Assessment4

Katelyn Kaufman Assessment Journal #4 March 5, 2009 On a particular morning in my classroom I noticed that assessment with mathematics was being used. The students have been working on their multiplication tables since the beginning of the year. Since they are more than half way through the third grade many of them are reaching the end of the times tables. However, many of the children are still stuck on learning the 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s. The students need to be assessed individually when it comes to learning their multiplication facts because it is a lot of memorization. My cooperating teacher told me that she thinks that it is very important for the children to memorize these basic mathematical facts because it can help them later when they are beginning to solve more complex problems. The teacher needs to find ways that she can assess all of the children even when they are at different levels. Two times a week the students are assessed on their multiplication tables. If they pass a particular table they are to begin working on the next table. If they do not pass a table they are to review and keep working. She basically assesses the children in a way that is very similar to a fill-in-the-blank test but there are some differences. The students are all given a strip of paper and are asked to put their name on the top of the paper. They then need to put the multiplication table number that they are working with on the top of their paper and circle it. They are asked to put that number “in their head” and then the teacher randomly gives the class a number to multiply their particular number by. For example, if a student is working on the 6 times table she will say put your number in your head. She then says to the class “times 2”, “times 7”, “times 11”, etc until she has asked the students to multiply their number all the way up through twelve. This kind of assessment assures the teacher that students will only be given a few seconds to answer each of the questions. The results of this assessment can vary. My teacher explained to me that a lot of the times the children who are struggling do not have a lot of support at home for different reasons. Some parents are working a lot and have a lot of things to do. Thus, she has me work with the struggling students so that they can receive practice with an adult. I think that this fill-in-the-blank assessment is effective. It makes sense to use this type of assessment because it lets the teacher know how the students are doing. It lets the teacher know who needs extra help and practice. It is also a fairly easy way to assess students on a task that requires a lot of memorization. I think that what is most important when assessing students based on multiplication is seeing where they are struggling and finding ways for them to get extra help. Students who do not receive a lot of support at home need to have additional support at school. I like this type of assessment because it is quick and effective for the teacher. I am not saying that it is an easy way out but it is useful because it lets the teacher see where the students are individually. I would use this type of assessment as a teacher because it would allow me to focus on finding ways to help the students learn their facts.