New provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act have encouraged many districts and schools to set improved student math achievement as one of their annual goals. Many schools in the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) organize their partnership programs to include activities that help meet this goal.
Research suggests that involving families and the community in math activities can lead to gains in student performance on standardized math achievement tests. Analyses of data from NNPS’s Focus on Results project showed that schools using more Type 4-Learning at Home activities reported greater improvement in the percentages of students passing state standardized math tests.
NNPS schools reported using Type 4 math activities such as interactive homework (e.g., NNPS’s Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork) and maintaining a resource library from which family members can borrow math materials to work on at home with their children. Many schools use these and other Type 4 partnership activities to help improve student learning in math. For example, in Elkridge, MD, Deep Run Elementary School organized a math committee that created monthly curriculum-related projects for children and parents to do together. Each project asked students and family members to apply math concepts learned in the classroom to everyday activities using items commonly found at home. By connecting these projects to the school’s math curriculum, the projects reinforced student learning outside the classroom.
A particular challenge to involving family members with students’ math is that many adults do not feel confident in their own math skills. This issue becomes more prevalent as students move into middle school and begin to take more difficult math courses. In response to this challenge, Thurmont Middle School, in Thurmont, MD, designed monthly student and parent workshops for their sixth graders. At these workshops, students and family members worked together on math problems while teachers provided guidance and instruction. At the end of each session, students and parents received materials to work on together at home.
Vena Avenue Elementary School in Arleta, CA used teachers, community members, and high school students to help provide after-school drop-in clinics for students who need extra instruction and help with their math homework. Parents of students were personally invited to join their children in these clinics and were shown how to use math manipulatives, games, and other resources. The result of these clinics was that parents learned how to work with their children and gained a better understanding of the school’s math curriculum.
NNPS schools also collaborate with community partners to help improve student math achievement. At Kennedy Jr. High School in Lisle, IL, students practiced estimation skills by shadowing a local salesperson for a moving company. Students provided clients with moving cost estimates based on the approximate size and weight of the job. Students were provided with printed materials to prepare for the estimation task, bus transportation, and prizes for best estimates. This practice helped students apply math to a real-world situation.
It is essential for all students to master basic math skills. Schools can guide families and community partners to help students better understand math and succeed within and outside of school. For more details on these practices to involve families and the community in students’ math, refer to the 2002 and 2003 annual collections of Promising Partnership Practices, mailed to NNPS members or available online at www.partnershipschools.org.