8th Grade Math Community Action Network (CAN) LAUNCHed

FLAGSTAFF (February 10, 2018)

Of the five shared goals of the LAUNCH Flagstaff partnership, two have had active CANs of subject matter experts working toward identifying and implementing strategic action related to their respective outcomes – until now. Starting in February, LAUNCH Flagstaff officially has it’s third CAN on improving outcomes in 8th grade mathematics.

The baseline education report shows that of all 8th graders across Flagstaff in 2017, only 30% performed at grade level in math on the AzMERIT state test. This number includes those 8th graders who are taking higher level math like Algebra I.

The shared overarching outcome for this CAN is that communitywide data will show continuous improvement annually in the percentage of eighth grade students who perform at grade level in math.

At the February 6th LAUNCH Flagstaff Community Leadership Council meeting, members there identified and developed goals and a plan for action in 2018. That plan has a measurable outcome of starting the development of effective interventions to improve the math proficiency of the lower performing cohort of 8th grade students.

Initial strategies the group identified to achieve this 2018 goal include:

• Analyzing current AzMERIT data related to specific testing areas such as informational or literary text
• Identify existing resources and interventions and understand how they are being used
• Focus strategies on students performing near the proficiency line
• Focus strategies on younger cohorts of students and help them before they get to 8th grade.

From the foundational effort over this year, the group determined a goal that by August 2019, the percentage of eight grade students proficient in grade level math will rise from 30% to 35%.  They also identified a progression of improvement resulting in a proficiency level of 53% by 2022.

Participating organizations in the 8th grade conversation on February 6th were:

• STEM-City
• T-Gen
• Lowell Observatory
• Flagstaff Arts Council
• Expect More Arizona
• FUSD

STEM-City will take the next step and coordinate an initial review of data along with a teacher survey they are conducting. Once this information is gathered, LAUNCH will convene the next meeting of the 8th Grade CAN.

Stay informed of this CANs progress by subscribing to our mailing list and selecting an interest in “mathematics” and we’ll be sure to send you all the latest information and meeting times.