Equitable Math Education                    Jessica Rennie Home        Learn More        Standards        Inspiration        About the Author

---

Closing the Math Achievement Gap:
Project Inspiration

    I knew there was a discrepancy in math achievement between English Language Learners and English only speaking students, however after beginning my research, I was appalled.

    Each spring starting in 2015 California students participate in the CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.)  The 2015 CAASPP results revealed another large achievement gap between English Language Learner Students and English only speaking students.  Fifty-four percent of ELL students did not meet the CAASPP Math Standard.  Thirty-four percent of ELL students nearly met the CAASPP Math Standard, and only eleven percent of ELL students met or exceeded the CAASPP Math Standard.  In comparison twenty-two percent of English only speaking students did not meet the CAASPP Math Standard. Thirty-five percent of English only speaking students nearly met the CAASPP Math Standard,  while 42% of English only speaking students met or exceeded the CAASPP Math Standard.

    Looking at the 2015 CAASPP Math Results for the site at which the study was conducted  revealed a math achievement gap between ELL students and English only speaking students as well. Seventy-three percent of the 4th Grade ELL students did not meet the CAASPP Math Standard.  Thirteen percent of the 4th Grade ELL students nearly met the CAASPP Math Standard.  Thirteen  of the 4th Grade ELL students met the CAASPP Math Standard. Comparatively, ten percent of the English only speaking students did not meet the CAASPP Math Standard.  Thirty-eight percent of the English only speaking students nearly met the CAASPP Math Standard.  And, fifty-two percent of the English only speaking students met or exceeded the CAASPP Math Standards.  “....learning and assessment tasks will require students to engage in greater written and oral discourse, as well as argumentation from evidence-” (Hammond & Santos, 2016)  Comparing the site CAASPP results to the State CAASPP results, the site has an even larger achievement gap between their ELL and English only speaking students.

    When writing one of my blog posts, I found the above image.  This image captured my heart.  I have found in the past, that many of my English Language Learners simply had given up.  They stopped trying.  They stopped asking questions.  They simply stopped.  This lack of participation seemed to me to be a silent and imminent cry for help.  Last Spring, this realization led me to change my classroom math instructional practices immediately.

    It was also during that first Spring Semester that Roger Pence shared this video. This video features the inspiring student, Dalton Sherman and has stuck with me,  "I BELIEVE IN YOU!  I BELIEVE IN ALL OF YOU!"

Research

Design Process

Support and Next Steps