Liggett Math Department Has Changed to Combat the National Decline

After classrooms reopened from the pandemic, University Liggett School’s math department struggled to find its footing. Patrick Dreyer, a junior, said, “I think in my freshman year, I had several different teachers.” 

Faculty had to manage personnel turnover, a new curriculum, and declining mathematics national averages. However, many agree that the department now is the strongest it has ever been.

Over the past four years, the math department at Liggett has taken steps to improve. The department as a whole is seeking to redirect and separate Liggett from the downward trend in mathematical education across America. Since 2019, National Assessment of Educational Progress scores in math have been decreasing, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, with an overall decline in average score from 285 to 274. Scores had peaked in 2013 and plateaued for the next six years.

The acknowledgement of this trend led to the introduction of a new curriculum at Liggett. The curriculum was changed from specific disciplines like geometry to a full course of integrated math. 

According to Math Department Chair Erin Montagne, “Integrated math uses the foundation of mathematics and then continues.” 

Montagne went on to say, “The states that had moved to integrated math were scoring highest in the international math and science examinations. Their scores continued to go up.”

Integrated math now makes up the majority of the upper school math progression. This change to the curriculum requires more studying from the learner and assistance by teachers, as integrated math touches on more topics.

Immediately following COVID-19, the math department struggled. Faculty were leaving, and the new curriculum was just being introduced. 

Jeffery Watson, an upper school math teacher, said, “The decision to move to integrated was sort of made before I started.” 

Hiring Watson was a part of the department's effort to improve. Watson said, “We had some teachers in the department that taught the ninth grade that maybe weren't as rigorous as they needed to be.” Watson said that these teachers are no longer at this school. 

Liggett is attempting to buck a national trend. Data from the Center for Reinventing Public Education shows that math scores improved until 2013, when they stagnated and fell. Currently, national scores are lower than they were in 2002.

Montagne said that Liggett is “trying to prepare ourselves for seeing those gaps in the classroom.”

Montagne and Watson believe that part of this growth can be attributed to the NWEA, a standardized test taken by millions of students nationwide and administered at Liggett since last year. 

Montagne, who announced that she will be leaving Liggett after Dec. 19, is the primary reason for NWEA being introduced to the school. The tests were added after students bemoaned the lack of standardized testing, and she saw room for a more accurate assessment of a student to be utilized.

Roughly 80% of Michigan schools, both public and private, also use NWEA.

Based on these results, alongside in-class data, teachers can adequately assess students, which class they should be in, and where they are headed.

Watson said, “I think it's part of the whole picture. I think they're relevant to see how they are doing,” he said, referring to his students. “How are kids doing on national standards, and how are they doing as far as getting prepared for the SAT and ACT?”

The department's efforts have led to positive trends in test scores. According to Montagne, “PSAT scores were the highest in math that they've been in, like, nine years.”