On Tuesday, January 17, 2006 the TMP had the opportunity to share accomplishments of Phase I and showcase the work of the demonstration projects for the House Higher Education Committee. During the committee’s work session on math and science initiatives, the Pierce County and Spokane region projects were on hand to address how TMP is coming to life in their communities. Testifiers included:
Pierce County
Michele Johnson, Pierce College
Craig Gabler, Tacoma School DistrictSpokane Region
Ron Dalla, Eastern Washington UniversityStatewide Overview
Sally Zeiger Hanson, SBCTC
Cindy Morana, Council of Presidents
Leslie Goldstein, OSPI
Legislators inquired about the project’s next steps and expressed interest
in how the College Readiness Standards in Mathematics might be used to
help more high school students get prepared for college. They were very
interested in the demonstration projects’ work on offering placement tests
to high school students, bringing high school teachers and college faculty
together to work on curriculum, and the use of the standards to identify
areas where students need additional skill building.
From the beginning, the Transition Math Project (TMP) has focused on designing processes and creating resources to foster effective local implementation. To date, implementation has taken many forms, such as course alignment, more math communication, and improved math placement. These efforts, along with others, have ensured that the TMP remains focused on student success.
Early in 2004, in an effort to spark innovative implementation efforts, TMP designed a competitive application process to elicit promising, replicable ideas from the field. From the applications received, five were selected for funding grants. TMP has since chronicled the step-by-step progress of each on our website and has encouraged others to learn from and inquire about each through the resources and contact information contained within each demo web page.
Visitors to the demo pages will learn how one school district experienced a 74% increase in the demand for senior year math classes following an early COMPASS assessment intervention process. Others will find new resources such as the Math Guides for High School Students Planning to Attend Washington State Community and Technical Colleges. And still others will learn about newly aligned high school/college algebra courses grounded in TMP's College Readiness Standards. For more information, visit the TMP site.
TMP's
set of College Readiness Standards in Mathematics have been going through
an in-depth design and formatting process over the last few weeks. The
result: a polished, well-organized, user-friendly final version of the
standards that's sure to please. The new design, now undergoing final
review, accurately reflects the collective work of the more than 250 cross-sector
math instructors who have given generously of their time since the project's
start in 2004. We're confident that an array of audiences will find the
final version useful and informative. Copies will be printed and a version
posted online in anticipation of broad distribution in early spring 2006.
The Transition Mathematics Project (TMP) wraps up phase I with the finalization of its College Readiness Standards, Demonstration Projects and a raft of accomplishments. As a result of this solid foundation of work, TMP's phase II plans are well positioned to foster the development of additional and more in-depth cross-sector programs and initiatives that support the Project's core parameters and expectations, which include:
- full cross-sector partnerships
- curricular and pedagogical innovation and improvement
- use of the College Readiness Standards (and 11/12 GLEs)
- strong faculty/teacher involvement
- tapping local needs & energy
- connections to the full TMP effort
- sustainability
For those interested in taking part in phase II, refer to the Phase II K-20 Summit Meeting PowerPoint for important background information and contact TMP Coordinator John House at jhouse@highline.edu.
Extra!
Extra! Read All About It!
Washington
State Has a New Set of Standards for Higher-Level Courses
Washington State's Transition
Mathematics Project (TMP) has an extra resource for students entering
college in higher-level math courses: the Extra Expectations for calculus
and precalculus. The new expectations, now featured in TMP's College Readiness
Standards, were crafted by a cross-sector team of Washington State math
instructors throughout 2005. The Extra Expectations recognize that some
students need more than entry-level college readiness in math; they need
an 'extra' set of skills and knowledge to succeed in advanced math courses.
An accessible and extensive array of corresponding example problems and
tasks are under development to ensure that skill and knowledge expectations
are clear. For more on TMP and the Extra Expectations, visit http://www.transitionmathproject.org/standards.asp.
Section 8 of Washington State’s 2004 Master Plan for Higher Education – Helping Students Make the Transition to College – sent out a clarion call for a collaborative, system-wide effort to define college readiness in the subject areas of math, science, English, social studies, world languages, and the arts. The Transition Math Project has led the way with the development of the College Readiness Standards. And now, under the leadership of the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, English and science are well underway too.
Drawing on the successful work and model employed by the TMP, the HECB College Readiness Project began with an intensive two-day working session (1/12-13/06) led by a number of TMP staff and supporters, namely David Conley, Ricardo Sanchez, Bill Moore, John House and Terryll Bailey. One immediate result: The science team incorporated TMP's College Readiness Standards as the basis for its quantitative component.
As with TMP, content development and expert review teams, made up of faculty and staff from the three major educational sectors—K-12, community colleges, and baccalaureate institutions—are collaborating in developing and refining the college readiness definitions. Additionally, a Project Coordination Team, representing educational stakeholders in K-12, community colleges and baccalaureate institutions, will help oversee the project. More on the College Readiness Project can be found here: http://www.learningconnections.org/clc/hecb.htm.
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