Trippster Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I am a teacher and I remember learning in one of my education classes that if x% of the students get y% or better on a test, then you can move forward. If not, you continue to work on those concepts until that number is achieved. Does anyone remember what those numbers are? I googled it, but couldn't find the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideshow24 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Why not change this to "Ask a teacher" thread. You could get your answer and become a future contributor as well. I know some members hate those type threads but I find them useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsmarydu Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Sorry, T, not a teacher, so I can't help with your question, but I'd like to know what subject you teach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissU28 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I didn't learn that in my teaching classes, but I think it's more than just test scores to know when to move on. Realistically, we have to move on anyway and provide intervention to those kids who don't get it, because we have to cover all of the curriculum. But you also have to take into consideration how the kid is able to show his knowledge- some kids know the material but are bad test takers, so just because they bomb the test doesn't mean they don't get it. You also need to use other types of formative assessments and observation to be able to tell if a kid gets it. I'm sure you know all of this already, and I'm sorry I don't have the formula you seek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideshow24 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I'm sorry I don't have the formula you seek. Sounds like a great movie line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HogNose Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Sounds like a great movie line. I immediately thought of this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 It doesn't work that way now. We have a week by week schedule that tells us where we have to be. When students are behind, we have to spiral back and find ways to remediate them. It's all about the SOL test now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reic Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 92% is what I go by, of course, I am in special education so it is a much smaller population. But we go with a 92% mastery of a goal before moving on to the next benchmark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDawg Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Staying with content is a punishment for students who studied or understood it. You need to find ways to get the students who didn't do well to stay with you and work with them. Sometimes they don't do well because they really do struggle. But for the most part I find that most students who don't do well have terrible study habits or they stay up playing Xbox all night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissU28 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 It doesn't work that way now. We have a week by week schedule that tells us where we have to be. When students are behind, we have to spiral back and find ways to remediate them. It's all about the SOL test now. exactly. It sucks, but we just have to keep going and hope the kids who didn't get it get it through interventions. Sounds like a great movie line. I immediately thought of this... As I wrote it, it reminded me more of something from the best CD-i game of all time, Laser Lords. When making a deal in the game, the narrator would say, "you have received the thing you seek" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amm0409 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I can't remember, I def. did some post graduate work in education as well. Sorry. Does it depend on the school or even state by state though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 It doesn't work that way now. We have a week by week schedule that tells us where we have to be. When students are behind, we have to spiral back and find ways to remediate them. It's all about the SOL test now. Yep, which is the prime reason my son's fourth grade class spent 2 weeks on multiplication before moving "on schedule" to long form division....thanks for nothin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reic Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Yep, which is the prime reason my son's fourth grade class spent 2 weeks on multiplication before moving "on schedule" to long form division....thanks for nothin'. the SOLs are a joke, the sooner the state gets rid of them, the better. In the 6th grade class I attended with some of my students, by the end of the year the entire class had the most difficult time adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. Then they had to switch up all the rule multiplying positive and negative, then were expected to know it for the SOL? Good luck with that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 the SOLs are a joke, the sooner the state gets rid of them, the better. In the 6th grade class I attended with some of my students, by the end of the year the entire class had the most difficult time adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. Then they had to switch up all the rule multiplying positive and negative, then were expected to know it for the SOL? Good luck with that SOL...yeah...that's about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissU28 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 This past school year we took longer with units like fractions, multiplication, and division- then spent less time on "easier" stuff like patterns and shapes. My team (4th grade) did guided math this year, which worked out very well and gave kids more individualized/small group attention. Basically, an hour of math was broken into stations instead of teaching whole-group, and I would review the concept at one station while the sped teacher played a game based on the concept at another station. They also did math journals and math games on the computers. So, each kid was getting 30 minutes of teacher time in their small groups, which meant it was easier to identify problem areas that we could revisit during our math intervention time the following week. But, we still were at a crunch making sure we got through every unit before the SOLs, and we really tried to spiral the information through their homework assignments. If the child is still struggling, that's where we hope the parent can help out at home by making sure the child knows his multiplication facts or basic division facts, but at my school, that wasn't happening. Parents, please make sure your kids AT LEAST know their multiplication facts up to 10s by the end of 3rd grade! 4th grade math will be SO much easier! 4th grade is where they start to apply all the math they learned in 3rd grade, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfitzo53 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I am a teacher and I remember learning in one of my education classes that if x% of the students get y% or better on a test, then you can move forward. If not, you continue to work on those concepts until that number is achieved. Does anyone remember what those numbers are? I googled it, but couldn't find the answer. How long have you been teaching? Don't take offense to this, but this sounds like a first or second year teacher question. The more experience you get as a teacher, the more you will learn that what you've picked up on the job and at the occasional useful professional development is a lot more important than what you learned in contextless education courses or formulaic district guidelines. Staying with content is a punishment for students who studied or understood it. You need to find ways to get the students who didn't do well to stay with you and work with them. Sometimes they don't do well because they really do struggle. But for the most part I find that most students who don't do well have terrible study habits or they stay up playing Xbox all night. It depends. There's no doubt that lots of students could be applying themselves harder, but when I really get to know my struggling math students, I find that they have HUGE gaps in their learning. Big conceptual voids where there's nothing I can tell them that will make 7th grade fraction work make sense until I've taken the time to fill in those holes. It's not the same for every student either. If you're teaching every student the exact same material you're probably doing it wrong. All of that said, I don't hate the state tests or the idea of standards. But having the kind of regimented pacing that codeorama was talking about is ultimately a detriment to the learning process and shows a lack of trust in the teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 As a son of a teacher and not that far removed from grade school, I don't know if constantly talking about the same thing over and over again is the right way to get kids that don't understand to get it. You'll bore and or frustrate the kids that do get it. For stuff like math and english (grammar especially), I wish there was more of an emphasis on practical application and repetitive practice with computers. Kids hate homework, but I feel I would've done better in math if I was sat in front of a computer program that kept testing me on a subject and explained to me what I was doing wrong. A lot of students are embarrassed to be constantly asking the teacher for help on the same thing over and over again, and like was pointed out, some teachers can't pull back the reigns on the lesson plan because the SOLs and standardised test rule all. Computers for repetitive pracitce and a better tutoring environment is needed in public schools, imo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physicist Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I teach AP Physics and Chemistry in the mornings and then head over to the Middle School to teach 8th grade Physical Science to struggling students. I love the SOL framework as a basic guideline for curriculum. There are several problems with how the system works however. First, some students just do not test well despite knowing the material. Secondly, the raw scores vs. the sliding scale scores are not fair and make no mathematical sense. Thirdly, these exams are way too difficult. I have industry experience and two Master degrees who became a teacher (career switcher) and I find many of the questions are overly difficult, tricky, and even obtuse in some cases. As a framework for curriculum... thumbs up. As a measure of student knowledge and command of the material... thumbs down. It is a flawed system that Virginia is going to have to address because it makes verified credits way to difficult for students to achieve and the pressure is crazy. School should be about learning not a pressure cooker. Fire the bad teachers. The principals know who they are. It really comes down to money and funding imho. As for the OP's question. I have never ever heard of such a thing. I motor through material. Those that do not get it or want help can seek me out for just that. EDIT: Also, Colleges and Universities do not give a rip about SOL testing. It is a state metric attached to funding and "awards." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#BgMase76# Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 SOL...yeah...that's about right. You should try living in Floriduh. Where the advancement exams and learning benchmarks are lowered by the governor because the statewide results were low. This clown saw that the statewide exam results were bad so he dropped the standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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