Eric.ed.gov – Title I Elementary Math Program of Minneapolis: 1972-74. No. C-74-34.

The aim of the Title I math program was to improve the teaching of mathematics at the primary level in Title I schools. School staff and Parent Advisory Committee members had suggested and helped plan the focus of the project. It was expected that improved teaching would raise the level of understanding of basic mathematics skills and concepts of primary pupils. Testing of the children, however, was incomplete and inconclusive. All Title I primary teachers were eligible for the project. Most of the teachers from 25 public and 9 nonpublic schools availed themselves of the services offered by the project during the two years, 1972-74, covered by this report. This evaluation concentrated on the activities of the project and teachers’ responses to those activities. Teachers received over 11,000 hours of inservice training. More than 900 demonstration lessons were given by the Math Team and more than 10,000 sets of instructional materials were distributed. These activities were supported by Title I funds of $155,408 for the two year period. Participation in the project was voluntary. The high number of requests for the Math Team’s services was an indication of the need felt by the teachers for assistance in teaching math. Recommendations were made. These included clarification of objectives and development of criterion-referenced tests to measure those objectives. (Author/BJG)