From June 28 through July 1, 2005 teams of cross-sector math educators/ instructors rolled up their sleeves to demonstrate promising, innovative applications of the College Readiness Standards. Throughout the Institute, the more than sixty attendees had the opportunity to delve deeper into innovative math tasks, math examples and problem-based curricula. The College Readiness Standards and the new draft Grades 11 and 12 Math Standards were a major focus but not the only focus. An array of materials, ideas and approaches were demonstrated and discussed.

Dr. Uri Treisman and Dr. Susan Hudson Hull of the Charles A. Dana Center, Dr. Kurt Kreith, co-director of the California Mathematics Project and a host of Washington State content experts were on hand to add to and guide the rich discussions, workshops and plenary sessions.

For complete details, documents and emerging projects resulting from the Institute's emphasis on cross-sector collaboration, plan to periodically visit the TMP website here.

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TMP Demo Grants Showing Results

Readers of our previous TMP Newsletter may recall seeing information on our competitively awarded demonstration grants designed to elicit promising, replicable ideas from the field. Each of the winning applications offered the best opportunities to address the goals of the Demonstration Project portion of our Transition Math Project, and in particular reflected the strongest combination of implementing the College Readiness Standards, strengthening cross-sector partnerships, and leveraging existing resources and activities.

Grant recipients presented their initial progress and findings at the recent June Math Institute in Leavenworth, WA. Updates on each project can now be found on the TMP Website in a new Demo Project section located here: http://www.transitionmathproject.org/demo_projects.asp.

Here's a sample of the promising work currently underway: Olympic College has put together an intensive math skills assessment system for high schools juniors. The system has been designed to help area students check perceptions of college math readiness by assessing their actual math skills. COMPASS placement scores and in-depth follow up interventions with staff have been underway now since spring.

Part and parcel of their project's structured activities and interventions is a student evaluation process. This is what students have reported to date:

• The assessment helped identify strengths and skills
• 67% acknowledged that they need to improve skills
• 55% will use the information for future planning
• 67% plan to take math in their senior year
• 29% said they used what they learned to select courses for their senior year

TMP Demonstration Project grant recipients include:

• Columbia Basin College (contact: Madeline Jeffs)
• Eastern Washington University / Spokane Falls Community College / Spokane Community College (contact: Ron Dalla)
• Big Bend Community College (contacts: Jim Hamm and Brinn Harberts)
• Olympic College (contact: Rick MacLennan)
• Pierce County Careers Connection (contact: Jo Jacobson & Linda Drake)

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To continue its work and move further in the direction of implementation, TMP is convening groups and eliciting ideas in preparation to apply for a Math / Science Partnership (MSP) grant through OSPI. A number of regions and districts are interested. Conference calls are underway and a face-to-face think-tank session was held recently in Leavenworth, WA. Schools, districts and regions interested in taking part should contact TMP Coordinator John House at jhouse@sbctc.ctc.edu. Applications are due in September, ’05.

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Work on the Grade Level Expectations for Grades 11/12 is continuing; the full working group met May 10-11, and the subgroups will be taking feedback gathered there and developing final drafts for whole-group review. The finished working drafts are currently being presented at the series of Summer Institutes sponsored by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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Achieve, Inc. has completed its review process of the latest working draft of the College Readiness Standards; relevant feedback from that review will be incorporated into the final version of the standards document, which was shared at TMP's 2005 Math Institute. More on the Standards can be found on the TMP Website here: http://www.transitionmathproject.org/standards.asp

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Now available, a Spanish language version of TMP's Why Math? Flier. The brochure’s eye-catching graphics and up-to-date content is helping convey, to an even broader audience, critical math messages to help set the record straight on the importance of math preparation and the consequences of remediation.

Check the TMP website for our full list of communication resources, such as the Got Math? brochure (co-developed with the Partnership for Learning) and both versions of the Why Math? flier. Why Math? is double-sided 8.5" x 14" black and white flier complementing the tone and look of Got Math? and is designed for ease of duplication and dissemination.

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At their most recent respective meetings, the provosts of the public baccalaureate institutions and the academic vice-presidents of the community and technical colleges have publicly voiced their support of the College Readiness Standards and the continuing work of the Transition Math Project, and issued a joint statement to that effect attached here.

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Newsletter Archive:

• Winter 2005
• Fall 2004