Michael Sentance, the new State School Superintendent, recently made a presentation to the Board of Education regarding the “Math Crisis” in the state. Currently, Alabama ranks the lowest in Math education in the United States. It is a problem that he looks to remedy quickly. Sentance was the former secretary of education in Massachusetts before taking the helm in Alabama last month. He also notes that there are issues in science and reading, but math concerns him the most.

He informed the board that he would be creating a 25 person committee that will design and help to implement an action plan to help Alabama get back on track. The committee will be comprised of administrators, teachers, board members and business leaders from around the state. They will travel throughout the state collecting data to develop a plan. The committee will report back to the State Board of Education in December with their findings.

In the presentation, Sentance noted that the panel would also look at countries around the world and other states that are successful in Math. An emphasis will be placed on how to better train the current educators and ensure that teachers who need help get it. Another goal of the committee will be finding ways to attract talented Math teachers to the state. He hopes in 10 years they can make great gains thereby raising Alabama to a higher ranking in the nation.

Recently Lumos Learning released its Skilled Practice and Assessment program online that has been correlated to the ACT Aspire Testing for grades 3-8 in both Math and ELA. Lumos Learning’s Math program is a proven way to raise student achievement. Lumos Learning offerings include the Skillbuilder Online workbooks along with two online ACT Aspire correlated practice assessments with tech-enhanced question types. The program fully prepares students to succeed in the state testing system! To learn more contact me at 1-888-309-8227 ext: 103 or by email at jeremy.brunton@lumoslearning.com . I am here to help construct a plan that works for your school. At Lumos Learning we pride ourselves on helping schools to raise student achievement and ensure their students are college and career ready.

Article referenced: http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/10/superintendent_says_alabama_fa.html