Engaging Students in High School Algebra: The Better Math Teaching Network. Summative Developmental Evaluation Report

From 2016 to 2021, the Better Math Teaching Network (BMTN) aimed to transform high school mathematics teaching in New England. Researchers and teachers worked together to make high school Algebra I classes more student centered. Network leaders organized the BMTN as a networked improvement community (NIC) to address a common problem of practice using improvement science. The BMTN was piloted with a group of nine teachers during the 2015-2016 school year and added teachers the following three years. In all, a total of 63 teachers engaged in the BMTN. Selected from a pool of volunteers that applied to join the network, participating teachers worked in urban, suburban, and rural contexts and taught at least one Algebra I course to 9th grade students. They engaged collaboratively to continuously improve their teaching, enhancing learning for thousands of high school math students throughout New England. This report is a developmental evaluation that studied and supported the networked improvement community's (NIC) initiation, development, outcomes, and dissemination of lessons learned. The developmental evaluation of BMTN aimed to: (1) infuse an evidence-based critical friend/thought partner perspective into the network development process; (2) track growth and the development of the NIC as a learning organization; (3) produce useable knowledge for the education field and specifically for other educators, policymakers, funders, and researchers interested in the NIC model as a way to organize for improvement and address high-leverage practical problems; and (4) advance the evaluation field by testing and refining models for evaluating improvement processes and NICs in education contexts.