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The Math Gap
Math is sequential and cumulative. Early instruction and achievement are crucial to prepare students for a rigorous high school curriculum and the path to post-secondary success. Students that don’t achieve early proficiency fall into the Math Gap – limiting their future before it can begin.
The Math Gap can be graphically visualized (right) by viewing Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores in math through the middle school years. The percent of students proficient or greater in third grade in math is only 38% in Boston in 2012. This proficiency declines by eighth grade to 35%.
During this same time, these students increase proficiency in English Language Arts from 35% to 63%. Students are capable of significant improvements in performance but are missing key building blocks for their mathematics foundation. These students are not equipped for high school math and most can never catch up.
Our teacher coaching programs have increased abilities to identify and close gaps in students’ learning for 90% of participants and a corresponding improvement in math MCAS scores at a rate five times the Boston Public Schools average.