Gadsden Math Initiative

NMSU’s College of Education is creating the model for closing mathematics achievement gaps among Hispanic students, said Karin Wiburg, associate dean for research.

The Gadsden Math Initiative (GMI) – a partnership between the university and the Gadsden Independent School District – is implementing methods for teaching math to elementary and middle school students that are raising test scores.

Recently released data shows fourth-grade students in the district scoring at or above the average for all fourth-grade students in mathematics in the state.

“The outcomes study so far confirms that these initiatives have had powerful positive effects on learning when they are implemented districtwide,” Wiburg said, adding that Gadsden schools are the perfect place for this study because their population reflects the changing demographics of the nation.

The student body in the Gadsden district is 95 percent Hispanic and an estimated 57 percent of the students come from homes where the primary language spoken is not English. The U.S. Census Bureau reported a 73 percent growth rate for Hispanics from 1990-2002, a period in which the U.S. population grew only 16 percent.

“Because of this growth, teachers everywhere in this country will soon be faced with culturally and linguistically diverse students they have not been prepared to teach,” Wiburg says. “We need models of professional development that work to decrease the achievement gap for Hispanic students.”

The GMI focuses on helping students understand and build math concepts rather than memorizing techniques. GMI and the outcomes study are being funded by a National Science Foundation grant that continues until June 2006.

Julie M. Hughes