Just over two years ago barely 50-percent of students at Carolina High School & Academy were able to pass the South Carolina Algebra EOC exam. The abstract nature of Algebra I was a mystery to half of the students who took the test, and these percentages of success and failure are typical across the country when it comes to solving Algebra.

Clearly, in order for students to succeed in "the gateway course", some changes would need to be made. And they were.

Pitsco Education's Algebra program was introduced in an attempt to reach struggling students and improve state end-of-course algebra exam results. Traditional methods of teaching algebra we're not working, and so administrator's turned to a project-based, hands-on solution that promised to make the abstract concepts taught in Algebra I meaningful and relevant.

“I absolutely prefer this way of teaching. Teaching toward the concepts rather than just procedures is 10 times better,” said teacher Andrew Baker. “The students can understand it. When you’re teaching to concepts rather than procedures that are abstract to the students, it would be hard to think the traditional way (of teaching algebra) would be better.”

Mr. Baker appears to be right.

Success was achieved quickly the first year, as about 70 percent of Algebra students who completed the Pitsco Education Algebra program passed the South Carolina Algebra EOC exam in 2008-2009, compared to a 50-percent average for the school the previous year. The upward trend continued in 2009-2010 as 93 percent of Pitsco Algebra students passed the state EOC exam.

“I’ve had college-prep and lower-level students in here. As far as motivation, they all want to succeed,” Baker said (watch video). Assistant Principal Michael Delaney, a former algebra teacher, says the hands-on, project-based curriculum that prompts students working in pairs to have “math conversations” gets him excited. Click here to watch the video.

“It’s really showed students the relevance of math. In other words, it’s putting a lot more meaning into it,” he said. “They get to experience the concepts instead of just being told what the concepts are. That really makes a difference. That’s when they can make those connections, not only to math but to other courses.”

Teachers are helping students to grow in self-confidence, and success in previously perplexing subject areas is perhaps the biggest confidence builder of all. Pitsco Education Algebra was implemented in 2008 as an attempt to reach struggling students and improve state end-of-course algebra exam results.

Click here to learn more about the Pitsco Education Algebra program.