Reply to 23 Baltimore City Schools Have Zero Students Proficient in Math

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Last one, now that I have learned to post pictures. These are all from the MD state released items/practice test 3rd grade Math test:

[img]https://i.imgur.com/dlNiVGj.png[/img]

I think it is tricky, for a third grader.  Yes, of course, I think it would be wonderful for all third graders to be able to answer a question like this that shows they are truly able to understand the application of math. Instead of just asking a simple question: "What is the area of this rectangle?"

But - the fact that many students aren't able to answer questions like this doesn't mean they are learning nothing in math. Just that these questions are pretty tricky for them to understand.[/quote]

I don’t know what you’re complaining about with this question. It seems on the easy side for third grade actually. They even give the answers! And they’re all different! If the kid knew the answer as you suggested then they could just choose the right answer. Choosing the right equation without any answers provided might be a slight challenge but still within third grade expectations.[/quote]

For a third grader who is fluent in English and can read on grade level, and knows basic math well, it is an easy enough question.  And it's not the hardest of the ones I posted.

But if a child gets this question wrong -- what does it tell you about why they got it wrong?

There are words that are hard to sound out.  Sadly, I have third graders who aren't reading proficiently yet so they actually would have a hard time with: "following" "figure" "rectangular" "floor" "which" "equation" "represent" "amount" "space". etc.   So just the reading part is hard.

Yes, the computer will read aloud the question. But it does so in a mechanical and slow voice that the kids find irritating, and they often won't go back and listen to the question again.

Asking "Which equation represents the amount of space" just adds to the cognitive difficulty of answering this question. The test is long. The kids who can't read or don't speak English well get tired.

To get them to score well on this test, you have to provide many examples of this type of question - that really doesn't require them to actually multiply anything. So instead of practicing actually needed math practice (math fluency) you need to spend a lot of time getting them to understand how to match a diagram to an equation and eliminate the distractors. 
If a kid picks D) 4x2x7x2 -- did he pick it because he thought it was a perimeter problem (even though the numbers don't match up with the diagram?). If he picks a) did he misread the + as a x ?

Of COURSE problem solving and making sense of math are very important. If we have huge numbers of kids who are able to capably perform computations accurately, but fail to apply this knowledge in context, that's a problem.

But do we actually have that problem? Do we have large numbers of 3rd and 4th graders who can add and subtract 3 and 4 digit numbers quickly and accurately (without using fingers, a number line, or drawing dots on a page?). Do we have kids in upper elementary who are multiplying and dividing (including long division) accurately? Who can convert fractions quickly?  Sure -- in some of your MCPS schools, probably all of them. But not in the schools where I teach and have taught.

Making kids try to pass tests like the ones being used by the state just makes it harder to focus on the basic skills. You have to teach them "tricks" so they can get these word problems correct instead of spending time working on foundational skills. And it ISN'T WORKING. If it was working, more kids would be able to pass these tests.

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