Reply to Montessori parents: how do you know kids are on track?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is a great question and should be a useful conversation.  We are at LAMB, with both lower elementary and primary students, and while I know my kids are progressing, it is an adjustment to not see grades on their quarterly reports.  I am not suggesting however, that I want them to get grades and there are benchmarks and assessments that they take.  For instance, they use one of the reading programs (A to Z? perhaps) that LAMB administrators believe has the best match to a Montessori curriculum and the reading levels do match up to a grade level. The kids read at their own pace and choose from a selection of books in the appropriate level.  They have small reading groups that you can participate in once you reach a certain level, but the kids are at a vast spread of reading levels between 1st - 3rd grades that it doesn't come across as differentiated learning.  [b]I am still working to understand how math is assessed because it is very different in Montessori,[/b] but they do have to Master skills before they can move on to the next skill.

Looking forward to following this thread.  I am thrilled with the Montessori system, but there is more I can learn about it.  [/quote]

Confused about this -- the math concepts taught in elementary are no different from traditional school.  If your kid is an elementary student they can tell you about learning division, long division, long multiplication, fractions etc.  My 1st grade lower elementary student is doing long division and long multiplication and learning about fractions (multiplying, dividing, equivalency etc).  She has a great understanding of the decimal system and does simple math in her head almost instantly.  I don't know what 1st graders are doing in other schools (or what other kids are doing in her class) but to me that sounds pretty advanced for a six year old, so I'm convinced she's "on track" without feeling the need for reports, tests or comparisons to her classmates.[/quote]

Yea, if I was you, I wouldn't be at all worried if my kid was on track or not.  It's those of us with kids in Montessori who are not doing things like you kid who start to worry if our child is on track or not. Those with kids in K who are NOT reading or writing or doing math DO need assessments and comparisons and reports.  I do wish my school provided me more of that and less "every kid is different" talk.[/quote]

Well, your kid is in K, not yet in elementary.  I similarly wondered what she was really learning in K, and, in particular didn't understand the math materials.  It all comes in to focus in the elementary class, or at least did for us -- now I can relate to and understand the point of what happened in the primary class, it's truly developing what PP called "number sense".  I can't say similarly for reading because my child was a very early reader, probably more because of her interest than the Montessori method, so I think she took a different track than others her age in primary.  But I have spoken to other parents very happy that their non-reading K kid is now happily reading and writing in first and directing his or her own learning, working with friends to write reports on complex subjects driven by their own interests.  Also, (you may already know this) but I want to dismiss a common misconception that there is no "structure" and the kids can just do whatever they want, whenever... our elementary class is very structured.  The kids work with the teacher to set goal and deadlines on everything they work on, whether it's researching or writing a report on dinosaurs, looking at botany, identifying shapes or learning about fractions.  And they are accountable for meeting their goals.  Most Montessori materials have built-in ways for the kids to check their own work as they progress.  At our school they hold regular parent nights where we learn about what is going on in the classroom, sometimes with the kids showing us what they are working on.[/quote]

Do you get to see the goals you child sets with the teacher?[/quote]

What I meant was day to day goals, like, "write the first draft of this report by Wednesday, then start on a second draft and finish it by [x date], then work on building/developing a practical exercise or "going out" [field trip] that takes this further [with X deadline]" or "finish a sketch or diagram of [science/nature topic] tomorrow" or "complete X number of [math/handwriting/other] exercises by the end of today's work period" and "work with [children who have chosen to work together] to develop a presentation on [topic] for class on this date".  The kids are accountable for setting their own deadlines and keeping to them.  So, yes, the teacher has shown us examples of these types of goals (and I've observed the kids setting the goals during observations], but I don't see them on a daily basis, though I perhaps could ask too if I really felt the need.  What I have seen though, is the very detailed curriculum for the entire class and where my child is at with regards to each aspect of it.  The curriculum is for the entire three year lower elementary class and while there is an expectation that every child will complete every part of it by the end of third grade it depends on the child when they might work on what aspect of the curriculum. I know she also has an individual work plan for each child, but exactly how that plays out depends on the child's interests.[/quote]

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