Surveys, information collected from the school website and administrative assistants, and interviews are the main sources of data for this project. The school hopes to understand the ramifications of the decision to stop math tracking and help parents and other adult stakeholders develop more of a growth mindset. The purpose of this project is to help the school develop an understanding of the impacts of tracking versus diversion.
Tuition at the school ranges from $16,470 for preschoolers to $32,240 for high school students and $68,550 for seven-day boarding students in upper school. The school-wide student/teacher ratio is eight to one, ranging from six to one in the lower grades and ten to one in the upper grades. As the school enters the final year of its most recent five-year strategic plan, several stakeholders are reflecting on the three focus areas.
The school hopes to understand the implications of the decision to stop tracking math, understand students' self-concepts regarding this endeavor, and help stakeholders develop a growth mindset. Using a PDSA cycle, the school has completed one full rotation and is now in the planning phase of the second cycle.
P ART 2: E STABLISHING I DEAS – L ITERATURE R EVIEW –
In their work on improving organizational performance, Langley et al. 2009) provide a guide to developing a model for improvement. While PDSA cycles (Bryk et al., 2015) are one such method, there are others that are useful in the journey towards change and improvement. Irizarry (2021) discusses the racial gaps inherent within tracking and claims a “large racial gap in the likelihood of staying in (and entering) the accelerated math track” (p. 1).
The importance of subjects begins in the high school years, and the transition is most important (Irizarry, 2021). Gagne & Deci (2005) describe self-determination theory as a "theory of work motivation" which is used in "the field of education, health care and sport". Self-determination theory relates to our desire to grow and how this desire affects our behaviors (Deci & Ryan, 2008). As noted in the glossary above, “sensemaking emphasizes that people try to make things rationally accountable to themselves and others” (Weick, 1993, p. 635).
In the case of this project, we have students with goals and aspirations and preferences and priority mechanisms to help them get from point A to point B. Discovering how these stakeholders understand tracking while exploring the experiences of students within the program will help administrators move forward with decisions about future implementation of the program.
P ART 3: M ETHODS – P ROJECT D ESIGN –
An exploration of the school's website provided ample information about the essential functions of the school. Schedules, classes, faculty and staff directories, and quick facts about the school are all present and help paint a fuller picture of the school. Much of the data collection revolved around school timetables, particularly before and after the winter holidays.
These are many of the same topics chosen to analyze the final survey question asking parents and students to identify the purpose of math tracking. In this way, I was able to create a visual representation of the codes to visually identify the most and least common terms. All parents of students in grades seven through twelve received the survey by email (See Appendix E).
I gave parents information about the project and the opportunity to opt their child out of the study if they wished. The chart on the right reflects the total number of students taking each course (Figure 12). AP Calculus AB has the largest number of students at 65 and has only juniors and seniors enrolled.
In order to understand the rationale for the systemic change to eliminate the seventh-grade math program, I needed to know how each individual stakeholder understood the concept itself. There were a few answers that I had my doubts about, especially if they were somewhat on track to define tracking accurately. These questions are directly related to the students' past and present experiences that they are asked to reflect on.
To better understand how teachers and administrators understand the ideology behind tracking and detracking, I conducted interviews with four math teachers and four administrators. Identifying their biases and beliefs paints a picture of the overall impact of math derailment. There is also a question asking students to determine if they are in a math class that is appropriate for their ability level, and another asking if they feel they are doing best in a class of students with similar abilities.
P ART 4: N EXT S TEPS – F INDINGS –
Of the 256 responses to the question “As far as you know, what is the purpose of keeping track of math,” 121 students responded with precise descriptions. However, this is the only grade where students of all academic levels are in the same foundational math class. As primary stakeholders in their child's educational process, parents' understanding of the practices within a school, at least on a superficial level, is essential.
All teachers and administrators mentioned the common argument against tracking regarding students in standard courses who see themselves as being in the "dumb" class. How teachers conceptualize their content and place in the mathematics course varies greatly among those interviewed. As indicated in the chart above (Figure 22), 70.8% of students either sometimes, often, or always compare themselves to those who do better than them in their math classes, while 43.5%.
Together, 23% of students never or rarely feel they are in the right maths placement, and zero percent of their parents think this. This is an anomaly, as less than ten percent of students at all other grade levels either never or rarely feel that they are not in the right math class. This may have been affected by Covid-19 as it was when they were in ninth grade.
What is particularly striking here is that all parents of group 7 students, who are all in the same math class, feel that they are in the right math class. As noted in the self-report of academic self-concepts, Ambrose Academy students have opinions about their mathematics standing and their place among their peers. Most students surveyed felt they were in the right place in math class, while the majority also felt they performed best in a class of students with similar abilities.
Seventh grade students are in mixed ability classes, but most also believe they are in the correct math placement and agree with the statements above. Various supports are in place at Ambrose Academy to assist teachers in teaching their content areas and students in their mastery of the content. Since then, two years of students have been trained in the newly redesigned program, and the third will begin in the fall of 2022.
Initially, one of the goals of the change was to alleviate the feeling of being in a "dumb class" for those not placed in excellent departments. Most students at Ambrose Academy believe they are in the correct math placement for their skill level, including seventh graders who are all in the same math class.
P ART 5: A DDITIONAL I NFORMATION – R EFERENCES –
Age and gender differences in children's self- and task perceptions during primary school. 2013) Parental expectations and school relationships contribute to adolescents' positive outcomes. Big fish in big ponds: contrast and assimilation effects on mathematical and verbal self-concepts of students in gifted pathways within the school.” British Journal of Educational Psychology. Targeting parental trust to increase engagement in a school-home communication system: A double-blind experiment of a parental feedback intervention.
Race, Advanced Mathematics, and the Transition to High School." Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World 7 (2021). The Central Role of Frames of Reference in Academic Self-Concept Formation: The Big Fish Little Pond Effect. An Integrated Model of Academic Self-Concept Development: Academic Self-Concept, Grades, test results and tracking over 6 years.”.
Developmental Psychology The Matthew Effect in Science, II: Cumulative Advantage and the Symbolism of Intellectual Property. Student tracking, assessment, and motivation: Using group composition and status to predict ninth grade self-concept and interest in mathematics. My child compares himself to students who are better than him in the math class/section a.
My child compares himself to students who do worse than them in their math class/section a. My child compares himself to students who do better than them in other math classes/section a. My child compares himself to students who who perform worse than those in other mathematics lessons/sections a.
My child is at his best when in a class of students with similar math skills a.
