Numeracy 1
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| Grade Level: 9 |
Support/Core: Support |
Course Description
Numeracy 1 is a support class for freshmen whose incoming skill in math is below the 7th grade level. The class focuses on building core numeracy abilities, such as using the four basic operations, understanding base-10 concepts, using decomposition strategies and estimating, decoding word problems, and working with fractions. This class does not directly teach Algebra standards; instead, it focuses on the key mathematical reasoning abilities that are needed to be successful in Algebra 1.
This Course Supports: Algebra 1
Description and rationale of the relationship between the courses:
Though all Numeracy 1 students take Algebra 1 concurrently, it is not intended to shadow the Algebra 1 curriculum, and it is not an Algebra skills support class. The class, as it was originally conceived, was an Algebra 1 shadow class. Over time, however, we realized that students had large holes in their fundamental understanding of math concepts. More practice in Algebra was necessary but not sufficient – they needed to have their basic numeracy concepts rescaffolded from the ground up. This hypothesis was confirmed by correlating students’ grade level equivalencies (GE), as determined by an independent, computer-based adaptive test, with their letter grades in their math classes. Since developing the Numeracy 1 class, students have found greater success in Algebra 1.
Prerequisites:
Other: Students are placed in the class automatically if they score below 7th grade on a computer-based adaptive test.
Sequence of Courses:
