Honors Algebra Case Study Summary

Mike Rose details the faults of the education system in a piece concerning his own personal experiences. His high school education was radically changed when his school swapped his test scores with the scores of a student with the same last name. The system depended upon test scores to determine the path of classes that individual students must take, and due to the weak performance reflected in Mike Rose’s alleged scores, he was placed on the vocational path. Unfortunately, the vocational path was implied to be the lowest tier of classes in the school - so despite Rose’s natural intelligence, he was placed within remedial classes due to the IQ within his file.

In this chapter, Jo Boaler describes several school systems who do not use “tracking,” filters that separate students into high-level mathematics classes and low-level mathematics classes. She continues with a discussion that reminds us of the harmful effects of “tracking” and the damage it does to students’ mindsets, both those students on the high-level and the low-level track. Ms. Boaler goes on to suggest that heterogeneous groups of students can effectively work together and individual students can develop a growth mindset. The remainder of the chapter focuses on teaching mixed ability groups effectively and includes an in-depth look at how the tasks students complete and the type of instruction they receive can promote growth mindsets.

In the essay “Trapped in the Community College Remedial Maze,” Mikhail Zinshteyn suggests that developmental courses in community college are a problem because they do not “move [students] closer to earning a degree” even though they are mandatory (3). Zinshteyn considers that there are studies that prove that remediation courses prevent students from “succeeding in college” (3). Zinshteyn claims that most students with good grades in high school are required to take “developmental education at the community-college level” (1). Zinshteyn implies that the most students have to take developmental courses because “they took a test that found their math of English language skills to be lacking” (3). The author notes that being told that you need to take a remedial course can be demoralizing, especially when you think you do not need it (qtd.

The Winter term of Algebra II Accelerated presented a significant challenge for Dylan as we moved past review of the topics he encountered in Algebra I. He earned a commendable grade of 94% on the Unit 3 test, which assessed his understanding of inverses of lines and quadratic equations. Dylan missed several classes due to illness, however, upon his return, he seemed to lack his enthusiasm for Mathematics. Dylan was proactive in setting up a timeline to make up his work, but he failed to show up for his make-up test.

I took part in the Moody 's Mega Math Challenge, a yearly mathematical modeling competition in which teams attempt to use mathematics as a predictive and analytical tool for discussing a given problem. The Challenge focused on STEM and non-STEM careers, comparing the short-term cost of college and the long-term financial stability of both career paths. We were given 14 hours to complete a comprehensive paper offering a solution to their questions I and four others divided the work amongst ourselves. I was given responsibility for the first part of the problem, comparing the short term college tuitions between STEM and non-STEM fields. I would take a full 12 hours to complete this surprisingly sizable task.

Secondly, the student must not neglect his or her college coursework which has the potential to significantly decrease both the student’s high school GPA (grade point average) and college

In Carl Singleton’s article, “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s,” he argues that students aren’t receiving the failing grades they deserve. School systems are to blame for the lack of quality in America’s education. No other recommendation for improvement will succeed. The only way to fix the American education system is to fail more students. According to Singleton, the real root of the issue is with the parents.

Being in front of this challenge students try to work harder in order to succeed. In the article, Sherry uses pieces of evidence from her personal experience and examples to support her thesis. Also, her article is well-organized, and Sherry uses an academic language. However, Sherry do not consider many aspects that might affect students. She gives to much importance the example that she gives with her son.

Just because they are in their senior year teachers should see if that person is capable to read spell or write. Another thing is the students who puts their effort into school and still are not able to understand the subject then that will be different. For example, students with special disorders are the ones that will fall into that category. One of the many night students that sherry teaches said “I was a good kid and didn’t cause any trouble, so they just passed me along even though I didn’t read well and couldn’t write” (1). This example, shows that instead of the teachers using a method that gives her the power that she needs, students do as they please without much effort.

These parents start out with the full intention of supporting the teachers and their children’s schools. Yet, something goes wrong along the way as they and their children fall into a homework trap. The problem starts in elementary school. The notes come home, and the parents get “the call.” They meet with the teacher and make plans to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Typically, students are assigned to algebra coursework based on a combination of teacher or counselor recommendation, prior achievement, and student or parent preferences (Dougherty, 2015). For the decade before the adoption of Common Core State Standards in 2010, the policy of the State Board of Education was to make Algebra 1 the standard course for eighth graders so they could progress to Calculus in high school (Fensterwald, 2014). There has been a movement, the “Algebra-for-All”, where student readiness for algebra was questioned (Goodman, 2014). Yet, universal enrollment may force underprepared students into a course in which they may not be successful, particularly without additional supports. Simply mandating that all students

By examining students achievement, a vital program can be highly arranged throughout their period of studies in a university (Z. Ibrahim

The essay attempts to discuss the ethicality as well as the effectiveness of tracking students in order to help organize and keep track of students easier. Tracking and labeling students creates the opportunity for the self-fulfilling prophecy to occur. So when teachers label students as average or below average often students perform at the same level unconsciously. Unfortunately, this only helps a select few, those who receive a “good” label such as gifted or accelerated as it sets the standard for the learning environment for the teacher as well as the student. Tracking students is not the issue, however, it is how students are treated as well as the quality of education that students receive as a result of human error and the inability

Jeffrey is struggling with deciding what classes he is interested in for the upcoming school year. He does not believe a class in the fine arts will help him in his future and provide him with the skills he needs to succeed. Similarly, he believes an arts class will not coincide with his plans for the future. Similar to Jeffrey, other students believe the arts are unimportant. Students do not comprehend how important the arts are in the future and how it can help them with other subjects as well.

Knowing that teacher may not know everything and the students input is necessary in the teaching-learning process. • In classrooms, the teacher’s primary responsibility is to teach some skill, such as reading, writing, or computation, or somebody of disciplined knowledge, such as history, mathematics, or science. Although they appreciate that their students are emotional as well as rational persons, teachers do not turn classrooms into therapeutic centers for emotional or behavioral adjustment. They would oppose those nonacademic activities that interfere with the school’s primary purpose as a center of academic learning.