Using Multiple Interventions to Improve Mathematics Achievement with Grade 8 Students - Research Proposal Example

An urban middle school in the southeast section of Mid-Atlantic city, where the average mathematics test scores were well below the state standards for more than four consecutive years is selected. Early interventions carried out by the school administration in this school including tutorial programs and integrating real-life situations into everyday mathematics to improve mathematics knowledge were failed. The proposed multiple interventions follow state mathematics content standards and the staff is trained by workshops on math manipulative tools.

These workshops provide teachers with the fundamental skills of using math manipulative tools to assist the students. Students are instructed in small groups to share their ideas, create confidence in their ability to perform mathematics and eliminate negative attitudes. This new education method is implemented until 2014 and the percentages of students that score above the state standards are calculated. The expected target is a 7.1% increase in the 8-graders that score above the state standards each year and expect all of the eighth-graders will be able to score above the state requirement by the year 2014.

The effectiveness of the proposed multiple-intervention math program is assessed by comparing the actual change in the percentage of 8-graders that score above the state standards with the expected target.  Mathematics educators operate in a complex environment due to demands inherent in the city, state, and federal standards accountability movement. The problem mathematics teachers’ face becomes more noticeable when standardized test scores reveal how poorly students perform. State assessment results for the past 5 years for the target school in this study indicated that nearly 40% of students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 fell below the lowest level possible on the state-standardized mathematics performance test.