Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
SAT Scores
Math up 40 points since 19XX.
Verbal average up 250 points.
Overall, Critical Reading bested Math by 30 points and Math bested Writing by 60 points.
Math 750 (97th percentile)
Critical Reading 780 (99th percentile)
Writing 690 (95th percentile)
Before the test, when I walked into the room,a teen asked "Are you the proctor?". My response "No...I'm on the other side!". The test is long...the snacks and breaks really helped. Did not get a Math section until the 5th section! The essay will be up on line on 11/3 -- mine included "Little House on the Prairie", M*A*S*H, World War II and The Pink Panther II to answer if humor helps people through rough times.
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/understanding/percentiles.html
Now, when is the SAT II given? The ACT?
Verbal average up 250 points.
Overall, Critical Reading bested Math by 30 points and Math bested Writing by 60 points.
Math 750 (97th percentile)
Critical Reading 780 (99th percentile)
Writing 690 (95th percentile)
Before the test, when I walked into the room,a teen asked "Are you the proctor?". My response "No...I'm on the other side!". The test is long...the snacks and breaks really helped. Did not get a Math section until the 5th section! The essay will be up on line on 11/3 -- mine included "Little House on the Prairie", M*A*S*H, World War II and The Pink Panther II to answer if humor helps people through rough times.
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/scores/understanding/percentiles.html
Now, when is the SAT II given? The ACT?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Do you see a connection between Math and peak performance?
Posted on Linked In by Math Confidence:
Do you see a connection between Math and peak performance?
Responses to Math and peak performance question:
Math is one of several activities that build confidence. Math is unique, however, in stimulating the ability to take a creative initiative in thinking. This ability carries over into many facets of personal and professional life.
Math has giving me so more confidence in other areas as well. This is why I am trying very hard on getting my son to love math for what it is. It makes you think in many differenct directions.
Do you see a connection between Math and peak performance?
Responses to Math and peak performance question:
Math is one of several activities that build confidence. Math is unique, however, in stimulating the ability to take a creative initiative in thinking. This ability carries over into many facets of personal and professional life.
Math has giving me so more confidence in other areas as well. This is why I am trying very hard on getting my son to love math for what it is. It makes you think in many differenct directions.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Marvin Gardner Math Puzzler Extraordinaire
The last line says it all, it's the EUREKA!!!
"When you figure out the answer, you know you’ve found something that is indisputably true anywhere, anytime. For a brief moment, the universe makes perfect sense. "
"When you figure out the answer, you know you’ve found something that is indisputably true anywhere, anytime. For a brief moment, the universe makes perfect sense. "
Monday, October 19, 2009
International Test Math Problems
Click on the link to see Washington Post's Jay Mathews education column containing (PISA Programme for International Student Assessment) questions.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Comparison of NY with National Exams
From http://documents.nytimes.com/state-and-federal-mathematics-tests#p=7
"Results of federal math tests released Wednesday showed little or no progress by the country's fourth and eighth graders since 2007, the last time the tests were given. New York State's students fared much worse than they did on the state's own standardized tests: while 87 percent of the state's fourth graders and 80 percent of eighth graders were considered proficient on state tests, only 40 percent of fourth graders and 34 percent of eighth graders met that standard on federal tests."
Click on the title to see the 4th and 8th grade 2009 NY Math tests plus a link to NAEP sample questions.
"Results of federal math tests released Wednesday showed little or no progress by the country's fourth and eighth graders since 2007, the last time the tests were given. New York State's students fared much worse than they did on the state's own standardized tests: while 87 percent of the state's fourth graders and 80 percent of eighth graders were considered proficient on state tests, only 40 percent of fourth graders and 34 percent of eighth graders met that standard on federal tests."
Click on the title to see the 4th and 8th grade 2009 NY Math tests plus a link to NAEP sample questions.
Are the state tests too easy?
Today's New York Times' cover reads "U.S. Math Tests Find Scant Gains Across New York: Scores Renew Criticism that Albany Testing is Just Too Easy".
The state tests appear to be too easy compared to the national tests:
Grade 4 Samples of NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress): http://nationsreportcard.gov/math_2009/sample_quest.asp
Grade 8 Samples: http://nationsreportcard.gov/math_2009/sample_quest.asp?tab_id=tab2&subtab_id=Tab_1#chart
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Multitasking and Studying
This title links to a Science Times piece on multitasking and studying. The research is not conclusive but the article is thought-provoking and personal as the author includes her own adolescent and young adult children's work and study habits.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
A Sample of GED Math
The title of this posting links to the NY Times article on the GED in New York State.
Please click here for sample Math questions fromt he GED's web site:
http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ged/test/math.htm
Practice questions from educational publisher Steck Vaughn:
http://steckvaughnadult.hmhco.com/en/gedtestmenu.htm
Please click here for sample Math questions fromt he GED's web site:
http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ged/test/math.htm
Practice questions from educational publisher Steck Vaughn:
http://steckvaughnadult.hmhco.com/en/gedtestmenu.htm
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Thursday, October 08, 2009
The SAT Essay
Two more days until the SAT. The Little House on the Prairie books will hopefully help as the Ingalls family endures many hardships that will answer prompts such as:
You have twenty-five minutes to write an essay on the topic assigned below.
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present.
—Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation
Assignment: Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
You have twenty-five minutes to write an essay on the topic assigned below.
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present.
—Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation
Assignment: Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Goals for Math Classes: Reasoning and Sense Making
This brand new NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) guidebook Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making highlights reasoning opportunities in five specific content areas of the high school mathematics curriculum.
Reasoning with Numbers and Measurements
Reasoning with Algebraic Symbols
Reasoning with Functions
Reasoning with Geometry
Reasoning with Statistics and Probability
Reasoning with Algebraic Symbols
Reasoning with Functions
Reasoning with Geometry
Reasoning with Statistics and Probability
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Discomfort and Learning
People love patterns and categorizations. Students laugh when I say "this problem is exactly like the last one but completely different." A good example of overgeneralization is the equation of a straight line y = mx + b where m = slope and b = y-intercept.
Everything is cool and groovy with y = 2x + 5 (slope 2 and y-intercept 5)
or y = 4x+ 8 (slope 4 and y-intercept 8)
but what about y = x (where slope 1 is invisible as is y-intercept 0)?
This New York Times article "How Nonsense Sharpens the Intellect" has research and ideas about promoting learning and creative thinking through novelty and anomalies.
Everything is cool and groovy with y = 2x + 5 (slope 2 and y-intercept 5)
or y = 4x+ 8 (slope 4 and y-intercept 8)
but what about y = x (where slope 1 is invisible as is y-intercept 0)?
This New York Times article "How Nonsense Sharpens the Intellect" has research and ideas about promoting learning and creative thinking through novelty and anomalies.
Monday, October 05, 2009
SAT Tips from the College Board
SAT Tips from the College Board
Below are some tips that will help you do your best on test day.
Before Test Day
Get organized:
Make sure you have two No. 2 pencils and a soft eraser. Pens and mechanical pencils are not allowed.
Have your SAT Admission Ticket and acceptable photo ID ready.
Check your calculator and put fresh batteries in it.
Bring a watch to time yourself. Use a watch that has no audible alarm—separate timers are not allowed.
Prepare snacks to take. A healthy snack will help keep you alert during the test.
Prepare yourself like an athlete:
Get plenty of sleep the night before the test. Your brain will work better if you are rested.
Eat a good breakfast that morning.
On Test Day
Leave your cell phone at home. If your phone rings during testing, it could cost you your scores!
We strongly advise you not to bring a cell phone or any other prohibited electronic device to the test center. If your electronic device makes any noise, or you are seen using it at any time—including breaks—you may be dismissed immediately, your scores may be canceled, and the device may be confiscated.
This policy applies to any prohibited digital and/or electronic device such as a BlackBerry®, pager, iPod®, MP3 player, camera or other photographic equipment, or separate timers of any kind.
Check to see if your test center is open.
Tune in to your local media, like you do for school closing announcements.
Check online for a list of test center closings.
Leave early. Get to the test center no later than 7:45 a.m., unless otherwise noted on your Admission Ticket.
Go to the center listed on your Admission Ticket.
Even if it's not your first choice, you are only guaranteed admission to the test center on your Admission Ticket.
You will be charged an extra fee if you go to a different test center, and a seat may not be available for you.
Arrange your ride home ahead of time. Your testing may end a little before or after the times listed below. If you are testing with extended time, ask the supervisor for approximate finish times.
For the SAT, plan on being picked up at approximately 12:45 p.m.
For SAT Subject Tests™, plan on being picked up at the following approximate times:- 9:45 a.m. for one test- 11:15 a.m. for two tests- 12:30 p.m. for three tests
Taking the Test
Make sure you use a No. 2 pencil. Follow the instructions on your answer sheet when filling it out.
Keep focused:
Use breaks to eat or drink any snacks you have brought with you.
Pace yourself. Each question counts the same. Don't spend too much time on any one question.
Below are some tips that will help you do your best on test day.
Before Test Day
Get organized:
Make sure you have two No. 2 pencils and a soft eraser. Pens and mechanical pencils are not allowed.
Have your SAT Admission Ticket and acceptable photo ID ready.
Check your calculator and put fresh batteries in it.
Bring a watch to time yourself. Use a watch that has no audible alarm—separate timers are not allowed.
Prepare snacks to take. A healthy snack will help keep you alert during the test.
Prepare yourself like an athlete:
Get plenty of sleep the night before the test. Your brain will work better if you are rested.
Eat a good breakfast that morning.
On Test Day
Leave your cell phone at home. If your phone rings during testing, it could cost you your scores!
We strongly advise you not to bring a cell phone or any other prohibited electronic device to the test center. If your electronic device makes any noise, or you are seen using it at any time—including breaks—you may be dismissed immediately, your scores may be canceled, and the device may be confiscated.
This policy applies to any prohibited digital and/or electronic device such as a BlackBerry®, pager, iPod®, MP3 player, camera or other photographic equipment, or separate timers of any kind.
Check to see if your test center is open.
Tune in to your local media, like you do for school closing announcements.
Check online for a list of test center closings.
Leave early. Get to the test center no later than 7:45 a.m., unless otherwise noted on your Admission Ticket.
Go to the center listed on your Admission Ticket.
Even if it's not your first choice, you are only guaranteed admission to the test center on your Admission Ticket.
You will be charged an extra fee if you go to a different test center, and a seat may not be available for you.
Arrange your ride home ahead of time. Your testing may end a little before or after the times listed below. If you are testing with extended time, ask the supervisor for approximate finish times.
For the SAT, plan on being picked up at approximately 12:45 p.m.
For SAT Subject Tests™, plan on being picked up at the following approximate times:- 9:45 a.m. for one test- 11:15 a.m. for two tests- 12:30 p.m. for three tests
Taking the Test
Make sure you use a No. 2 pencil. Follow the instructions on your answer sheet when filling it out.
Keep focused:
Use breaks to eat or drink any snacks you have brought with you.
Pace yourself. Each question counts the same. Don't spend too much time on any one question.
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