Project OverviewPurpose: to partner with 9th grade math teachers as they implemented a proficiency-based learning & grading system in their Algebra I/Geometry classes, & to provide them with professional development that guided & supported their efforts.Alignment: Consistent with the SDP’s Anchor Goal 1, 100% of students will graduate, ready for college & career, PARLO emphasizes accumulating knowledge rather than averaging grades. Students who are not yet proficient persist & reassess for Proficient (P) or High Performance (HP) on Learning Outcomes, as defined by teachers & aligned to Keystone Algebra 1/Geometry eligible content. Duration: March 2010 – February 2016Participants: 16 (urban, suburban, rural) districts in Pennsylvania, 32 schools (including 10 SDP Schools), 85 teachers (including 16 SDP Teachers), over 4,000 students.

Contributors/StakeholdersFunder: National Science Foundation ($2.4mil, DRL #0918474)Stakeholders: school districts & 9th grade

Algebra 1 & Geometry teachers committed to improving math teaching & learning; 9th grade students & their parents/guardians.

Resources: buy-in from admin & teachers; research team with experience teaching HS math, implementing PARLO, & studying formative assessment; consultants (current & former math teachers/coaches); software to monitor student progress.

ActivitiesSummer PD: Teachers reviewed PA math standards, eligible content, curricular materials, & Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, & collaborated to develop Learning Outcomes; teachers learned how to incorporate formative assessment & provide meaningful feedback with the shared expectation that students would act on it.

PLCs: During the school year teachers participated in monthly 2-hour PLCs at individual schools that were facilitated by PARLO experts.

ImplementationIn ways both big & small, the enacted PARLO

study was clarified & strengthened in response to participants’ needs, concerns, & requests. PARLO in practice became vibrant as participants infused it with meaning, made it their own, & made it work for them inside the existing structures of individual classrooms & schools. 

Adaptation: In response to teachers’ feedback, after the first year, we asked the PARLO Experts who facilitated the PLCs to visit teachers’ classrooms monthly to observe their implementation & offer strategies that addressed their challenges (instructional, managerial, & logistical). This adaptation contributed to fidelity of implementation.

Teacher Outcomes 1. 89% adopted new practices/routines to make

PARLO work.2. 75% changed their feedback process to help

students focus on their errors/misconceptions & develop strategies to correct them.

3. During exit interviews, all teachers reported that going forward they would continue to implement all or some components of PARLO.

Contact InformationNancy Lawrence & Kathleen Krier

21st Century Partnership for STEM Educationnlawrence@21pstem, kkrier@21pstem.org

Michael Posner, Villanova Universitymichael.posner@villanova.edu

Sukey Blanc – External Evaluatorsblanc@creative-evaluations.com

� � � � � � �

, ĂƐƚŚĞ ƐƚƵĚĞŶƚ ĚĞŵŽŶƐƚƌĂƚĞĚ WƌŽĨŝĐŝĞŶĐLJŝŶƚŚĞ>ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐK ƵƚĐŽŵĞ͍ �

^ƚƵĚĞŶƚŝƐ E ŽƚzĞƚWƌŽĨŝĐŝĞŶƚ

E Ž

^ƚƵĚĞŶƚ WĞƌƐŝƐƚƐ

^ƚƵĚĞŶƚ ZĞĂƐƐĞƐƐ

zĞƐ

, ĂƐƚŚĞƐƚƵĚĞŶƚ ĚĞŵŽŶƐƚƌĂƚĞĚ ƐŽƉŚŝƐƚŝĐĂƚĞĚƵŶĚĞƌƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐŽĨŵĂƚŚĞŵĂƚŝĐĂůĐŽŶĐĞƉƚƐ�

E Ž

^ƚƵĚĞŶƚŝƐ WƌŽĨŝĐŝĞŶƚ

zĞƐ

^ƚƵĚĞŶƚŝƐ , ŝŐŚWĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ

For High Performance

Collaborating with 9th Grade Math Teachers to Implement a Proficiency-based Assessment & Reassessment of

Learning Outcomes (PARLO) System