Math performance & ability are way out of whack.....

[diaperjoys]

What to do?? We got our test scores back today. As I expected, math performance was very low. I need to make a plan for next year, and would appreciate input!

 

This is for my 2nd grade 8yo. We did the CogAT, where he scored an overal 9A. His lowest score was a 92%, with everything else a solid 99%. So, it seems his ability is fairly high.

 

Now, for the IOWA results:

 

Math Total: 44%

Math Concepts: 72%

Math Problems: 42%

Math Computation: 21%

 

So, obviously what we are doing & have done thus far with math is not working. Really not working! The rest of his test scores were very good/excellent. Despite bombing math his complete composite was 98%.

 

What do I do? Where to from here?

[Embassy]

How do the scores compare to his day to day skills? What is he currently doing in math? Is it too easy or too difficult?

[MomatHWTK]

Is he able to compute but not scribe? Is he able to compute but too slowly for the test? Tell us what you are seeing daily.

 

(My DS can understand cocepts, but can't transfer thought to written numbers without making errors. He also CANNOT work under pressure.)

[diaperjoys]

In day-to-day work I'm seeing that he usually grasps concepts very quickly, and finds repetition tedious. Though he understands the concepts of addition, subtraction, and multiplication, the memorization of the actual facts is not coming along well at all. He's okay with sums up to 10 or so, but beyond that he has a terrible time, which has made for awfully slow going with the last several CLE light units.

[MomatHWTK]

My son gets bogged down on the math facts due to a slow processing speed. This would be particularly troublesome on a test as he'd get agitated and forget everything he knew.

 

I am going to try one of the Scholastic e-books on memorizing math facts to see if there are some tricks that will help him- but I have to introduce it stealthily or he'll be upset, he hates review. :glare:

 

I am not a fan of looking for trouble and your DS is still young. But I had no idea that my DS had a processing problem until we had him tested for ADHD and they performed the IQ test and others at the same time. What you may be seeing is a high IQ with a distinct area of difficulty. But, again, your DS is younger than mine and this is my firstborn so I don't know how things should go.

Edited April 10, 2012 by MomatHWTK

[garddwr]

Did you do any practice tests with him? If so how did he perform on those? If he's been doing well in his regular math program, I'm wondering if the format of the test somehow threw him off?

 

I think if this were my child I would try giving a practice test similar to the IOWA, just to try to pinpoint where exactly the problems arose. If he really isn't remembering/understanding how to do the computations (he seems to grasp the concepts well) I would look at whether he just needs more practice/solidification of facts, or needs an entirely different approach. You could also have him do sample pages or placement tests from several other curricula--maybe he is just used to the format of the curriculum he has been using and doesn't know how to generalize to a different question format. There's also the slight possibility of a testing fluke--he could have gotten off partway through and answered many of the questions on the wrong line! Basically, I would want to track down more specifically where the testing trouble came from, then I would have an idea of how to go about addressing it.

[diaperjoys]

Did you do any practice tests with him? If so how did he perform on those? If he's been doing well in his regular math program, I'm wondering if the format of the test somehow threw him off?

 

I think if this were my child I would try giving a practice test similar to the IOWA, just to try to pinpoint where exactly the problems arose. If he really isn't remembering/understanding how to do the computations (he seems to grasp the concepts well) I would look at whether he just needs more practice/solidification of facts, or needs an entirely different approach. You could also have him do sample pages or placement tests from several other curricula--maybe he is just used to the format of the curriculum he has been using and doesn't know how to generalize to a different question format. There's also the slight possibility of a testing fluke--he could have gotten off partway through and answered many of the questions on the wrong line! Basically, I would want to track down more specifically where the testing trouble came from, then I would have an idea of how to go about addressing it.[/quote

 

We actually have done quite a bit of math fact practice. Time tests, flash cards, etc,. In addition, he actually went through first grade twice. Not for academic reasons, though. He did K and 1st at home, then we enrolled him in a private classical school, and even though he tested into 2nd, we placed him in 1st for maturity reasons. So, two solid years of first grade math, lots and lots of math fact practice, followed by a decently thorough 2nd grade math curriculum. (He did CLE 100 at home, followed by Saxon first grade at the private school.)

 

I'm inclined to think changing the entire approach is in order, like you suggested, just not sure what to change to....

 

Oh, as far as testing fluke goes, good consideration! I watched him fill in the answers, and I can verify that he was on the right problem. However, I think the numbers were slightly swayed by his unfamiliarity with how to use scratch paper - copy the problem down, calculate the answer, etc. A few problems were certainly due to that, but he had gotten lots of stuff wrong before we got to that section.

[FairProspects]

Is it possible is he is a VSL or whole-to-parts learner? People who are great at math conceptually, are frequently terrible at math fact fluency. So much so, that many national math talent searches throw out the math fact sections of achievement tests.

 

Have you tried having him draw the math problems? Pictorial representations of concepts are the key to math for my VSL. He draws number lines, 100s charts (well, the 5 & 10s columns), and draws out 1s, 10s, & 100s, for re-grouping. Also, for math facts Addition the Fun Way has been a life-saver - since ds thinks in narrative, having a story to reference makes it easy for him to recall facts. It won't work if your ds doesn't have ingrained number sense, but if he does and is just having difficulty with facts, mnemonics are fantastic.

[garddwr]

I'm inclined to think changing the entire approach is in order, like you suggested, just not sure what to change to....

 

Oh, as far as testing fluke goes, good consideration! I watched him fill in the answers, and I can verify that he was on the right problem. However, I think the numbers were slightly swayed by his unfamiliarity with how to use scratch paper - copy the problem down, calculate the answer, etc. A few problems were certainly due to that, but he had gotten lots of stuff wrong before we got to that section.

 

CLE and Saxon are both spiral, incremental programs--if that's not working for him, I would be inclined to try a mastery based approach. Have you looked into Math Mammoth? They have a lot of sample pages you can download. It takes a strong conceptual approach, which your son might enjoy since that seems to be a strength for him, but it also has plenty of practice and teaches the children several different strategies for each type of problem. Dd8 is almost done with MM2B, and we have been happy with it after trying several different programs. I know people say don't switch math programs too often, but I believe it is worth it to find an approach that works for a particular child.