March 2, 2015
The 6-8 Math Adoption Committee reviewed best practice research that will be used to create rubrics to evaluate curriculum next year. Members considered information from the following reports:

• Assessing Academic Rigor in Mathematics Instruction: The Development of the Instructional Quality Assessment Toolkit
• Developing Visions of High-Quality Mathematics Instruction
• The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (no longer available 5/28/21)
• Mathematics Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis of Instructional Components
• Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching

The committee continued a discussion of how standards rubrics will be used to evaluate the alignment of curriculum with the Washington State Mathematics Standards. At our next meeting the committee will finalize the best practice and standards alignment rubrics that will be used next year.

January 23, 2015
On January 23, the committee continued to review best practice research in order to begin developing rubrics to evaluate curriculum next year. Committee members considered research-based instructional practices from The National Research Council and The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Examples of instructional practices reviewed by the committee included:

• Establishing mathematics goals to focus learning
• Implementing tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving
• Using and connecting mathematical representations
• Facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse
• Posing purposeful questions
• Building procedural fluency from conceptual understanding
• Eliciting and using evidence of student thinking

Committee members also examined rubrics that can be used to evaluate the alignment of curriculum with the Washington State Mathematics Standards. These rubrics were developed by a national team of educators with expertise in mathematics and mathematics education, with support of the Council of Chief State School Officers and National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. Members of the committee then used these rubrics to analyze 6th, 7th, and 8th grade instructional units from our current curriculum in order to evaluate the rubrics and to continue to learn about the Washington State Mathematics Standards.

November 10, 2014
The 6-8 Math Adoption Committee met for a full day to continue learning about best practice in middle school math instruction and to review Common Core State Standards. During the meeting, committee members read research-based practices from the Institute of Education Sciences (the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education).

Examples of recommendations considered by the committee included:

• Assisting students in monitoring and reflecting on the problem-solving process
• Teaching students how to use visual representations
• Exposing students to multiple problem-solving strategies
• Helping students recognize and articulate mathematical concepts and notation
• Spacing learning over time
• Combining graphic and verbal descriptions
• Connecting and integrating abstract and concrete representations of concepts

In January 2015, committee members will continue to review best practice research in order to begin developing rubrics to evaluate curriculum materials next year. The 6-8 math committee will make a recommendation for the adoption of 6-8 materials and resources by May of 2016.

October 21, 2014
Middle school teachers, administrators, parents, and community members met for a full day on October 21, 2014. At this first meeting, committee members were provided with an overview of the curriculum adoption process, including the timeline for the work of the committee over the next two years. The group then began to learn about best instructional practice for 6-8 math. They will be using this learning to develop best practice checklists (rubrics) that will be used to review math materials next year. A recommendation for 6-8 math materials is scheduled for the spring of 2016.