Education
(From Metro Parents)
Do Our Math Scores Add Up?
By Linda Zapczynski
Remember when fourth grade math was merely a matter of counting on your fingers? Or, more recently, just using a calculator to find a distinctive answer to a problem?It's not that simple anymore. A lot more hands-on parenting is needed to help kids through the new way of using math, explains representatives of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program in the Detroit tri-county schools.
"Anything parents can do to allow kids to become involved, to think their way through a problem, is important," explains William Britt, deputy superintendent of Clintondale Schools, in Clinton Township, Macomb County. "Real-life connections mean a lot. We gave cloth tape measures to our third-graders, one for home and one for school. Parents could teIl the kids, 'Tonight, measure Dad's bumper, or the kitchen table."
Clintondale Schools have risen above the rest in the Detroit metro area in the last six years. The Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), is a test which evaluates the success rate in math, science and reading of fourth, fifth and seventh grades in Michigan. Clintondale placed as the one of the most improved metro school systems in fourth-grade reading, and seventh-grade math and reading.
Fourth-grade math feIl short in 1996, leaving Clintondale in the dust behind the top scoring school systems. The reason fourth grade is targeted for testing is because fourth grade is fundamental, said Britt.
There was a group of about 30 fourth-graders last year that scored I00;they're now in fifth grade. "Because of the comparative nature of MEAP scores, the results may get distorted; it's not all positive pressure," said Britt. "One can get a false sense of security or failure. We need to explore where to go after we figure out what's valid and what isn't."
"But the bottom quadrant score is of equal importance. It indicates the three percent in trouble, the four or five kids in real dire straits," explains Britt.
'"All of my principals know those kids, after the first day of results. We make sure the teachers know, and use tutorial methods according to their specified skiIls or lack of."
It's important to note that in a small school district like Clintondale, five or 10 students can dramaticaIly change results on the MEAP, says Britt. There are 180 fourth-graders; 18 kids can result in a 10 percent swing.
Then there's the test item analysis, which teIls how many students choose a test answer.
"This determines why a certain wrong answer is chosen, how we're teaching a given concept and how the students understood a concept incorrectly."
Sometimes it's obvious how a question is deceptive, as when the student is looking for the shaded or unshaded portion of a fraction, explained Britt. "I would guess that they aren't reading correctly, not that they don't know fractions."
Math and science are heading in a more problem-solving direction, according to Britt. 'The nature of test questions are more and more complicated. To solve story problems, a variety of problem-solving skiIls are used, bringing math and science closer together. Kids comment on experiments and draw conclusions; in my view, this is closer to reality. Kids need real-life connections, and parents need to understand problem-solving."
Troy fourth-graders math scores dropped slightly on the MEAP, with a fourth-grade enrollment of close to 900 students.
"Ninety-five percent of Troy kids go on to college,"' said Mike Williams, executive director of elementary education. Nationally, Troy students average I4 to 17 National Merit scholarships, which demonstrates a strong-achieving school population, he added. And all of Troy elementaries and middle schools are accredited, based on MEAP scores.
Williams' definition of a successful student agrees with Britt's. "Without a strong partnership between home and school, we can't maximize a student's potential. A wide variety of cultural activities and supportive involvement counts. Everybody learns better with support. Schools are only one part."
Livonia's fourth-graders' math scores feIl in between Troy and Clintondales'.
"We have activities suggested for home in the school newsletter," said AI Edwards, Research Specialist for Livonia schools. "It's also important to make sure the kids have enough sleep and eat breakfast."
But again, Edwards stressed that parents must have contact with the school to understand how to apply math. "It's no longer just computation. Parents need to know what is on the tests."'
Although the three school systems interviewed claimed the ratio of success according to gender was mixed, the 1996 results showed boys tipping the scales on math scores, girls on reading.
Asian Americans topped the list, while African Americans scored the lowest, except for fourth-grade reading, which was lowest for Hispanics.
Private schools rated the highest, with the exception of fourth-grade math. Charter public schools entered the ring for the first time, scoring lower than the rest. Livingston County and Washtenaw County were also tested, with overall scores decreasing slightly over the past five years. Inkster schools sat at the bottom, while most schools showed improvement in all areas.
Less than a fifth of Clintondale's seventh-graders scored average in reading or math, just five years ago. What happened?
"We just made it a priority,"' explained Britt. Or, as Troy schools' Mike Williams emphasized, "Parent involvement and support is a key ingredient to student achievement."
Linda Zapczynski is a freelance writer from Shelby Township.