Sweetwater Middle School in Georgia has consistently scored below district and state averages on the math CRCT exam, failing to meet AYP requirements. ALEKS is an online math program developed by researchers to individualize learning based on a student's existing knowledge. It was found to improve standardized test scores in several studies. The document proposes implementing ALEKS school-wide at Sweetwater to help students learn at their own level and improve scores on the CRCT exam.

1. Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Space By: Sabrina McDow

2. PROBLEM Sweetwater Middle School in Gwinnett County School District, Georgia USA has failed to meet Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) mainly because of the math Criterion Referenced Competency Test.

3. The next slide shows the scores for 2010, 2009, and 2008 in math for Sweetwater Middle School. The test scores are below the district and state averages. PROBLEM

4. Sweetwater Middle School Math CRCT Scores

5. ALEKS is an online software program developed from research at New York University and the University of California, Irvine (UCI) by software engineers, mathematicians, and scientists with the support of a multi-million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation. Research

6. Research It is based upon original theoretical work in “Knowledge Space Theory”. This work began in the 1980’s by Jean-Claude Falmagne. He is the founder and Chairman of ALEKS Corporation (Introduction to ALEKS).

7. RESEARCH There were several people and organizations that researched the affect of the ALEKS system on improving math test scores. Researchers include the following: Vincent LaVergne from Shawnee Mission South School District Holly Stillson and Parthasarathi Nag from Black Hills State University

8. Development ALEKS History

9. COMMERCIALIZATION The ALEKS software has been granted by UCI to ALEKS Corporation under an exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license (UC Regents and ALEKS Corporation, 2011)

12. Knowledge The following link will explain how to use ALEKS. How to use ALEKS

13. Persuasion Follow the link to see a video on ALEKS ALEKS

14. Persuasion Follow the link to find the website for ALEKS

15. Decision/implementation/confirmation ALEKS is currently being used by hundreds of thousands of students each year in over 50 courses (ALEKS, 2011). Thousands of k-12 schools and higher education institutions around the world are currently using this software (ALEKS, 2011).

16. The S-Curve (Estimation)

17. Innovators and Early Adopters The innovators and early adopters for this program would be the 8th grade math teachers and the special education math teachers. These teachers could use the ALEKS program with the current students to test its benefits and ease of use.

18. The sixth grade math teachers would be the next group of teachers to utilize the system for effectiveness. Laggards The laggards would be the seventh grade math teachers because they currently have the highest math scores and will not see the need in trying a new innovation to raise math test scores.

19. Laggards cont. The best strategy to move the seventh grade teachers towards adopting ALEKS, would be to prove its effectiveness with sixth and eighth grade math.

20. Meeting critical mass Triability Triability

21. Meeting critical mass Observability Triability

22. Meeting critical mass Observability

23. Decentralized Diffusion System The ALEKS system should be piloted at Sweetwater Middle School.

24. Change Agent The Change Agent will be the eighth grade math department chair and an effective eighth grade math teacher.

25. Critical Mass Critical mass can occur with our success rates. We have the power to make a change

26. Sweetwater Middle School has not met AYP because of the math CRCT scores. As a school, it is our duty to provide the best possible education for our students. ALEKSis the solution. ALEKS is a technological innovation that offers an opportunity for Sweetwater Middle School to assess the needs of the students’ math skills, individually. CONCLUSION ALEKS builds on “what the students already knows”. It will produce the results we are looking for in our scores.

27. References ALEKS Corporation. (2011). Research behind aleks. ALEKS. Retrieved from http://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/research_behind ALEKS Corporation. ALEKS for higher education. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIhHxnbAVxY&feature=related Education.com. (2011). Sweetwater Middle School. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/georgia/lawrenceville/sweetwater-middle-school/. Falmagne, J., Doignon, J., Cosyn, E., Thiery, N. (2011). The assessment of knowledge, in theory and in practice. ALEKS.com. Retrieved from http://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/Science_Behind_ALEKS.pdf

28. Introduction to ALEKS: A beginner’s guide. Retrieved from http://people.msoe.edu/~jorgensen/ALEKS_Intro.pdf LaVergne, V. (2007). The effect of the ALEKS web-based learning system on standardized math scores. Shawnee Mission Board of Education. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/4813630/ALEKS-Action-Research-Results-April-2007. Stillson, H., Nag, P. (2009). Aleks and mathxl: using online interactive systems to enhance a remedial algebra course. Mathematics and Computer Education: 43(3); Docstoc pg. 239. Retrieved from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/44985516/ALEKS-AND-MATHXL-USING-ONLINE-INTERACTIVE-SYSTEMS-TO-ENHANCE-A-REMEDIAL-ALGEBRA-COURSE References