Credit goes to Algebra Project teachers and student tutors, who link the study of math directly to students' environment. The improvement is especially significant because research shows that mathematical literacy is a key to the future success of African American students. Houston's E. J. Scott Elementary School, where one third of the student body is classified with limited English proficiency, owes its success to the leadership of a strong principal, a collegial faculty included in planning and decision making and wide-spread parental and community support. It also has won the Texas Education Agency's Distinguished School Award. Last year, nearly 200 family members from 18 countries attended daily ILP classes to improve their English language skills and learn ways to support their children's education.
Results are encouraging.
The percentage of high school seniors taking the SAT examination increased 14 points over the previous year, with the average score rising 30 points. Attendance rates improved, too, up three points to 91.7 percent. The principal of Washington Elementary School in the San Francisco Bay area demands respect for adults from her students, involvement in the school from parents and a team approach among her teachers. Schoolwide average reading test scores have risen from about the 20th percentile to the 40th among state schools. In just two years, first graders have made gains of 50 to 75 percent, scoring above the national average on most tests.