Approve contract with Dr. Gladis Kersaint to conduct a content analysis of Voyages (and other resources in wide use) in relation to the current mathematics standards and to appraise their correlation with the draft of the new standards.

In December, The Department of Assessment and Accountability initiated a series of requests to experts to submit a proposal to evaluate the elementary mathematics program (with Voyages as the principal component). Drs. G. Kersaint, T. Lott-Adams, and E. Ortiz submitted a proposal. Because a draft of the new standards for mathematics has been released, the district has requested that they refocus the evaluation on 1) a content analysis of Voyages and other mathematics materials based on the current standards and their expertise and 2) an appraisal of the same resource materials in relation to the new standards. The new standards will become the district’s curriculum before the new materials adoption list is approved by the state; that is, the district will be teaching the new standards with current resources. During the transition, the FCAT will continue to be based on existing standards. The modified evaluation will provide needed information necessary to provide as smooth a transition as possible for teachers, students and parents. This contract is the first of three that will be submitted to the School Board in regards to this project.

Goal 2: The percentage of students scoring at Level 3 or higher on FCAT mathematics will increase a minimum of 5 percentage points. Critical Success Factor 2.e: Align mathematics curriculum, instructional practices, and assessment instruments to maximize student achievement.

The total evaluation cost will be $45,000. This $15,000 contract is a portion of the complete evaluation cost. Other contracts will be presented to the Board at the April 10, 2007 meeting. The funding comes from Project 5043, non-recurring funds.

It is anticipated that this evaluation project will be completed on or before August 1, 2007. The final report will be provided as information for the School Board.