Got rid of Edina Math and added Advanced Algebra

Edina Math Racial Breadown 2013-2014 (approximately)

40% White
60% Black/Hispanic/Middle Eastern

Advanced Algebra Racial Breakdown 2014-2015

63%
13%
10%
13%
o

White
Black
Hispanic
Middle Eastern
36% Black/Hispanic/Middle Eastern

What was Edina Math and what was the problem?

Edina Math was started with the best of intentions-a different way for
students to learn. Over time however, there was a stigma to the class,
perhaps caused by the name (it started as E-math and then switched to
Edina Math in year 3 of exsistence) so students didnt want to take it. The
biggest problem ended up being that the racial diversity in the class was not
at all in line with what we would want to see, and they were not getting the
same level of rigor as our other high school math classes. As one teacher
who taught it put it, Students in this class are never getting high school
math. See the bottom of this document for more details on what the course
description was for Edina Math.
I decided to look at how we were currently doing things to see if there was way to
do them better. My ultimate goal is to find a way to get rid of all of our lower level
courses and to really work at differentiating within the classroom (and we are also
looking at trying to get some co-teaching going with 2 math teachers in a room),
but we are further from that than what I would like. Having said that, I instead
looked at what was really holding students back from being successful in Advanced
Algebra. Most often, it came down to that they did not have the Algebra Foundation
that they needed. So instead of pigeon holing students who were so far behind for
3 years, I created a course called Advanced Algebra 1/4. In their first semester, they
are just working on Algebra (this will only get them math elective credit). During
second semester they learn the first third of the Advanced Algebra curriculum and
then the second year they learn the second and third thirds of Advanced Algebra.
While it is a two year course, it allows them to take another regular math course
their senior year. I looked at data to see who needed to be in this course and kept it
as small as possible. I made sure as many students as possible stayed in higher
level math classes. As you can see from the data above, we have made strides in

the right direction for racial equity but we are still a long way from where we need
to be!

Edina Math Course Description

Edina Mathematics was designed to personalize learning for students who
have completed some but not all of the Grades 9 11 Minnesota
Mathematics Standards. Students will either have completed or be making
progress toward completion of standards in: I. Mathematical Reasoning; II.
Number Sense, Computation and Operations; III. Patterns, Functions and
Algebra; IV. Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability; and V. Spatial Sense,
Geometry and Measurement at the grades 9 11 level. Although the
standards included in the two year Edina Mathematics sequence are the
same as the standards included in an Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2
sequence, the Edina Mathematics delivery model allows for students to begin
their learning in different places and to progress at different paces. When
the course is completed, the course title on the students transcript will
reflect the content mastered by the student. The course title will be selected
from the following: Algebra Part I - Edina Math, Algebra Part II - Edina Math,
Geometry Part I - Edina Math, Geometry Part II - Edina Math, Advanced
Algebra Part I Edina Math, Advanced Algebra Part II Edina Math. Students
will be assigned to this course based on their performance in previous
mathematics courses and standardized test scores.