I teach 9-12th grade math in a small rural high school where poverty and student trauma levels are high. Many of my students come from broken families and are the first person in their families to go to college. Over the past two years, interruptions in instruction due to COVID-19 have created large mathematical learning ravines for students. I see my students becoming more anxious in regards to testing and less confident academically. Their capacity and desire to be resilient in regard to problem-solving have become somewhat diminished. COVID-19 has also drastically limited my students’ opportunities to take the ACT more than once due to illness in their families, /quarantine rules, and other obstacles related to scheduling in the COVID era.
My Project
Every junior in our state takes the ACT test as a way to measure their college and career readiness. Our school’s five year trend shows a significant drop in ACT math scores. Purchasing a set of ACT Math Workout books will provide student materials to allow me to conduct an ACT Bootcamp in order to help my students focus on specific math learning gaps that have been widened even more by COVID-19. An ACT Bootcamp will ensure equitable access for my students to practice for the ACT, while also providing differentiated instruction for students with different ACT baseline performance levels.
By having my students complete the ACT Bootcamp, they will have the opportunity to become familiar with the test format and mental tasks demanded by the ACT, which will help reduce student anxiety and help develop a growth mindset.
This academic coaching will help students gain greater confidence and the ability to understand and master mathematical concepts they may lack familiarity with, which can help improve their scores. By helping my students set ambitious goals, create a focused plan, and adopt test-taking techniques during the Bootcamp, I can help them become more motivated and optimistic in raising their scores. Those higher scores will give my students better odds of acceptance into post-secondary institutions that they may have thought were out of reach, earn merit-based scholarships, and may even help convince many of them that they truly are “college material”.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Hutchison and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
