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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 the mathematics National Assessment of Educational Progress. Twenty-two percent of college freshman need a remedial course in mathematics. In two year colleges the problem is even more acute; almost one-third of Washington students graduating from high school begin their higher education experience in two-year colleges, and of those students, one-half take pre-college (remedial) math in their first year. Even a student who passes the math portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) does not necessarily have the skills needed to handle college level math courses.
The Transition Mathematics Project (TMP) is designed to reverse this trend by helping students successfully progress from high school math to college-level math. With the participation of high school and college math educators, TMP will help identify the math skills and knowledge high school graduates need to complete college-level work, meet minimum admission requirements and avoid remediation upon enrolling in college. Downloadable Word Document of the Content Below What is the TMP? The Transition Mathematics Project (TMP) is designed to help students successfully progress from high school math to college-level math. TMP identified the math skills and knowledge high school graduates need to meet minimum admission requirements, avoid remediation upon enrolling in college, and complete college-level work. Who is involved? The standards were developed by teachers and faculty from high schools, community and technical colleges, and universities working together. The project is coordinated by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), the Council of Presidents (COP), and the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB), with SBCTC serving as the lead agency. What are the standards? Final College Readiness Standards were released in March, 2006. These standards are competency-based statements about what a student needs to know and be able to do in order to successfully transition to entry-level college coursework in math or other studies requiring an understanding of math. “College” means any postsecondary-level education. Where can I find the standards? http://www.transitionmathproject.org/standards.asp How is TMP connected to K-12's Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs)? TMP workgroups used the structure and content of the grade 9/10 Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) to build the TMP College Readiness Standards (CRS). The CRS were then used to develop Grade Level Expectations for grades 11 and 12 designed to clarify for high school teachers the transition from the grade 9/10 GLEs to the College Readiness Standards. How are national and international standards taken into account? As one of its first steps, the Transition Math Project reviewed existing national and international standards work, primarily Achieve’s American Diploma Project, the Standards for Success Project, and Oregon’s PASS Project. TMP also used resource experts from Achieve and around the country to help examine the connection between the TMP standards and various national and international standards (including TIMSS and PISA). What impact has the project had? Final standards were released in March 2006 and as of December 2007 over 15,000 copies have been distributed statewide. Work is underway to implement those standards now, starting with work in fifteen local partnerships around the state focused on outreach materials, curricula and teaching strategies. These partnerships include faculty and administrators from 25 higher education institutions (two- and four-year), 64 school districts, two Educational Service Districts (ESDs), and other regional consortia. The impact so far is the increased attention TMP has brought to clear college readiness expectations in math and the need for closer collaboration among high school math teachers and college math faculty. Ultimately, its impact will be improved preparation for college-level work, evidenced by the lessening of the need for remedial math and placement into higher level math-related coursework in college. Those results are still several years out as new curricula are designed, put into place, and completed by students who then graduate from high school with increased skills. What are the projects that are underway now? Applied Math Project-Seattle - click here for project details>>
Pierce County Careers Connection Project - click here for project details>>
Sammamish River Area Math Access Project - click here for project details>>
SW Washington TIME - click here for project details>>
Washington Mathematics and Placement - click here for project details>>
What’s happening with the College Readiness Math Test (CRMT)? “A major emphasis of the statewide Transition Math Project is on developing an assessment, aligned with the College Readiness Standards, to help high school students know whether or not they are college-ready for mathematics. Working through the TMP and led by the Office of Educational Assessment at the University of Washington, a team of faculty from state two- and four-year colleges and universities, along with K-12 teachers and assessment specialists, are working on this effort. An operational test will be available to field test in spring 2008 and available throughout the state by fall 2009. To see more details on this work and to follow its progress, click here In addition to high school students taking the CRMT to see if they’re “on track” for college math, the same standards will be used at college entry to provide a consistent determination of “college ready” and “remedial” across all higher education institutions. The CRMT is not an “admissions test” but will be used along with the college placement process to assess a student’s skills and guide the student into the appropriate next level of study. When will the project be done? The standards are complete. Pilot curriculum development and implementation projects are underway now. Project funding runs through June 2009; by that time or soon after key products and materials from the local partnerships will be available on the web and disseminated across the state. TMP Project Timeline - Phase I (2004 - 2005) - click here>> TMP Project Timeline - Phase II (2006 - 2009) - click here>> TMP
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