The study examines summer Algebra 1 readiness camps in five Rhode Island districts, launched to help prepare rising 9th graders for the state’s new high school math requirements. Funded by the Rhode Island Department of Education, these programs showed promising results:
- Algebra 1 camp attendance was strong, with more than half of participants attending over 81-100% of program days, with an average attendance of 75%.
- Students in the program had fall math test scores that were 4.5 percentile points higher than similar students who did not participate, and students who were struggling the most with math appeared to benefit the most from the programs.
- Student confidence and engagement increased for participants, with teachers attributing these outcomes to the project-based learning model.
These findings provide one of the first detailed looks at how Rhode Island districts are implementing strategies to meet the state’s updated graduation requirements.
