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IV. C. RELATED RESOURCES: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTES
AND MATERIALS
These resources are available through the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of
Texas at Austin unless otherwise noted.
Assessment Series:

Middle School Mathematics Assessments: Proportional Reasoning
Proportional reasoning, one of the “big ideas” of middle school mathematics, is essential
for formal algebra readiness. This resource includes 51 problems that require students to
use proportionality across all the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills strands: Number,
Operations, and Quantitative Reasoning; Patterns, Relationships, and Algebraic
Thinking; Geometry and Spatial Reasoning; Measurement; Probability and Statistics; and
Underlying Processes and Mathematical Tools. Included are connections to the TEKS
and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills; guiding questions; model solutions;
and sample student work to help teachers understand what their students know about
proportionality in grades 6–8.
This resource is available as a book or on a CD, and is also available free online (at
www.tenet.edu/teks/math/clarifying/msassessments/). The companion professional
development experience, Practice-Based Professional Development — Middle School
Assessments: Proportionality, is available through TEXTEAMS at www.texteams.org.

Algebra I Assessments
This resource provides teachers with assessment tasks, including connections to the
TEKS, the TAKS, and the TEXTEAMS Institute, Algebra I: 2000 and Beyond; guiding
questions; model solutions; and sample student work to help teachers understand what
their students know about Algebra I content. This resource includes 25 core problems and
50 supplementary tasks.
Algebra I Assessments is available as a book or on a CD, and is also available free online
(at www.tenet.edu/teks/math/clarifying/algebra1/). The companion professional
development experience, Practice-Based Professional Development: Algebra I
Assessments, is available through TEXTEAMS at www.texteams.org.

Algebra II Assessments
Algebra II is increasingly important as a rigorous mathematics course for all students.
Algebra II Assessments provides teachers with assessment tasks that help define what the
TEKS require of students in Algebra II. Also included are connections to the TEKS, the
TAKS, and the TEXTEAMS Institute Algebra II Assessments; guiding questions; model
December 2004. Ensuring Teacher Quality: Algebra I and Algebra II, produced by the Charles A. Dana Center at The
University of Texas at Austin for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
IV. Course Content, C. Related Resources
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solutions; and sample student work to help teachers understand what their students know
about Algebra II content. This resource includes 39 problems.
This resource is available as a book or on a CD, and is also available free online (through
the Dana Center’s web catalog, at www.utdanacenter.org/catalog/; click on Classroom
Resources). The companion professional development experience, Practice-Based
Professional Development: Algebra II Assessments, is available through TEXTEAMS at
www.texteams.org.
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Mathematics TEKS booklet
This bound booklet of the mathematics TEKS is a great companion for any of the TEKSimplementation resources available through the Dana Center. You can also view the
mathematics TEKS free online at the Texas Education Agency website
(www.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter111/index.html).
Mathematics Abridged TEKS Charts: Kindergarten–Grade 12
The full-color TEKS wall charts are poster-size reference guides for the five mathematics
TEKS content strands, organized across K–12 grades and courses with abbreviated TEKS
student expectations.
Foundations of Functions: A Resource for Mathematics Vertical Teams
This book provides activities to strengthen teachers’ mathematical knowledge about the
concept of function, and to help these teachers understand how the curriculum they teach
supports the development of the function concept for their students. The activities in this
book are designed for vertical teams of mathematics teachers in grades 5–8; however,
they are also appropriate for vertical teams that include high school teachers.
This resource is available as a book or you may access this resource free online (through
the Dana Center’s web catalog, at www.utdanacenter.org/catalog/; click on Classroom
Resources).
Mathematics TEKS Toolkit
This online resource provides resources and services for implementing the mathematics
TEKS and for strengthening mathematics education in Texas. Sections include:
• Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
• Supporting the TEKS and TAKS
• Instruction and Assessment
• Professional Development
• Resources
December 2004. Ensuring Teacher Quality: Algebra I and Algebra II, produced by the Charles A. Dana Center at The
University of Texas at Austin for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
IV. Course Content, C. Related Resources
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• Program Development: Quality Mathematics for All
The toolkit contains resources for administrators, leaders, teachers, higher education
faculty, parents, and communities. Available online at www.mathtekstoolkit.org.
Improving Algebra I End-of-Course Exam Scores: Evidence From the Field
This study looks at Texas schools with the largest improvements and largest declines in
the percentage of students passing the Algebra I EOC exam from 1997 to 1998. Available
free online (through the Dana Center’s web catalog, at www.utdanacenter.org/catalog/;
click on Reports and Issue Briefs).
Guidelines for the Mathematical Preparation of Prospective Elementary Teachers
This resource provides higher education faculty with voluntary guidelines for
mathematics courses designed for prospective elementary teachers. This resource may be
accessed free online (through the Dana Center’s web catalog, at
www.utdanacenter.org/catalog/; click on Higher Education Resources).
Supporting and Strengthening Standards-Based Mathematics Teacher Preparation:
Guidelines for Mathematics and Mathematics Education Faculty
This book is designed for mathematics and mathematics education faculty who have
prospective mathematics teachers in their classrooms. It includes standards-aligned
mathematical tasks appropriate for college students seeking teacher certification in Texas.
It also includes two sets of vertically connected tasks — one on number concepts and one
on infinite processes — that demonstrate how to build and connect mathematical
concepts across the teacher certification levels. This resource may be accessed free online
(at www.utdanacenter.org/mathematics/highered/s3mtp.html).
TEXTEAMS Professional Development Institutes
TEXTEAMS is a comprehensive professional development program for K–12
mathematics and science teachers. TEXTEAMS institutes are purposefully designed to
assist classroom teachers in understanding and implementing the TEKS and TEKS-based
assessments, including the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS.
Institute activities focus on the integration of manipulative materials, graphing
technology, hands-on activities, multiple representations, and questioning strategies
designed to promote effective instructional strategies and improved student achievement
on TAKS. For more information see www.texteams.org.
December 2004. Ensuring Teacher Quality: Algebra I and Algebra II, produced by the Charles A. Dana Center at The
University of Texas at Austin for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
IV. Course Content, C. Related Resources
4
Algebra I: 2000 and Beyond
The Algebra I: 2000 and Beyond Institute assists teachers in bridging the gap from
students’ concrete understanding of arithmetic to the functions-based algebra called for in
the TEKS and TAKS. Participants engage in activities and discussions that promote the
teaching, learning, and assessment of algebra for everyone. Using multiple
representations, appropriate technology, and concrete models, the institute broadens and
deepens teacher content knowledge and instructional strategies. The Algebra I: 2000 and
Beyond Institute focuses on an in-depth examination of foundations of functions and
linear functions. Additionally, quadratic and exponential functions are explored.
Practice-Based Professional Development: Algebra I Assessments
This session uses and examines student work from TEKS-based Algebra I classrooms.
Participants analyze student work to evaluate the level of student understanding.
Instructional strategies to address student needs are generated and discussed. Participants
gather work on selected assessment tasks from their own classroom. Classroom, campus,
and district-level implementation is addressed as it relates to TEKS and TAKS.
Algebra II/Precalculus Institute Part 1
The Algebra II/Precalculus Institute is a professional development experience designed
to extend participants’ understanding of the foundational concepts developed in the
Algebra II and Precalculus TEKS. The institute begins by developing foundations for
functions and exploring functions as a unifying theme. Part 1: Algebra II/Precalculus
Institute focuses on topics that are common to both courses. These concepts include
foundations of functions, transformations, exponential and logarithmic functions, and
power functions and polynomials. These concepts are further developed in the two
companion institutes, Part 2: Algebra II and Part 2: Precalculus.
Algebra II Institute Part 2
This session further develops the concepts introduced in the Part 1: Algebra
II/Precalculus Institute. Participants examine and explore the functions and concepts
addressed in the Algebra II TEKS, including matrices, linear programming, quadratic and
square root functions, rational functions, and conic sections. Part 2: Algebra II Institute is
designed as a continuation of the Part 1: Algebra II/Precalculus Institute. Part 2 consists
of more than 24 hours of content-specific Algebra II professional development.
Practice-Based Professional Development: Algebra II Assessments
Participants experience selected Algebra II assessments and examine the assessments for
alignment with the TEKS and TAKS. This session uses and examines student work from
TEKS-based Algebra II classrooms to evaluate student understanding. This session
December 2004. Ensuring Teacher Quality: Algebra I and Algebra II, produced by the Charles A. Dana Center at The
University of Texas at Austin for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
IV. Course Content, C. Related Resources
5
focuses on methods for evaluating student work, developing strategies for classroom
implementation, and making instructional decisions based on student work. Strategies for
fitting the Algebra II assessments into a district’s yearly plan for Algebra II will be
discussed. The institute is designed for presentation to teachers on 3 separate days during
the school year to allow participants time to implement the assessments in their
classrooms and to collect student work for examination of student understanding.
Rethinking Secondary Mathematics: Algebraic and Geometric Modeling
This institute focuses on the development of “mathematical modeling” as a powerful
process for use in all secondary mathematics courses. This modeling process is used to
engage participants in a variety of activities that explore mathematical concepts,
functions, and structures to describe and explain real-world situations. This institute
develops algebraic and geometric models by using a four-stage mathematical modeling
process: identify the problem, variables, and constraints; formulate a mathematical
model; apply mathematical analysis; and draw conclusions and make predictions.
Participants will have an opportunity to gather and analyze scientific data using a variety
of models. Throughout the institute, fundamental ideas about regression are formalized
and applied in a variety of settings from geometry, art, nature, and finance.
In-depth Secondary Mathematics
In this institute, teachers study and reflect on the depth and richness of actual concepts
and problems of high school mathematics courses. Ideas from algebra, geometry, and
trigonometry are integrated in the analysis of a small number of particular problem
situations to show what it means to treat them in a deep and general way. The focus is on
mathematical content of algebra, geometry, and functions as well as mathematical habits
of mind.
December 2004. Ensuring Teacher Quality: Algebra I and Algebra II, produced by the Charles A. Dana Center at The
University of Texas at Austin for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.