In "School Rethink 2.0," editors Frederick M. Hess, Michael B. Horn, and Juliet Squire gather leaders immersed in the nuts-and-bolts work of educational reinvention to present ten promising education improvements and ways to implement them. Contributors, including acclaimed education pioneers Sal Khan, Beth Rabbitt, and Larry Berger,…

Curriculum change affords middle leaders opportunities for pedagogical and planning renewal. This paper reports case studies of two schools engaged in preparing for implementation of Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. Drawing on interview data from a middle leader from each school, Bacchi's question, "What's the problem…

This mixed methods experimental study examined the impacts of the Early College High School model on students' college readiness in mathematics measured by their success in college preparatory mathematics courses in the 9th through 11th grades, and disaggregated for academically prepared and underprepared students. This study looked at the…

Across many international contexts, more recent standards-based and other educational reforms have largely intended to transform teaching. Given the importance of teacher learning to such transformations, we argue that a learning-focused support approach will be essential if such reforms are to be productively taken up by schools and teachers. We…

Research for Action (RFA) in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin is engaged in a five-year mixed-methods study of the reforms associated with California AB 705. Over the course of the study, our team will assess the implementation, impact, and cost effectiveness of reforms associated with the law. This report first offers a…

In this dissertation in practice, the background of middle grades mathematics acceleration detailed why the organization benefited from a program analysis. Middle grades mathematics acceleration encourages students to take high school Algebra I in eighth grade so they can earn college-level math credits for free in high school. Often acceleration…

In the context of national collaborative efforts to increase the prevalence of active learning strategies in undergraduate precalculus and calculus classrooms, we discuss the context, strategy, and processes used at one university to create change within a mathematics department. We highlight the use of a unified active learning approach and the…

The Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards encourage substantial shifts in teaching, but how to enact change is not specified. This mixed-methods exploratory study shows how different implementation supports were related to teachers' use of standards-aligned instructional practices in the Chicago Public…

We studied a case of a school in a high need setting that undertook multiple simultaneous initiatives during a major school reorganization. We focused on the simultaneous implementations of two comprehensive initiatives, one related to ambitious mathematics teaching and one related to the Understanding by Design curriculum writing process. We…

We describe a project to restructure the way Applied Calculus is taught at our university to improve student success rates. Eliminating large lecture sections, re-evaluating the needs and expectations of our students, developing uniform course delivery and grading systems, incorporating active learning teaching methods, and focusing on conceptual…

Addressed toward course coordinators and departmental leaders interested in redesigning an undergraduate mathematics course, we highlight the steps our team at the University of Maryland, College Park has taken in bringing active learning to our Precalculus course. We provide examples of ways in which we have coordinated active learning across…

The Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M) were released in 2010 with a goal to improve critical thinking skills and prepare all students to thrive in college, careers, and as informed citizens. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) followed in 2013. Using districtwide surveys of students in grades 6-8, conducted annually from…

This paper addresses the demands for change in the teaching and learning of mathematics in the schools of America. Many of the demands stem from the way rapid changes in information technology have altered our economic and social culture. In particular, these technological changes have changed both mathematics and its applications. Given these…

This article presents a case study that details the successes and lessons learned by faculty and administrators at San Diego State University (SDSU) who are in the process of implementing a substantial improvement to the Precalculus to Calculus 2 sequence. Improvement efforts have been informed by national studies of successful programs and center…

Executive Order (EO) 1110, a major policy adopted by the California State University System (CSU) Chancellor's Office in August 2017, requires CSU campuses to eliminate non-credit-bearing developmental courses in written communication and math/quantitative reasoning, and change how students are placed into entry-level courses in these areas. The…