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District staff outline new ninth-grade pre-algebra intervention and an assessment plan to improve math proficiency
Summary
District staff described a new 80-minute pre-algebra course for targeted ninth graders, added tier-2/tier-3 interventions, and a plan to track progress with fall/winter/spring benchmarks and Keystone exams; staff stated a goal to raise proficiency from 8% to 20%.
District staff outlined a targeted math intervention for ninth-grade students during the board meeting, describing course structure, measurement and an update cadence for the committee.
A district director explained the new pre-algebra course will create two sections (32 students total, configured as two groups of about 16) within an 80-minute block to increase time on task. The director said the change provides an intermediate curriculum option between remedial and high-level pre-algebra materials and that the course functions as a tier-2 intervention.
The director described additional tier-2 and tier-3 resources the district plans to deploy and said classroom assessments will be aligned to standards. Progress will be measured using fall, winter and spring benchmark tests and the Keystone exams; staff described the district’s current proficiency level as 8% and said the goal is 20% proficiency for the targeted group. “We’re doubling the amount of time that kids are spending in math in ninth grade,” the director said. The director added the district expects empirical data at multiple points in the year to track changes.
Staff told the board the purchase of curricular materials tied to the course is intended as a one-time expenditure for the current adoption cycle, and typical curriculum cycles run about three years, with review on roughly a six-year horizon. Implementation updates will be provided biweekly to the comp-plan team and shared with the broader district group on a regular scorecard schedule.
Board members asked about specific grade-level impacts and whether the materials were for 7–8 or 9–12; staff confirmed materials apply to the described ninth-grade pre-algebra sections and said no ongoing additional material costs are anticipated from the change. The district also acknowledged an earlier administrative ordering error on social-studies resources (separately discussed) and said corrected quantities were requested to match current enrollments.
Next steps include continuing curriculum-alignment work, building classroom-ready assessments aligned to standards, and providing the board with regular progress updates.
