Math-science partnership in the works

In a project that cuts across all levels of education in the Spokane area, universities, community colleges and school districts plan to collaborate on improving student performance in math and science.

In an agreement to be formalized Monday, officials will start working toward aligning curricula among high schools, community colleges and university classrooms – trying to ensure that students are learning the things they’ll need as they move up. Leaders from the institutions will also collaborate in an effort to hire more “highly qualified” math and science teachers and develop extracurricular programs.

It’s not the first time officials from different institutions have worked together on math and science issues. But it will be the largest effort so far and could attract grant funding or state appropriations, officials involved with the group said this week.

“We need to take this to the next level,” said Gary Livingston, chancellor of the Community Colleges of Spokane and former Spokane schools superintendent. “Can we form an alliance that is unique in the state and the country, where we have the K-12 system, the community colleges, and universities all collaborating on science and math?”

It’s the latest move to battle a big concern in education, business and government: declining skills and interest in science and math among American students, while the world becomes more technologically complex and while countries such as India and China produce ever more scientists and researchers.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has said fixing the problems of math and science education is now Washington’s “Are we going to go to the moon?” day. She has proposed a package of almost $200 million to hire more and better teachers and improve math and science teaching statewide.

A work team of educators from the seven institutions will begin meeting regularly and developing ways to try and meet the group’s goals.

Joan Kingery, academic director for educational programs at Washington State University-Spokane, said she expects concrete changes in the classroom as a result of the initiative, though such steps may still be a ways off.

“A very large question is, where do we start?” Kingery said.

One of the big issues facing the group is “alignment,” which refers to how well expectations and instructions are coordinated among institutions. Currently, different school districts can use different math curricula and colleges have different requirements for admission.

“Everybody does what they do. With the two community college campuses, Eastern and WSU, Whitworth and Gonzaga – there’s no coordination of what college-readiness means for mathematics,” said Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Brian Benzel.

Improving math skills is not only for college prep. Officials say students need to develop a level of math literacy similar to that of language simply to be prepared to operate in a highly technological world.

A large percentage of all Washington students did not meet proficiency standards in math and science on last year’s Washington Assessment of Student Learning – the state test used to determine whether schools are meeting federal reform requirements.

In the Spokane Public Schools, about half of all 10th-graders who took the WASL last year were considered “proficient.” In science, that figure was below 40 percent, according to the Washington State Report Card.

Offsetting that trend will require more resources and more concentrated effort throughout the school system, officials said.

“As early as the sixth grade, I think we need to start intervening with students, trying to impress upon them the importance of science and math,” said Ron Dalla, interim provost at Eastern Washington University. “If you wait until high school, you’re already sometimes too late.”

Efforts to improve math education are sometimes contentious, and different institutions have different curricula and expectations.

Spokane Public Schools adopted a new math curriculum last year that shifted the emphasis to some degree away from traditional mathematics and toward developing critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The curriculum has been criticized by some parents and college professors, who say it leaves students without the foundation needed to study math in college or enter careers such as engineering.

But even if high schoolers meet WASL standards in 10th grade, that doesn’t mean they’re ready for college, Benzel said. Spokane Public Schools recently added a required third year of math to graduate, and Benzel noted that most colleges and universities expect four years of math.

“Our biggest concern is that too many students stop taking math after the 10th grade,” he said.