One thing that struck me as odd about Barb’s earlier post on PSSA scores was that one of the districts, Penns Valley, seemed to stand out above the rest, especially when the PSSA performance of children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families is considered. I was reminded of this recently when I was told that PVASD was the only Centre Country district that uses a math curriculum with a more traditional (as opposed to “constructivist” or “standards-based”) approach. I had assumed that all of the other districts in the county used “Everyday Math”, probably because I didn’t read this CDT article closely enough.
That PVASD would have the same level or better performance on standardized tests is surprising because many indicators that might be expected to influence student achievement would seem to favor SCASD:
PVASD |
SCASD |
|
| Student:teacher ratio |
15:1 |
13:1 |
| Expenditures per student |
$10,076 |
$11,203 |
| Socioeconomically disadvantaged |
24% |
13% |
| Average teacher salary (06-07) |
$50,786 |
$57,450 |
| Average teacher experience (06-07) |
14.1 yrs |
16.5 yrs |
I’m not sure which math curriculum is used in PVASD, but this site seems to suggest that it is a program called K12, which is a more traditional program. Of course curriculum choice is by no means the only factor influencing PSSA scores, and the same person who told me about PVASD’s curriculum also told me that some parents in PVASD have complained that the district spends an inordinate amount of time preparing for the PSSAs.
Update: Barb has confirmed that PVASD uses SRA’s Real Math (see comments), which was developed with NSF funding and emphasizes conceptual development, but may include more attention to proficiency and standard approaches. Real Math is the curriculum choice of many of the parents protesting the use of “Everyday Math” in Palo Alto, CA.
I haven’t been able to confirm this yet, but it appears that PVASD may be using SRA’s Real Math from McGraw-Hill.
According to a friend who specializes in teaching children with learning disabilities, “Say what you will about SRA, but they always get results in reading — and apparently in math, too!”
https://www.sraonline.com/rm_home.html
According to the website, SRA Real Math includes “Building Blocks” (NSF funded research), and “is a research-based curriculum that balances skills-driven strategies and real-world practice to effectively engages pre-K-6 students in math education. Real Math is taught with a unique instructional philosophy. It doesn’t just require calculation and memorization. It helps students understand math and internalize math concepts.”
I had a terrific conversation with Sherri Connell, curriculum specialist in Penns Valley Area School District. She indicated that the district has been emphasizing data-based decision making, grade-level teams and learning planning models to move their district toward targeted proficiency goals. In elementary schools, Study Island is being utilized to help kids master materials and to permit parents to assist their kids.
She was careful to clarify that the PVASD curriculum targets specific learning outcomes and that materials (e.g., texts) are selected in support of their curriculum. In the case of mathematics, she confirmed that they utilize SRA’s Real Math.