The Mississippi Department of Education recently announced that after two years of testing a new computer-based math program in selected school districts throughout the state, and closely monitoring the results, the program will be made available to all public school districts in Mississippi.
The Algebra Nation program has produced positive results in all the school districts where MDES has tested the program. Beginning this month, or soon thereafter, the Scott County School District and the Forest Municipal School District will begin utilizing the interactive learning program which is a powerful supplemental tool that teachers and students can use to help students perform better in math.
The expectations amongst administrators are that Algebra Nation will allow students, teachers and parents to work together in a structured manner while assisting students with their math activities and ultimately lead to students performing at higher levels on required statewide testing. Algebra Nation is a powerful teaching and learning system that was created to help students and teachers work together to improve student’s overall understanding and performance in Algebra. Created by a educational technology company based in Gainesville, FL, Algebra Nation provides a broad range of highly effective teaching and learning technologies that help propel students toward a better mastery of math.
“We are just now getting the program and now we are pushing the ball to get the program out to all of our district schools as quickly as possible,” said Nyisha Wells Scott County School District, Secondary Curriculum Coordinator. “This will not be a directive to schools that they must use the new program as we are leaving it up to the school administrators to use as a learning supplement to reinforce our students’ math skills.”
In a press release, The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announced that starting this school year, all Mississippi public school districts will be able to implement the Algebra Nation program, which is designed to help students perform better in their Algebra I courses.
Piloted in approximately 30 districts over the last two years, the Algebra Nation program includes custom-developed Algebra I resources, supports, student performance reports and professional development for teachers. The program also extends learning outside of the classroom by providing a virtual community of teachers and students that collaborate and learn online.
Algebra Nation pilot program districts experienced a 7.2 percent increase in the percentage of students scoring at proficient or advanced on the 2017 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) Algebra I assessment compared to a 4.8 percent increase for districts that did not use the Algebra Nation program.
The MDE Office of Secondary Education content staff and the Research & Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State University validated the effectiveness of the Mississippi-developed Algebra Nation resources.
“Mississippi students are benefiting from the instructional support Algebra Nation provides,” said Dr. Marla Davis, MDE bureau director and mathematics content specialist. “The program’s flexibility allows each district to use it in a manner that fits their individual needs and capacity.”
Algebra Nation staff, in partnership with the MDE, are hosting approximately 10 regional trainings for teachers around the state during the months of August and September.
Forest Municipal School District is in the latter stages of training administrators and teachers for use of the new program. “Our administration and school administrators have already completed the Algebra Nation training workshop, and our teachers will be trained at the end of this month,” explained Tammy Bell, Forest Municipal School District’s Federal Programs and Curriculum Director. “We are excited to get access to this program and believe it can really be a beneficial learning tool to help our teachers and students.”
The Algebra Nation program is being extended to all school districts through a $500,000 appropriation from the State of Mississippi Legislature.
