Understanding the Impact of Culturally Responsive Instructional Materials on Middle School Students' Math Achievement Scores in Westmoreland County

Building Administrators and Algebra I teachers in Westmoreland County have worked hard to determine the root causes of students’ historically low achievement scores on the Algebra I Keystone Exam over the past decade. Through intensive data analysis, they have investigated the alignment of their curriculum to Pennsylvania Core State Standards, their instructional practices, and the alignment of their in-class assessments to Eligible Content Items covered on the Algebra I Keystone Exam. Yet one area that has not been intensively investigated is the impact of culturally responsive instructional materials on student achievement scores. This research study focused on building administrator and teacher perceptions of their primary instructional materials used in Algebra I classrooms, as well as the amount of time and money dedicated to support educator professional development to successfully implement those resources in their classrooms. Participants completed perception surveys to share their thoughts about their instructional material, supplemental materials, Open Educational Resources, professional development, and time and funding spent by their district to support teachers. They also completed the Culturally Responsive STEAM Scorecard to evaluate the cultural responsiveness of their primary instructional materials. In addition, the researcher evaluated the presence of Eligible Content Items present on the Algebra I Keystone Exam on primary Algebra I instructional materials used by three case study districts representing Westmoreland County. While there was not a strong correlation between the culturally responsive nature of instructional materials and student achievement scores, there was evidence that shows that the lack of Eligible Content Items present in primary instructional materials negatively impacts student achievement scores.