Raising Mathematics Achievement Levels in Ohio High Schools
CORD is conducting a professional development project for Columbus, Ohio public schools during the 2002-03 academic year to assist five area high schools in raising the mathematics achievement levels of their students. Each of the high schools is a High Schools That Work site and is organized around a career academy delivery system. CORD staff is providing technical assistance with mathematics instruction, a math consultant to work with teachers on instructional strategies, and training and contextual materials that apply math to the specific career cluster areas taught at the high schools.

Participating algebra teachers will each benefit from 40 hours of contextual algebra training, classroom observation and post-observation conferencing, 36 weeks of moderated online activity, a comprehensive activity binder, and a matrix correlating algebra activities to Ohio’s 9th grade Academic Content Standards in Mathematics. Each participant will be certified as a Peer Coach/Mentor Teacher upon completion of the program.

Administrators at the high schools will also receive professional development on contextual learning, a contextual learning observation and post-observation conferencing, and a contextual learning classroom observation instrument to use with their staff.