R&D: The Development of Student Cohorts for the Enhancement of Mathematical Literacy in Under Served Populations

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The Algebra Project in Cambridge, MA is developing and conducting research on what it describes as the Cohort Model for addressing the mathematics education of students that perform in the bottom quartile on state and district tests. The model has the following characteristics: 1) each cohort school commits to four years of reduced class size of 20 students and a common planning period for the teachers; 2) cohort students commit to take mathematics classes every day for 90 minutes for four years and to participate in summer institutes; 3) students use Algebra Project instructional materials for all four years; and 4) teachers agree to 2-3 weeks of professional development per year and classroom visits by Algebra Project team members. The predicted outcome is that most students will remain in the cohort for all four years and that almost all of those who do will perform well enough on college entrance exams to be admitted and will test out of remedial mathematics courses.