Dear Matt,

My school is very concerned about raising the Math scores on the MCA and seems to expect teachers to give students test preparation experiences.  Do you have any suggestions about how to do this without taking time away from the curriculum for the course?
Feeling Pressured

Response:

Dear Pressured:

Everyone wants higher test scores.  After all, this is Minnesota, where “all the children are above average”.  But it is an error to think we will achieve higher test scores by a week or two of “test prep”. 
Still, a teacher like yourself asks: What can I do in my mathematics classroom that will help my students do well on this measure of understanding?  The answer, simply, is to provide effective instruction throughout the year.  Test prep is most effective when it is embedded in instruction all year.  Other than some last minute logistical preparation, such as where to do scratch work, using calculators, how to enter gridded responses, etc, the most beneficial work is done continuously.  This leads to learning that is robust and likely to be remembered at test time.
Here are some specific ideas to be implemented throughout the year:

• Consider using 5 minute warm ups 2-4 times each week.  Each warm up should include about 3 problems and a variety of problem types during the week, such as
  problems with and without a calculator
  a variety of material that was studied earlier in the school year
  a rotation of content strands
  emphasis on mental and estimation strategies
• Give students frequent opportunities– at least weekly –for solving open-ended problems and explaining their thinking, especially in writing.  Students should see examples of good written responses and have opportunities to practice solving such problems before they are graded.  You could have a 1-2 month “pilot period” where you give feedback or score items holistically without recording any scores. Different aspects of the response can be evaluated on different occasions, such as communication, reasoning, or accuracy.
• Encourage vocabulary development, including use of synonyms for important words, since the terms used in an assessment may not be the same ones used in your textbook.
• Attend to the distribution of content on the MCAs (given in the Test Specs).  The proportion of the test focusing on a particular strand varies from about 15% to about 40%, and changes for each grade and each strand and sub-strand.  Curricular emphasis should correspond to the distribution for your grade.
• Provide several opportunities for students to practice recording gridded responses.
• Build a classroom environment where your students feel “smart” and ready to show what they know.  No one does her or his best work when feeling stressed.

Remember that growth in student achievement is often modest and slower than we might wish.  However, if we incorporate instructional practices that are proven effective, we will produce gradual but consistent improvement.
Our overall goal is to help students develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts and connections.  These will stay with them, not only until test time, but from one year to the next.  We accomplish this through good teaching every day.
Good luck to you and your students!

Matt

Matt Mentor, a wise and experienced teacher, offers advice about teaching mathematics topics to beginning teachers. Of course, experienced teachers can join in as well.

Here’s how it works:
Matt will respond in Math Bits to a teaching question posed by a reader. Other readers who have different suggestions or alternative answers to the question are invited to submit their replies to Matt who will post them to this page on the MCTM website.

Send your answers to MattMentorMCTM@aol.com and Matt will post as many different solutions that adequately address the question as are received.

Have a Question for Matt?
Send your questions about teaching math topics to MattMentorMCTM@aol.com and watch for Matt’s response in the next issue of Math Bits.