SITES

Districts with experience using standards-based middle school mathematics curricula share their implementation stories.

STORIES

Return to Map
View Text List of Story Sites



Implementation Story

Connected Mathematics Program

Portland, Michigan

Since 1991, Portland Middle School in Portland, Michigan has been a field test site for the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP), a mathematics curriculum for grades 6, 7, and 8 that is being implemented in a number of schools across the United States. CMP is modeled after the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Standards for excellence in mathematics.

The goal of CMP is to help students achieve a comprehensive understanding of mathematics and enhance their problem-solving and reasoning skills. The curriculum is designed to help students develop a knowledge and understanding of mathematics by making connections - connections among core ideas in mathematics, between mathematics and other subjects, and with the application of mathematics skills in the real world.

RESULTS

The impact of the project on Portland students has been significant. Portland Middle School's test scores on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) show an increase in the percentage of students with satisfactory scores and a decrease of students with low scores (see table below).

MEAP - Seventh Graders
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1998
1999
2000
Students Scoring in Satisfactory Category
44.4 %
56.7 %
63.3 %
68.2 %
78.8 %
75.3%
83.1 %
78.5 %
78.3%
Students Scoring in Moderate Category
35 %
28.3 %
28.1 %
23.4 %
14.4 %
18.5%
14.5 %
17.4 %
15.9%
Students Scoring in Low Category
20.5 %
15 %
8.6 %
8.4 %
6.8 %
6.2 %
2.4 %
4.2 %
5.8 %

Portland students also showed improvements on all individual strand subscores on the MEAP (see table below).

Strand Subscores
Median Percent Correct
Strand
1992
1996
Whole Numbers and Numeration
65
68.2
Fractions, Decimals, Ratio, Percent
64
72.3
Measurement
67.2
72.8
Geometry
50.7
68.6
Statistics and Probability
68.8
79.1
Algebraic Ideas
50.8
61.9
Problem Solving and Logical Reasoning
53.9
71.1
Estimation
47.5
62.6
Computation
53.8
67.7
Mental Arithmetic
60
61.7

Grade 8 MEAP Math
  2002 2003
Level 1 Exceeded Michigan Standards 22.7 24.4
Level 2 Met Michigan Standards 36.4 28.8
Level 3 At Basic Level 24.2 24.4
Level 4 Apprentice 16.7 22.5
Number of Students Tested 132 160