Could requiring a fourth year of math help students increase their proficiency in the subject? Proviso East Principal Rodney Hull thinks so.
During a June 11 board of education meeting, Hull presented a “4th Year of Math Justification” to the board.
According to Hull’s presentation, East and West only require three years of math while Proviso Math and Science Academy requires five years.
The Illinois State Board of Education requires a minimum of three years of math.
The most common math courses taken at East and West are “Integrated Math 1,” “Integrated Math 2,” and “Integrated Math 3” with additional math courses optional for four-year classes.
According to Hull’s presentation, the district’s STAR Data, which measures student’s reading and math skills, reinforces the need for that additional year of math, showing that at East 36% of students scored below grade level.
Additionally, the incoming score for freshman students in math was more than three years below grade level.
Hull also said that almost 40% of freshman students have an “F” in the subject.
According to Hull, East lost out on being able to offer pre-algebra to freshmen who needed additional support as it was not able to fill the two open teaching positions, which were grant funded. The high school also purchased pre-algebra books for freshmen students who needed intensive support.
Many students also try to make up math during the summer, added Hull.
“We have shown growth, but it is not as much as it could be if the students had the support from day one,” Hull said. “We are playing catch up.”
Hull was not able to be reached for comment.
Board member David Ocampo said he is fully supportive of adding a fourth year of math at East and West.
“I am for it,” Ocampo said, adding he hopes to speak with the rest of the board to try to figure out what is needed to push that forward. “Mr. Hull had a point. By the time they are doing the ACT test they have only done the equivalent of Algebra 1. You need more rigor for that test, especially as we are moving towards our foundation schools adopting STEM. We can’t bridge that gap; we don’t have the resources for students to easily transition.”
The district is stuck in an “outdated” era, said Ocampo.
Ocampo said looking into adding a fourth year would require a task force, composed of administrators and educators, along with a master schedule.
“They would need to get together and determine what to implement when and what is the impact,” he said. “Kids are going to get affected but you have to draw the line somewhere.”
He said he is hopeful the rest of the board agrees.
“If you get the right people, especially at the board level,” Ocampo said. “I think it’s sufficient to say that everyone on the board would probably be in favor of it, it just depends on implementation.”
According to East’s 2023 Illinois Report Card, only 1.7% of juniors scored at each of the performance levels for the SAT, compared to the state average of 19.7% for math. The district’s average for 2023 was 8%.
“Meets Standards,” according to the Illinois Report Card website, means that the “student has met the proficiency level and demonstrates adequate understanding of the knowledge and skills needed relative to the Illinois Learning Standards.”
Only 1.7% of students at East were “proficient” in math compared to the state’s average of 26.9%.
The district’s proficiency rate for 2023 was 9.2%, with West having 3% of students proficient.
To help students who might be struggling, Hull said East teachers are providing freshmen with support along with offering paper tutoring, after school tutoring, and online support. Administration also analyzes STAR data to progress monitoring and grouping as well as utilizing Imagine Math and STAR Math resources to support growth and the learning of the required skills.
Hull also brought up that East currently offers four years of social studies along with four years of English.
“Social studies is not a tested subject, whereas math and science are, which further justifies the need for it,” Hull said.
The Illinois State Board of Education only requires two years of social science, which needs to include one year of U.S. History or a combination of U.S. History and American government and one semester of civics.
Only two years of science are required.
Interim superintendents Alexander Aschoff and Luke Pavone did not respond to requests for comment.
IN OTHER MATH NEWS
Aschoff presented an information item to the board regarding Imagine Learning, a supplemental K-8 platform that was used for the 2023-24 school year to help raise math scores.
Currently, the district has a few concerns regarding Imagine, said Aschoff, including that it only goes up to Algebra and that the diagnostic test placed all students at a freshmen level versus placing them based on their skills.
The district is considering shifting gears to another program IXL Learning, another program that was piloted during this past school year.
According to Aschoff, the pilot period ran from Feb. 15 through May 24 with two teachers at East, four at West, and seven at PMSA.
The platform includes video lessons, scripted lessons, and a live dashboard to see what students are working on.
“We did see a much higher increase in student growth percentile for those students using IXL,” Aschoff said.
Aschoff said they also saw a much higher student usage on IXL versus Imagine.
According to Aschoff there was a total usage of 671 hours for IXL versus three hours of Imagine usage at Proviso East. There were 925.5 hours of usage for IXL at West compared to 5 hours for Imagine. PMSA had a total of 500 hours of usage for IXL and zero hours of usage for Imagine.
“This is something that students are doing well with, and students want,” Aschoff said.
Aschoff said the item can be presented as an action item for the July BOE meeting.
