A Plan for Improving Mathematics Instruction in California Elementary Schools. Final Report of the Mathematics Education Task Force.

In a project designed to improve elementary school instruction in mathematics, the California Department of Education collected achievement and profile data from 67 elementary schools. Schools were classified according to size, socioeconomic status, minority representation and mobility of students, city size, and type of community. Profile data were related to instructional practice, teacher characteristics, leadership activities, and community involvement. Data were analyzed to identify profile elements which distinguished between high and low achievement schools in the same classification. These data affirmed 60 hypotheses whose implications are discussed in this document. These hypotheses led to plans for workshops in leadership training and for implementation workshops in the schools. The purposes, characteristics, and planning of these workshops are discussed. Appendices provide copies of the survey instrument, information on making school profiles, instruments for evaluating workshops, and transparency masters for use in workshops. (SD)