Calculated Success

	Based on a Successful Program at: Roxbury Preparatory Charter School Written by teachers: Will Austin, Robert Dais, Jen Forgues, Lauren Harris, Catalina Saenz, and Jaime White
Look Inside: Table of Contents Introduction Book (81 pp.)

Description of Calculated Success

This book explores key elements of the successful math program at Roxbury Preparatory Charter School (RPCS), where students have consistently achieved higher scores on Massachusetts’ high-stakes MCAS exam than their peers at any predominantly Black school in the state.

Beginning in the fall of 2002, a team of six RPCS teachers spent a year working with the Project for School Innovation to explore and document all of the pieces that go into the successful math program—a teacher-generated curriculum that is carefully aligned with state standards, that is data-driven, that balances procedures and problem solving, and that emphasizes literacy in math.

The lessons that came out of this process are documented in Calculated Success, which is the seventh title in PSI’s By Teachers for Teachers series of how-to books and teacher-led workshops.

Major Topics Covered
Math Instruction, Curriculum Planning, Student Assessment, Teaching Techniques, Support for Teachers

Table of Contents for Cultivating Student Reflection

1. A Balanced Math Program: Instruction that Works

An introduction to Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, an historical perspective, and the case for leaving the “math wars” behind.

2. Calculated Success
An overview of this how-to guidebook and ten underlying goals achieved when math instruction works.

3. Math Instruction
Practices for assuring that each day’s lesson is aligned with specific skills, standards, and benchmarks that build students’ fluency with basic numeracy, while also stretching their conceptual, mathematical thinking.

- Lesson Design
- Fun Drills that Sharpen Skills
- Study Packets and Problem Sets
- Problem-Solving Lessons

4. Frameworks for Data-Driven Instruction
Three tools for developing rigorous curricula, tailoring it specifically to student needs, and delivering it effectively through research-based teaching methods
- Curriculum Alignment Template
- Data Analysis
- Inquiry Groups

5. Literacy in Math
Three practices Roxbury Prep teacher use to help students succeed in math by focusing on literacy
- Word Study
- Writing about Math in Math Class
- Writing about Math in English Class

Success Stories and Praise for Calculated Success Books and Workshops

•  Math teachers at City on a Hill who attended a Calculated Success workshop have adapted and implemented a RPCS-styled Curriculum Alignment Template in their own classes—aligning their curricula to state standards. After this successful pilot, they are now working with their colleagues to expand use of this tool.

•  Following a customized workshop on Calculated Success, teachers at Patrick O'Hearn Elementary School adapted RPCS’ writing-about-math worksheet into an age-appropriate version for their students. They called it “Detecting the Details” and immediately implemented it in their fourth and fifth grade classrooms.

•  At the Harbor Middle School, thanks to a Calculated Success workshop, all math teachers are bringing literacy into their classrooms. Students do written reflections at the end of each unit. 6 th graders use math journals to reflect on their Do Now’s. Seventh graders wrote their own math riddles and displayed them throughout the school for others to solve. Eighth graders use one period of sustained silent reading each week for practice on MCAS open-response word problems.

•  After attending a Calculated Success workshop, middle school teachers at Neighborhood House Charter School teachers developed an action plan to boost students’ mathematical reasoning skills. Meeting bi-weekly since September, this team collected baseline data, developed and implemented new rubrics for assessing the “reasonableness” of students’ answers, and created templates for students to use for making that assessment of their own work.

The presenter gave me concrete ideas that can be directly transferred to classroom use.
Participant
Calculated Success workshop

The presenter was knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
Participant
Calculated Success workshop

The most valuable part of this session was the interacting with my colleagues and the presenter. It allowed for a more focused session.
Participant
Calculated Success workshop

PSI Can Help You Implement These Strategies:

Customized Workshops
Our staff can come to your school to help you implement these school-tested strategies for math instruction.

School Visits
We can coordinate a visit to the Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, so you can see their successful strategies first hand.

Planning Tools
PSI can help you create a personalized step-by-step strategy for implementing successful math practices in your school.