WHITE PAPER: Improving Secondary Math Outcomes for Students

Mathematics achievement has been an issue for teachers, principals, parents, and district administrators for many years. Its decline has manifested itself in many forms, and has an enormous impact on the trajectory of a student's life. This white paper examines the diagnostic data from elementary to middle school students in multiple highly diverse urban districts across the U.S., and reflects on best practices to help educators navigate this complex challenge. In particular, it looks at the drop-off that often happens at grade 6.  The changes that occur at this grade level manifest themselves as an inversion in how certain interventions work.  This means that some approaches that work at grade 5 may completely fail at grade 6.  This white paper will help you understand why math reform or initiatives may need to be different at grade 6 and above.