Aiming for Algebra

Girlstart, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

Aiming for Algebra is a project of Girlstart, a nonprofit organization in Austin, Texas. Its goal is to prepare middle school girls for and support their completion of Algebra 1 in the eighth grade as a means of readying them for college preparatory math and science classes in high school that lead ultimately to completion of the college majors required for SMET careers. The primary objectives of the initial 36-month demonstration period include improving girls self confidence and academic self-esteem; increasing girls' awareness of SMET careers and the high school and college coursework required to enter such careers; enhancing girls knowledge of and ability to use algebra in their lives; improving parents awareness of SMET careers for women; and increasing parents' awareness of ways to encourage their daughters' success in algebra and subsequent math and science courses in high school and beyond. The proposed intervention methods to achieve these ends include participation in an integrated continuum of activities as part of a ifgirls-only science math clublc over a three-year period, as well as involvement in a range of other community- and Internet-based math and science experiences with parents and other adults. The intellectual merit of this project derives from its translation of a significant portion of the body of previous research on the best practices for addressing gender inequities in SMET careers and the disparity in the mathematics and science achievement of girls in the United States into a single, cohesive informal program approach. Moreover, the project will employ a cohort design that will facilitate an understanding of what parts of the intervention model have the most impact on the intended outcomes. A rigorous evaluation component and a strong dissemination plan further strengthen the likelihood that Aiming for Algebra will result in a better understanding of how specific programmatic activities affect girls mathematical skills and their attitudes about and aspirations for math and science careers. The straightforward, unwavering focus on the completion of Algebra 1 in the eighth grade is another feature that makes this project meritorious. By tying its success to a single, observable goal and directing all of its energies to achieve this one purpose, the project sets itself up for rigorous comparison with other efforts with an identical goal. Aiming for Algebra intends to make its methodologies so transparent and so well documented that future research and demonstration projects can be erected squarely on the intellectual capital it creates and disseminates. Insofar as its broader impacts, the project will contribute to an improved understanding of the ways girls can be best prepared for taking and making good grades in Algebra 1 before they reach high school; it will advance understanding among teachers and teacher preparation programs of how girls' expectations of their science and math performance in high school and beyond can be improved; it will provide empirical evidence of ways that female members of groups underrepresented in SMET careers- including but notlimited to those who are ethnic and racial minorities, low-income, linguistic minorities, and differently abled- can be included in informal programming designed to redress the inequity; and, perhaps most importantly, the project will benefit society by improving the nation's ability to identify and remedy long-standing social, economic and academic practices that have disadvantaged its female population and created obstacles to their full and equal participation in scientific, mathematical, engineering and technological professions.