been developed. Among these are Mathematics Units that provide teachers lessons, strategies and activities addressing key concepts. The Algebra II End-of-course Exam is another tool that assists teachers in determining the level of student mastery of content in this key course that is a critical measure of student readiness for college-level mathematics.

Literacy Aligned Curricula

In order to enroll and succeed in high-level courses, students need to become strong readers and effective writers. The Collaborative’s Literacy in Action initiative was designed to develop teachers’ skills and abilities to teach high-level reading and writing to all students. The elementary school program is based on the implementation of a daily 2.5 hour language arts block including:

a one-hour Reader’s Workshop with daily routines such as independent reading, guided reading, paired reading of complex texts, use of grade-level texts, and a school-wide 25 book campaign;
a one-hour Writer’s Workshop with daily student writing , using an 8-step writing process and conferencing to improve writing; and,
a 30 minute skills block focused on phonics, vocabulary, and spelling.

Training of classroom teachers is conducted primarily by Literacy Leaders, on-site master teachers trained and supported by the Collaborative. The Collaborative provides over 120 hours of professional development to literacy leaders to fully prepare them to work with classroom teachers. Training focuses on state and national standards, using existing knowledge to make meaning of text, identifying strategies for reading for information in science and math, strengthening narrative writing skills as a basis for reading and writing, and distinguishing important content, for example, in mathematics word problems and science laboratory experiences. Literacy leaders also assist classroom teachers by conducting lesson studies, book talks, co-planning and co-teaching of lessons, and reviewing and analyzing student work to determine if students are meeting the goals of the lesson.

In order to participate in the Literacy in Action initiative, the Collaborative requires principals to make the following commitments:

make the initiative the school’s first priority rather than one among many;
fund a full-time literacy leader with strong content knowledge;
attend principal leadership seminars on instructional leadership, resource building, and management of the Literacy in Action Initiative;
provide school resources for teacher release time, stipends, and substitute teachers;
provide $1,000 to develop classroom libraries; and
lead and monitor the implementation of the school’s 25 book campaign.

El Paso K-12 Content Standards

The Collaborative led the development of content standards in seven key subject-matter areas: mathematics, science, English language arts, social studies, world languages, fine arts, and wellness. The standards are uniformly high for all students and are based on the best national and state standards. The standards define what students should know and be able to do by the time they graduate from high school, with benchmarks for grades four and eight. The standards were drafted by teams of K-16 faculty members over the course of a year, and reviewed by hundreds of teachers and faculty members, principals and college and university deans, parents, and community and business leaders. The content development process helped engage a broad range of educators and business people, as well as parents and community members in understanding the importance of setting high learning goals for all students.

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Mathematics and Science Frameworks

The curriculum frameworks outline key math and science concepts that students must learn at each grade level, K-12. The concepts are mapped to state and national standards and to levels of cognitive demand. The cognitive demand levels are levels of learning that range from simple memorization and recognition of previously learned facts through increasingly complex and abstract thinking that includes investigation or application of knowledge to novel situations. In mathematics, six frameworks were developed, including K-8, Algebra I and II, Geometry, pre-Calculus and Calculus. In science, four frameworks were developed, including K-8, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

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Literacy in Action Curricula

To support effective teaching in the content areas of reading and writing, three writing curricula were published and disseminated to Literacy Leaders in partner schools. These include Living the Writerly Life, Informational Text, and Response to Literature. The curricula are aligned to the state’s knowledge and skills standards in writing for all students receiving instruction in English and Spanish. Utilization of these curricula, particularly Informational Text, results in a more thorough knowledge of genre understanding by teachers and students, and the application of that understanding in student work. The use of expository text analysis and non-fiction forms of writing continues to help students increase their comprehension of content in math/science standards-based curricula.

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Living the Writerly Life Text Curriculum

Informational Text Writing Curriculum

Response to Literature Writing Genre Text Curriculum

Mathematics Units

An important component of the Collaborative’s work in assisting teachers to engage all students in meaningful, high quality, mathematics learning was the development and implementation of two mathematics curriculum units—one for 7th and 8th grade pre-Algebra courses and one for Algebra I.

The units focus on algebraic standards and concepts with which students typically need the most help, or on concepts that require deeper exploration than that currently supported by most district textbooks and curriculum materials. The 7th/8th grade unit concentrates on proportional reasoning and the Algebra I unit addresses linear functions. Each unit consists of a coherent series of lessons designed to guide students in developing deep conceptual understanding thus strengthening the foundation in Algebra needed to ensure success in higher-level, college preparatory mathematics.

All lessons are designed to make mathematics classroom experiences more interactive, engaging, and meaningful. The units were developed by K-12 mathematics coaches, Collaborative staff, as well as college and university faculty. Faculty served as content advisors and ensured that no knowledge gaps existed in the lessons.

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End-of-Course Exam

An Algebra II End-of-Course exam was developed to measure students’ understanding of Algebra II concepts and their readiness to enroll in and complete college-level mathematics without having to take remedial mathematics courses.

To develop the Algebra II Exam, an Algebra II Assessment Working Group was convened by the Collaborative. The group consisted of one teacher from every high school in the region along with postsecondary mathematics faculty from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the El Paso Community College (EPCC), working with national mathematics and assessment experts. A blueprint for the exam was agreed upon and hundreds of items were written and revised by both internal and external writers and consultants.

Six forms of the exam were piloted in 8 high schools from both rural and urban districts, as well as in classrooms at UTEP and EPCC. Beyond multiple pilot administrations of the exam, the process involved convening the Algebra II Assessment group to score tests, analyze data on each item, meet with measurement consultants, and revise the exam based on data from the pilot administrations. Two forms of a revised Algebra II exam were developed based upon the three-year pilot process. Those forms were used to test all Algebra II students in one large districts in El Paso which convened all Algebra II teachers, prepared them to administer the exam, score and adjudicate the scoring of items, and analyze the results of the exam.

Preparation to administer the test, and the scoring and analysis of results constituted what many teachers described as the best Algebra II professional development they had ever received and provided the greatest insights about what was working—and what wasn’t—in their Algebra II teaching.

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K-12 Math and Science Aligned Curricula

Implementation of standards-based curricula and aligned curriculum frameworks across all grade levels has contributed to gains in student outcomes in mathematics and science, and has assisted teachers in identifying key concepts that must be learned in each course and the level of cognitive demand at which they must be learned. Other impacts include:

Broad dissemination and implementation of the K-12 Curriculum Frameworks, the Algebra II assessment, and pre-Algebra and Algebra I mathematics units;
Adoption of new curriculum and instruction scope and sequence documents across area school districts based upon the Collaborative’s Frameworks; and,
Development and implementation of frameworks for first-year college-level mathematics and science courses at community and university, aligned with the Collabortive’s Frameworks.

Literacy Aligned Curricula

The development and implementation of the Literacy in Action curricula has significantly improved teachers’ knowledge base of language arts concepts and extended their understanding of effective reading and writing instructional practices. Some of the initiative’s other impacts include:

region-wide implementation of a standards-based reading and writing instructional program with high-quality professional development that has been recognized nationally as an effective model for improving literacy skills among all students;
increased numbers of students scoring at the high ends of the state’s writing assessment;
implementation of a content-rich curriculum with genre studies in narrative, report, and persuasive writing—genres that are tested in state assessments;
more students, in both English and Spanish writing passages that go beyond the formula writing required by state assessments, and writing longer, more complex passages; and
• unprecedented commitment of school resources to improving literacy, including the principal’s commitment of time to the total redesign and reorganization of the literacy curricular program, attending program-wide meetings and seminars, and visiting literacy initiative classrooms.