Here at Eye Level, we believe that small class sizes and individualized learning is the key to helping every child reach his or her true potential. So it’s no surprise to us finding out that Anne Arundel County school district has found that small class sizes led to better performance. An excerpt from an article by WBAL is below:
There are smaller classes at Brooklyn Park Middle School, and teachers take up more individual time with students. It’s all by design as the school system looks for ways to bring up middle grade math scores.
“We’re really excited at the changes that we’re seeing,” Brooklyn Park Middle School principal Beth Shakan said.
Principals found a way to add more math classes and give the teaching staff the freedom to try something different.
“They begin with something concrete in their hands and get away from teaching math procedurally, and then moving into concepts first and so we’ve growth with that as well,” Shakan said.
In nearly a year, school officials are making note of the progress.
“And the results, amazing each grade level. Almost every school and every grade we’ve seen significant increases. It’s been a phenomenal year,” said Dr. Kathy Kubic, associate superintendent for school performance at Anne Arundel County schools.
Teachers said they’re seeing results that extend beyond test scores.
“Some of the students have said, ‘I never like math before. Now, I like math. It’s my favorite subject,’ or they’ll say their grades are going up. You know, they’ll say, ‘It’s OK,’ which is much better than what it think what it was before,” said Michael Labino, chair of the math department.
The challenge now is to keep students on track the remainder of their middle school years.
Math educators will give school board members an update Wednesday evening on the success of the middle school program.
Full article here: http://www.wbaltv.com/article/anne-arundel-county-educators-find-variable-to-make-math-easier/9868784
