A study on fourth and eighth-grade students throughout the years, gives detailed workup on how the students performed on math assessments and many factors that played a role. When tested; students had three levels that classified them in the math sections which were basic, proficient and advanced. These classifications determined where the fourth and eighth graders fall after assessment. There was a slight increase with eighth graders in all sections but only by minimum amount one or two percent. The fourth graders were very consistent and only increase a few times by one or two percent. In 2011, eighty-two percent of the four graders tested had at least basic knowledge, where they could compute the difference of two 4-digit numbers.
Van de Walle, J., , F., Karp, K. S., & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2010). Elementary and middle school mathematics, teaching developmentally. (Seventh ed.). New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon.
United States. National Center for Education Statistics. Long-Term Trends in Student Mathematics Performance. Sep. 1998. Web. 2 May 2009. .
Michael is a 15-year-old boy currently in the 9th grade. Michael has been receiving special education services since he was determined eligible in 2nd grade. Michael is currently receiving instruction in a self-contained classroom. According to the Brigance Diagnostic Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills conducted in April 2018, Michael’s computational math skills register at 2nd-grade level, and his problem-solving skills are at grade level 1. A review of classroom assessment and input from teachers indicates that Michael enjoys working on multiplications and tries very had to complete these problems. He is able to recite some facts but usually needs help in order to find the answers. Michael has improved upon addition and subtraction with regrouping. He now can add and subtract double digit numbers. However, he continues to need help with his subtraction problems. When reminded to regroup he is better able to complete his work. Michael has also worked with recognizing money and making change. This is an
The district is now making all teachers use an assessment tool called iReady. It is a website that assesses students in math and reading. They are first tested on a kindergarten through fifth grade range to find out what they know. Then the program takes that score and determines the right level for the child and they are tested again on the level. Once all students have been assessed the program orders the students from highest to lowest and by average grade level skill they are on: early second grade, middle second grade, late second grade or any other grade. The teacher uses those scores to create her reading groups, math groups and the students she will give extra assistance to. They haven’t officially established how many times and when they will do this iReady assessment but for now they are doing it once a week for forty five minutes. The test also flags if they spent too long or too little time on a question. The ones that spent less than 15 seconds per problem are to go back and do the assessment again.
Jones, Rebecca. “Solving Problems in Math and Science Education.” The American School Board Journal. 185.7 (1998): 16-20.
Gelernter disagrees with the comment made by a school principal, “Drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time” (279). He reveals the bitter truth that American students are not fully prepared for college because they have poorly developed basic skills. In contrast, he comments, “No wonder Japanese kids blow the pants off American kids in math” (280). He provides information from a Japanese educator that in Japan, kids are not allowed to use calculators until high school. Due to this, Japanese kids build a strong foundation of basic math skills, which makes them perform well in mathematics.
Mathematics has become a very large part of society today. From the moment children learn the basic principles of math to the day those children become working members of society, everyone has used mathematics at one point in their life. The crucial time for learning mathematics is during the childhood years when the concepts and principles of mathematics can be processed more easily. However, this time in life is also when the point in a person’s life where information has to be broken down to the very basics, as children don’t have an advanced capacity to understand as adults do. Mathematics, an essential subject, must be taught in such a way that children can understand and remember.
According to Booker et al., (2014) typical difficulties children experience as they develop their understanding result from misconceptions or gaps in understanding. They also state children often confuse similar sounding names, write numbers in the wrong order and have difficulty comparing numbers. It is vital, according to Booker et al., (2014), to overcome these difficulties and misconceptions, that teachers follow a specific sequence of steps to establish number understanding because when children meet ‘powerful ideas’ for the first time they must be presented in accord with their needs (Booker et al., 2014). Three of the most common confusions or misunderstandings are the confusion of teen numbers, misinterpreting specific vocabulary and confusion relating to the concept of zero. Therefore, to overcome difficulties and misconceptions held by children, teachers must assess students regularly to ascertain if there are any gaps in understanding before moving to the next
Standardized testing deems itself as a weak yardstick in measuring complex writing techniques, using scientific methods, and applying basic math skills. The testing issue is in the limelight on the national level as well. These biased tests are unreliable, unfair, worthless material to instructors, and can cost school districts across the nation based on results. Educators should be held responsible for the collective measurement of student learning. The factual teaching of children in today’s world is too important to not monitor. Standardized test usage to measure knowledge is the wrong assessment instrument employed in educational institutions today. Due to standardized tests the actual measurement of student learning in response to teaching is apt to be in
Students were also evaluated to understand the concept that the sum of a fraction may be decomposed into parts (or recomposed into an equal sum). Next students had to express the decomposed fraction as a multiplication equation. Lastly, students had to label and plot the decomposed equivalent fraction on a number line with jumps (representing the decomposition). These concepts which all correlate with one another was challenging and extremely difficult for 3/4th of the students within the class. Question 3 A & B are based on the concept of decomposing fractions. Data shows 16 students struggled with question 3 A and 18 students struggled with 3B. Due to the amount of students with IEP’s, 504’s, and students needing extra math support, mathematical concepts and skills are challenging and often these types of student population have gaps in learning. As stated previously 3/4ths of students, especially those students with special needs did not comprehend the concept. It is quite possible many students did not receive or understand the foundational fraction concepts and notions. The students that fall bellow grade level really required further instructional on the concepts of what a fraction is.
In the 1980’s a report called “A Nation At Risk” stated that American children had fallen behind in such subjects as math and science. Thus came the advent of education’s increased focus on literacy and numeracy, accountability and academic standards. These high standards, according to Dumas (2000), are the most significant trend in schools today.
In the past, assessments were popularly conducted for the purpose of accreditation, but with the growing change in the quality of education, it has become evident that assessments aren’t just products to qualification but as Sieborger (1998) identifies, is that assessment is the process of gathering and interpreting knowledge to make valid and justifiable judgements about the learners performance and the assessors ability to transfer and establish knowledge to the learners.
The initial step for intervention was to employ a strong a team of two math teachers: one to continue on level instruction with a blend of spiral review and another to deliver intervention level instruction for their current study, missed expectations according to previous fifth and ongoing sixth grade level assessments. Within the first two weeks of the 2013-14 school year, these teachers administered a pre-assessment using released fifth grade STAAR questions; a majority of the 115 students failed...
The early acquisition of mathematical concepts in children is essential for their overall cognitive development. It is imperative that educators focus on theoretical views to guide and plan the development of mathematical concepts in the early years. Early math concepts involve learning skills such as matching, ordering, sorting, classifying, sequencing and patterning. The early environment offers the foundation for children to develop an interest in numbers and their concepts. Children develop and construct their own meaning of numbers through active learning rather than teacher directed instruction.
As teachers, we have to monitor the progress our students make each day, week, quarter and year. Classroom assessments are one of the most crucial educational tools for teachers. When assessments are properly developed and interpreted, they can help teachers better understand their students learning progress and needs, by providing the resources to collect evidence that indicates what information their students know and what skills they can perform. Assessments help teachers to not only identify and monitor learners’ strengths, weaknesses, learning and progress but also help them to better plan and conduct instruction. For these reasons, ongoing classroom assessment is the glue that binds teaching and learning together and allows educators to monitor their efficacy and student learning.