Building Math Capacity by Supporting Teachers & Developing Partnerships
Whatcom Math Project (WMP) is a three year grant funded by the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
WMP is a consortium of seven public school districts, one private school district,Whatcom Tech Prep Consortium, Whatcom Community College and Bellingham Technical College. Over the next year, WMP will collect information on the current status of math instruction and professional development needs across the partnership both at the high school and college level.
Our Goal
High school students need to be taking more math courses. The Washington state's current minimum math graduation requirement, that all high school students must take two years of math, does not adequately prepare kids for college or for most careers. WMP hopes to inform students and parents about the importance of taking math classes throughout the four years of high school. Our main goal is to ensure that all students graduating from our area high schools will be ready to take college level mathematics and reduce the need for remediation.
Bellingham School District is going above and beyond the current state math graduation requirement by having students take three years of math. Beginning with the Graduating Class of 2013, students must earn three credits in math through Algebra II and meet state minimum proficiency standards in math as demonstrated on the WASL.
To help put things in perspective, in 2007 8th graders in Washington State ranked 9th in mathematics compared to all nations who participated in the 2003 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS). (Source: Chance Favors the Prepared Mind) Overall Washington is performing as well or better than a large portion of the foreign countries surveyed. Yet much work remains to be done. The highest acheiving states in the U.S. are still significantly below the highest achieving countries.
Transition Math Project 
While eighth graders are on a par in mathematics performance with many of their peers in other countries, studies show that American high school seniors rank near the bottom in international tests of mathematics knowledge and more than a third rank below basic. In Washington, as many as 45% of the 2007 high school graduates who entered the state's two-year colleges directly from high school needed to take pre-college (remedial) math before they were ready for credit math courses. (Source: WA State Board of Community and Technical College Pre-College Report). Students who pass the math portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) do not necessarily have the skills needed to handle college level math courses. The Transition Math Project (TMP) seeks to reverse this trend by supporting collaborative partnerships among high schools and post-secondary institutions as they work to improve student outcomes in mathematics. WCMP is one of those partnerships.
|
