This qualitative content analysis study examined different middle school mathematics pathways from a large district in Florida to determine possible gaps in the accelerated curricula and to determine if the students have the required knowledge to succeed in Algebra I Honors and Geometry Honors. The study aimed to answer three research questions: (1) In what ways do Florida’s Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards included in the non-accelerated and accelerated pathways for middle school mathematics differ in a large urban school district in Florida? (2) Which of the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) 12 Indicators are absent from the accelerated pathways in middle school? and (3) In what ways do Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards differ from the district’s learning targets in the non-accelerated pathway for middle school mathematics in a large urban school district in Florida? Data collected included sixth through eighth grade Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards for Mathematics, the 2022-2023 scope and sequence (learning targets) from a large district in Florida, and the SREB 12 Content-Specific Readiness Indicators that classify the skills necessary for a student to be successful in Algebra. Findings suggest that in most of the pathways available for students in middle school, students miss between half of the seventh-grade standards, the entire eighth-grade standards, or half of the seventh-grade and the entire eighth-grade standards. The study also found inconsistencies between the district’s learning targets and Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards for Mathematics. Likewise, the study suggests that the students who follow three main Accelerated Pathways (Mixed Pathway One, Mixed Pathway Two, and Doubled-Accelerated Pathway) do not receive all the content needed to succeed in Algebra I and Geometry as recommended by the SREB 12 Indicators. The results from this study can be used to improve or develop a middle school mathematics curriculum that considers the impact of the standards missed during Accelerated Pathways and provides all students with access to the necessary skills and content to succeed in Algebra I Honors and Geometry Honors.
Chair: Dr. Juli K. Dixon
The public is welcome to attend. Please contact the Committee Chair (Juli.dixon@ucf.edu) for details regarding attendance.
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