Abstract
Failure in algebra is the #1 trigger of dropouts in high school according to a former superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) (Helfand, 2007). Too many urban students of color are failing or performing below basic in foundational mathematics. The author, a teacher at West High School, has been able to achieve different results with low income urban students in algebra. The author has used specific strategies that have helped the majority of his once low-performing students to consistently succeed in algebra and outperform their peers throughout the entire Grand District and state of California. The strategies used by the author have been integrated into an instructional model called C.R.E.A.T.E. This project focused on documenting the impact C.R.E.A.T.E. could have on the results other math teachers experienced with their students in foundational math classrooms, specifically, algebra and geometry. Furthermore, the study revolved around the issue of replicating the success the author has had with C.R.E.A.T.E. in other classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine if the implementation of C.R.E.A.T.E. in other teachers’ classrooms at West High School resulted in a majority of low income and underperforming students succeeding on district and statewide math assessments in algebra I and geometry. The documentation of strategies and results from the implementation of C.R.E.A.T.E. may provide evidence for administrators at the district and state level to determine if the C.R.E.A.T.E. model should be implemented as a way to address the pressing crisis of failure in math for diverse urban populations.