Supporting Systemic Changes in High School Math
Two new guides help with badging systems
Complex systems don’t just spring up overnight, but require careful planning and design, implementation, review and revision, all with attention to long-term sustainability. Such care also needs to be brought to new programs in education if we want them to last. In this blog we describe two resources that we developed to support the implementation of the XQ Math Badging System, but which can provide a template for other similar initiatives.
XQ is a nonprofit organization focused on reimagining high schools so that every student graduates ready for college, career, and life. One of XQ’s core design principles is “meaningful, engaged learning”: providing young people with learning opportunities that build knowledge and skills through real-world, relevant experiences.
The XQ Math Badging System is built on a framework of 23 competency-based badges comprising high school algebra, geometry, and data science concepts such as linear equations and trigonometric functions. Learning opportunities are structured around Content and Practice Expectations for each badge, and students demonstrate their learning through tasks, performance assessments, and portfolios that are grounded in real-world, practical contexts.
Each badge represents a meaningful milestone in learning, allowing students to build and show mastery in ways that go beyond traditional coursework. While the 23 badges can be configured into different pathways,including the traditional course sequence of Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry, they also give educators the flexibility to select relevant badges that supplement interdisciplinary courses or learning goals such as credit recovery.
Building XQ Math Badging in a State
Most of the math badging work began as a state-led initiative with state leaders identifying district partners willing to get on board, together with school leaders and math teachers from the high schools in those districts. This is a multi-year process, moving from an idea about reforming high school math into a stable implementation model that has value and is sustainable over time.
We took some of the early documentation of what leaders at various levels of the system needed to attend to at different points of the implementation journey and created two implementation guides that work together to support leaders:
- XQ Math Badging System: Implementation Guide for State Leaders
- XQ Math Badging System: Implementation Guide for District Leaders
The guides are written with practitioners in mind and are based on the experiences of partner states during the multi-year pilot phase of the badging system. To help with the practical steps of the work, they include a series of action steps, sample resources, and templates for internal workflows. These guides build on insights from XQ’s broader work with states and districts to support innovative, student-centered learning. We will periodically update them as new core resources become available.
Key Steps in Implementation
Both guides are built around the same four phases of work or action steps:
- Evaluating program fit
- Preparing to launch the program
- Launching and improving the program
- Sustaining the program
The first step, Evaluating Program Fit, provides suggestions for who needs to be involved in initial discussions to understand the badging system, and whether it is a good fit for the state and/or district at a particular point in time. It also addresses how to assemble a strong core advisory team to guide any future implementation.
The second step, Preparing to Launch the Program, expands the work of this advisory team at both the state and district levels, and suggests a series of steps that are typically conducted in the school year prior to the initial launch. These steps are necessary to ensure a smooth rollout and to get sufficient buy-in from all relevant interest-holders.
The third step, Launching and Improving the Program, focuses on practical steps for state and district leaders to continue to support the implementation of the badging system once it has been launched. This step addresses the importance of continuing to support the professional development of school leaders and teachers, along with strategies to investigate what works and what needs improvement.
The final step, Sustaining the Program, focuses on the long-term actions needed to sustain this work. This involves more systematic program evaluations and securing additional funds based on evidence about program impact, including testimonials, survey results, focus group insights, or data such as course-taking patterns and assessment outcomes.
These documents are not intended to be read once, cover to cover, and then be set aside, but, rather, we hope that they serve as ongoing reference documents for each stage of the work. They are designed to provide enough structure to be helpful, with enough flexibility to allow for adaptation to local contexts and needs.
Use Beyond XQ’s Math Badging System
The two guides were written specifically for XQ’s Math Badging System, but they are usable more generally. Many of the steps can easily be adapted for other innovative educational initiatives, particularly those related to competency-based, student-centered learning and performance- and portfolio-based assessment.
For example, actions under Step 1, understanding the scope and goals of a new initiative, coalition building, and evaluating the readiness of a state or district to embrace it, are directly relevant to a wide range of initiatives. Similarly, in Step 2, understanding how to situate a new initiative in terms of standards, courses, and curriculum is critical, along with planning professional development for those who are part of the initiative. Other systems, whether grading, or tracking student work over time, or onboarding new teachers into the work, are highlighted in the later action steps.
Aiming for Sustainability
Why do initiatives fall by the wayside? School and district leaders, and certainly teachers and students, often have initiative fatigue. As a result, they often adopt a “this too shall pass” attitude, waiting for the next new thing to distract those who are currently fired up with the “initiative du jour.”
Sometimes a program is not quite right in terms of its design, or timing because many of the possible participants are already grappling with other changes. At other times the rollout of new ideas is not communicated well enough to those most affected by them. Teachers might be expected to reinvent entirely new courses with insufficient time to create new materials or learn new approaches for the classroom. Or the implementation starts off with genuine enthusiasm, but teachers are not provided with sufficient time and professional development support to address the local bumps in the road that will naturally arise.
The two guides we created with the XQ team and their partners provide an outline for investing in a new initiative, covering major steps needed during a three- to four-year implementation plan, from initial conception to a robust and sustainable program. This work is part of a broader effort to support lasting, system-level change in how high schools prepare students for what comes next. We hope you find the four steps and specific actions a useful starting point for implementing and sustaining math badging—or other transformative high school initiatives—in your district, school, or classroom.
Photo by Allison Shelley for EDUimages