Results and History
Since the inception of the K-5 Math Initiative in the 2000-2001school year, participating schools have seen an average of a 22-point gain on the math portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test.
During that time, the Math Specialist Network has grown from five math specialists at eight elementary schools to 27 math specialists serving 28 campuses, including four middle schools.
Sixty-nine percent of the elementary schools that received additional professional development through the program scored higher than their district average on the 2006 TAKS math test.
At the district level, Houston ISD has embedded key components of the Math Specialist Network into its curriculum.
The K-5 initiative began in 2000 when ExxonMobil, Houston A+ Challenge and Houston ISD joined to fund the placement of five math specialists in eight elementary schools in Houston ISD's then-Southwest District.
The program proved so popular, that the number of participating schools and math specialists in the Southwest District nearly doubled in the fall of 2001. During the 2003-2004 school year, 15 schools in the Southwest and West Central districts participated in the initiative. In addition, the Northwest District began offering its teachers the same professional development used in the initiative for math specialists.
Houston ISD's math specialists are part of a national network of specialists supported by the ExxonMobil Foundation. Since 1988, the K-5 mathematics specialist program has been a centerpiece for the Foundation's effort to improving students' and teachers' understanding of mathematics. During this time, ExxonMobil Foundation has funded K-5 mathematics specialist projects in at least 119 school districts in the United States as well as in the Netherlands.
For more information, contact:
Mike Webster , Program Coordinator
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