Implementation of High-Order Applied Mathematics Assignments

The Rural Education District of the Ministry of Education administers schools that are not run through a municipality. It includes 174 high schools, 87 boarding schools (mostly in kibbutzim and regional councils), 46 youth villages, 33 religious schools and 8 vocational and agricultural schools scattered across the country. With such diversity and geographic spread, it is very difficult for the district to develop and implement a centralized policy. However, in certain domains it takes a more proactive role.

One such domain has been the effort to prepare more students for the five-unit track in mathematics in high school. Currently, 20% of the district’s twelfth graders successfully matriculate in the advanced track, an improvement from 14% in 2016 (compared to the national average of 15.5%). The middle school pipeline for this track consists of 49% (6,306) of the students who study in high ability groups in mathematics. However, only 7% (868 students) study in 41 excellence classes in middle school. The district believes that the drop-down in high performing students between middle and high school, is a consequence of an insufficient number of excellence classes in middle school, resulting in many students who arrive ill-prepared for advanced mathematics in tenth grade.

In order to bridge this gap, the district approached the Israel Center for Excellence through Education, which currently operates a program in the Jerusalem district. Together, they are proposing a three-year program which aims to better prepare students for advanced mathematics studies in high school. They plan to do so by strengthening the mathematics foundation of the students in the existing high-ability groups, and by opening enhanced ability groups.

In regular high ability groups, students receive five weekly mathematics hours in accordance with the curriculum. In enhanced ability groups, two teaching hours weekly are added to the regular curriculum of the high ability group, during which students learn applied mathematics skills. In this program, the district proposes to add 30 new enhanced ability groups in 30 schools. In addition, the teachers of the existing high ability groups in these schools will be expected to implement at least eight applied mathematics tasks during their regular weekly mathematics teaching hours throughout the year.

The Center, together with the district, will operate professional learning communities for 70 mathematics teachers of the excellence classes and high ability groups where they will learn how to implement the new material in their classrooms with their students, and share their experiences and receive feedback. Thirty mathematics department heads will attend similar communities where they will also learn how to guide their school’s mathematics team when implementing the new material. The Israel Center for Excellence and the district will select such material from different programs that are developed via the foundation’s portfolio.

In addition, the Center will organize a course for 15 lead teachers and district coordinators where they will learn how to guide the teachers’ communities and provide instructional coaching to the teachers. The goal is that by 2025, 15% (1,932) of the middle school students will graduate from the new enhanced ability groups. The desired outcome is for 80% of these students and those from the existing high ability groups to succeed on a diagnostic test developed by CET which aligns with the 5-6 proficiency levels of PISA.

* The text above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors / Grant 491