Project Design
CORD has developed widely accepted materials in physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics that emphasize real-world problems, hands-on activities, and workplace applications of academic concepts. These materials have benefited millions of high school students whose academic achievement is generally within the “middle 50 percent”—those who learn more effectively through a concrete, rather than abstract, approach.
But why wait until high school to permit concrete learners to really learn mathematics? Middle school teachers told us that many students begin their struggle with abstract mathematics around the 5th grade—or even earlier. It is at that point they seem to begin a slide down a slippery slope that often leads to some degree of failure.
Today most measures of academic success hinge upon passing state tests that have a significant mathematics component. These students are deathly afraid of that fact, and many simply "jump ship" by the time they reach high school. Teachers know these students. They are considered "at risk" of failing the math component of the state test, or even "at risk" of dropping out of school.
While students can be "at risk" for many reasons, teachers tell us that, for a large percentage, it is because of their weak mathematics skills. The typical response has been to help these students pass "the test." Hours and hours of skill drill and test preparation sometimes permit students to eek out some improvement in their test scores, but they seldom gain any better understanding of the concepts. Teachers tell us that what these students truly need is to get back to the basics and really learn the 4th and 5th grade concepts before hoping to move on to high school algebra concepts. But the same abstract approaches that failed in the 4th and 5th grade clearly are not working in the 6th or 7th grade for these students. These students need something different!
Using seed money from a private foundation and some matching funds from a consortium of state education agencies, CORD sought to develop a motivating and academically rigorous mathematics curriculum for middle school students. Guided by input from parents, teachers, and administrators, the project had four goals:
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Substantially enhance the mathematics skills of middle school students, especially those with a history of poor performance in mathematics.
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Enable many of these students to succeed in future mathematics courses.
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Encourage these students to remain in school and graduate.
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Provide a foundation of mathematics skills necessary for these students to succeed in tomorrow's workforce
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