A middle school in Braintree, Mass., that was identified for corrective action under NCLB last year has put itself on the road to “good standing” in part by making wholesale changes to its math curriculum, according to an article in The Boston Globe. Among other changes, students are now grouped according to their math scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam (rather than by parental preference), and special education teachers work side-by-side with the math instructors. In addition, teachers have taken to color-coding algebriac equations—"It helps you remember the steps,” said one 8th grader—and use a software program to analyze where students need help most on tests. Oh, yeah, and some students now have math a lot—as many as three times a day.
A version of this news article first appeared in the Web Watch blog.