Transcript www.flinthill.org

Lower School Coffee
February 4, 2015
SMI - Math
Sheena Hall – Director of the Lower School
Bill Ennist – Assistant Head of School for Academics
Joe Vignolini – TK-12 Mathematics Department Chair
Carolyn Pitches, Maureen Sidor – LS Math Specialist
Kim Dewar, Shannon Titmas, Jeanine Schwartz – LC Specialists
1.
Flint Hill School is committed to the
Investigations approach; deep thoughtful
mathematics that helps student develop
enduring understanding of mathematical
concepts through multiple strategies.
2.
SMI enhances the Investigations
materials, by providing us individualized
targeted skills and concepts.
3.
All results tell a different story and are
part of multiple inputs we use to teach a child
WHAT is SMI?
Scholastic Mathematics Inventory
1. An objective and adaptive assessment of a student’s
readiness for mathematics instruction from
Kindergarten through Algebra II
IT IS NOT cumulative, but formative assessment.
2. It helps identify the degree to which students are
ready for instruction on certain mathematical
concepts and skills.
3. It can provide targeted support for students at
their readiness level.
3. And help monitor growth as a gauge of
students’ developing understandings of
mathematics in relation to the objective
measure of algebra readiness and Algebra II
completion.
5. SMI is completed on the Ipad or MacBook and
can take between 20–40 minutes.
5. Students engage with at least 25 and as many
as 45 test items that follow a consistent fouroption, multiple-choice format.
5. SMI also gives us data that includes how long
the student spends on test and each question which can correlate to results. It also aids in
identifying individual student needs.
8. This is a snapshot of the child that can help to
flexibly group in grade 3-4 and to differentiate in
grade 1-2 to help develop the child.
8. Students’ Quantile measures indicate their
readiness for instruction on skills and concepts
within a range of 50Q above and below their
Quantile measure.
8. Students should be successful at independent
practice with skills and concepts that are about
150Q to 250Q below their Quantile measure.
Limitations
1. SMI is one source of evidence about a student’s
mathematical understandings.
1. Obviously, impactful decisions are best made when
using multiple sources of evidence.
1. Other sources include student classwork, homework,
unit assessment results, student motivation, and
teacher judgment and observation.
1. One measure of student performance, taken on one
day, is never sufficient to make high-stakes, student
specific decisions.
THE SMI - screenshot of progression and image.
775
860
THE SMI - screenshot of progression and image.
850
625
495
550
WHERE do we go from here?
1. Sometime past spring break when a grade takes the 3rd
test we will meet parents by grade level and discuss
the results. The SMI will be given to grades 1-6 this
year (1-8 next year) but we will sending results for
grade 3-6 home. The grade 1-2 results will be
evaluated but may not be very useful in terms of
development of the child.
1. You will be informed by teachers before each SMI to
help you “prepare” children - what does that mean?
scores may be influenced by many factors etc…
Sleep
Eating right
Having a good mindset
- be focused - be positive - be ready.
What about Fluency – it is done deliberate way.
Fact fluency is best defined as Computational
Fluency - more than memorized…
The National Mathematics Advisory Panel report
(2008, p. xix) recommended the following:
To prepare students for Algebra, the curriculum
must simultaneously develop
1. conceptual understanding
2. computational fluency
3. problem-solving skills
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Principles and Standards for School Mathematics
states, “Computational fluency refers to having
efficient and accurate methods for computing.
Students exhibit computational fluency when they
demonstrate flexibility in the computational
methods they choose, understand and can explain
these methods, and produce accurate answers
efficiently. The computational methods that a
student uses should be based on mathematical ideas
that the student understands well, including the
structure of the base-ten number system,
properties of multiplication and division, and
number relationships” (p. 152)
Focusing on efficiency rather than speed means
valuing students’ ability to use strategic thinking
to carry out a computation without being hindered
by many unnecessary or confusing steps in the
solution process. Accuracy extends beyond just
getting the correct answer. It involves considering
the meaning of an operation, recording work
carefully, and asking oneself whether the solution
is reasonable.
Fluency encompasses more than memorizing facts
and procedures.
By NCTM President Linda M. Gojak
NCTM Summing Up, November 1, 2012
Questions….