State Testing and Math

[Spy Car]

I need a "I disagree" sign. There is an emphasis on composing and decomposing numbers in the Common Core that is lacking in the California Standards. California standards have an emphasis in estimation that is ridiculous. For example in kindergarten CA has a standard that says :"Students use estimation strategies in computation and problem solving that involve numbers that use tens and ones places." CC has critical standards that are not in the Ca standards such as in kinder "for any number 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number."

 

Here is a link with the exact comparison grade by grade (it is 235 pages long):

 

http://www.scoe.net/castandards/multimedia/k-12_math_crosswalks.pdf

 

I'm with you on the "estimating" issue. Just yesterday I had a discussion with my child's teacher where I expressed my opinion that this "topic" gets far too much emphasis in the current math program.

 

Bill

[Pen]

I get that, but in this situation, you have TWO children working at two DIFFERENT levels who BOTH did WELL on the test in multiple previous years and after one year of using a new curriculum, BOTH did POORLY.

 

Good point! Big red flag IMO!

[Mommy22alyns]

Are you using TT on grade level? I found it to be pretty far behind. Rebecca tested out of most of 3 after completing CLE 200, and during the year we had to skip large portions of 4 too. I sold it; it's too expensive to use small parts of it as a supplement.

[Beth in SW WA]

The thing I love about TT is that it is independent but because of that I feel that I have a limited understanding of what they are learning and where they are getting stuck. There is no work to check, it's all on the computer. Maybe it falls on me and I need to be doing more.

 

You can't hand TT to a kid and walk away. You can't expect elementary kiddos to do math 'independently' without conversation daily from the parent/teacher. When my dc do TT, I am in the same room. We talk, talk, talk.

 

Re the 'level' of TT...Dd8 is doing SM4 and TT6. Don't look at the number on the book cover. I have always used TT 'ahead' with success. Some use it on grade level with success. Just go with what your student needs -- not by the number on the book. HTH!

[caroljenn]

I do have to also say, I don't think standardized testing is worthless. The SAT and PSAT tests are extremely important later in life, and your kids need to learn how to do well on them. No matter what we think of them in general, you have to play the game if its going to be what helps your kids achieve their dreams. Good luck!

[JadeOrchidSong]

Did your children try the Star testing released test questions for math? That might give you a better idea if they are mis-interpreting the questions or if they lack content knowledge.

 

Thanks for the link. I will use the tests to prep next year.