Douglas Van Dine

Recognizing that many students struggle when transitioning from middle school to high school math, Denver Public Schools (DPS) is partnering with REL Central to better understand why some student pathways are more likely to lead to 9th grade math success and what can be done to support student success. One factor DPS is exploring is the quality of mathematical discourse that students are exposed to in math classrooms.

When evaluating a school's performance, education leaders often look at how the school compares with institutions in its geographic area, how it fares academically against its main athletic rivals, or how it rates against state averages. But are these really the most accurate ways to gauge a school's performance? As part of the Nebraska School Improvement Research Partnership, REL Central and the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) came together to find ...

Designing a comprehensive math program for a school or school district is a lot like erecting a building. In addition to having all the right materials, construction workers, and so on, you also need to have a sound blueprint. A blueprint or learning sequence for a math program that leads to student success begins very early on - as early as kindergarten. As students progress through the various stages of their math education, there are important milestones alon...

As it becomes more commonplace for schools to offer, and students to take, Algebra I in middle school, questions have arisen as to whether they may be missing out on fundamental skills and knowledge that would prepare them to succeed in the class. This concern is further bolstered by data that shows that students who become frustrated in Algebra I often do not take higher level math classes derailing early learning gains or worse leaving them disenchanted with further ...