Lexington School District Two educators are always looking for effective strategies to improve student learning and comprehension in math, a subject that can present challenges for students across all grade levels.
Through SC Department of Education’s Palmetto Math Project, Lexington Two school and district math educators are participating in additional training and professional development in Ongoing Assessment Project (OGAP), which focuses on four math concepts of Additive Reasoning, Multiplicative Reasoning, Fractional Reasoning, and Proportional Reasoning. The trainings are not a curriculum but a set of skills and tools that help math educators gain more insight into student work and learning framework. By using the information gained and skills developed through OGAP training, educators can more effectively analyze students’ thinking to better identify students’ levels of understanding and support them in working toward high levels of mathematical proficiency.
Four Lexington Two educators and administrators started in the first OGAP trainings in February 2026. Since then, 40 of the district’s math educators have completed some of the OGAP units, with another 30 working on sessions in September and October. The opportunities have been made possible by the district’s participation and partnership with the Palmetto Math Project and the SC Department of Education.
The SC Department of Education recently attended an OGAP training with Lexington Two educators and created a video about it.
“OGAP gives us a framework where we’re able to help kids move to the next level,” Riverbank Elementary teacher Ashton Breland said during a recent OGAP training, noting a variety of hands-on manipulatives that can be used as part of the strategy..
The OGAP training in Lexington Two is giving participating educators opportunities to analyze student work samples and begin not only recognizing common misconceptions and errors but identifying and implementing instructional strategies to support students when those misconceptions and errors occur, thus strengthening student understanding toward grade-level proficiency in math.
“OGAP training will strengthen math instruction across Lexington Two by giving our teachers a deeper understanding of how students think mathematically and how to use that thinking to drive instruction,” said Deputy Superintendent Dr. David McDonald, adding that the district appreciates the partnership with the Palmetto Math Project and the State Department of Education.. “We believe this will help move us beyond simply identifying whether an answer is right or wrong, it helps teachers understand the reasoning behind student thinking, respond in real time, and intentionally build the conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills students need to become confident mathematicians.”
-Written by Jordan Stafford