Mathematics

Because math is a skills-based subject, student learning needs to be scaffolded to provide students with the tools they need to navigate increasingly complex problems. It is therefore essential to continually reinforce understanding and fluency in algebra. Our math sequence, which aligns with University of California matriculation requirements, has algebra woven throughout, ensuring that students develop ever-greater fluency as they proceed through the sequence, and find success in advanced classes, as well as collegiate math courses. 

Our math classrooms are active, vibrant places where students practice and apply math. Our teachers use a variety of instructional techniques to engage students in their learning process, and our 70-minute class periods allow for collaboration and project-based learning. For example, we drop Barbie dolls off the balcony to model quadratic equations, and use differential calculus to model and compare the spread of rumors and infectious disease! Desks aren’t arranged in rows; students often sit in small groups or circle up, or are out of their seats entirely. While teachers demonstrate new concepts, they aim to “get off the board” as quickly as possible, turning the reins over to students to explore problems collaboratively, using real-world examples to bring math to life. Our math teachers also make inventive use of cutting-edge instructional technology, such math-specific software such as Geogebra, Desmos, and Geometer’s Sketchpad, as well as Notability to capture lessons and solutions for posting to Canvas, our learning management system. Students also gain familiarity with graphing calculators, because these are still commonly used in standardized testing.

We offer significant breadth in our program, with new students sitting diagnostic placement exercises that are carefully reviewed, along with prior coursework and standardized test scores, in order to land them where they’ll find the optimal challenge and pace of instruction. We carefully monitor student performance in the first few weeks of each school year to make sure we have made the right placement. We do not lock students into any one track: we revisit student placement every spring during course signups, and there is always the option to take a summer course in order to accelerate, if appropriate. When making placement decisions and throughout their instruction, our teachers are alert to the importance of achieving the fluency and confidence required to master complex topics. Students who reach our highest available level of math before their senior year are matched to accredited on-line courses and/or double up in a related discipline, such as science.

There is little evidence demonstrating that tracking by ability improves outcomes in mathematics (for reference, read John Hattie’s Visible Learning research, and Jo Boaler’s work on mathematical mindsets), but we admit students from over 20 countries, 20 different states and dozens of different schools, who have all had different experiences in mathematics prior to arriving at Stevenson. Given this diversity of prior learning, we designed our math sequence with multiple entry points so we can best serve all our students. With an average class size of 12, our teachers are also able to closely monitor the progress of each individual student to make sure they are challenged appropriately and given the opportunity to feel successful. Our program is structured in a way that allows us to challenge those with prior experience with advanced math topics while also supporting students needing more time with foundational concepts. 

Yes! We offer lots of opportunities for students to apply their math skills across and beyond the curriculum. Our program in engineering and applied science includes elective courses in pre-engineering, robotics, computer science, coding, and architecture--opportunities to which many of our most math-positive students gravitate. Our students have seen great success in national math competitions, most notably Math Madness. They also compete in Who Wants to Be a Mathematician, California Mathematics League, AMC 10 and AMC 12, Purple Comet, and Mathletics. This year, our statistics honors class is doing a school-wide study on workload to complement our work with Challenge Success, and are providing data to the academic department chairs to help teachers accurately assess how long assigned homework takes to complete.