Addendum to Back-to-School Math Notes

A special thanks to the many parents who came to the Back-to-School night and last week's game night. It was nice to see so many parents taking an active role in their child's education.

A few more comments about our math program. Parents might view the homework as a way to foresee what will be on the upcoming topic tests. The questions which the students see on the test are going to look very similar to many of the questions on the homework. Additionally, the classwork which comes home (two-fold page which corresponds to the homework) can be used as a tool to open discussion about what was learned that day in class. The classwork does not need to be returned to me. It may be likely that you will find the classwork is not completed when your child comes home. There may even be mistakes.

As for the math test, in addition to questions that are typical of what the children have seen during instruction of the topic/unit, there will be questions which require students to apply what they've learned to a newer idea or perhaps to extend the thinking just beyond their instruction. These questions are used to help determine the score of a "4" on the test. When calculating the 70% cut off for a score of "3", the points for the more difficult questions are deducted from the total possible giving an adjusted score minimum necessary for passing. So students will be passing with 70% of the adjusted score and not the actual total which will show under your child's score at the top of the test. After each test, I will post statistics letting you know what the adjusted minimum score was necessary to pass (to obtain a "3") the test.

When we take the test, each question is read aloud at least once (usually more) and time is given for all or most of the children to complete each item. Students are allowed to ask for questions to be repeated. Students are encouraged to review their answers before turning in their test or to go back and complete items they may not have had a chance to complete. They are allowed to take as much time as they need to complete the test. For these reasons, make-up tests due to absences are usually not given but with occasional exceptions.

Advance notice for exactly which day a test will be given is not always possible due to various reasons including allowing for absences on any given day. With that said, we will likely be taking our first math test some time next week.