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So I work for (REDACTED.) They make and administer an amazingly large amount of the United States "Standardized tests". I've been grading 6th graders math tests for the last 3 years for the (REDACTED) test many many many thousands of them take in XYZ states.
I want to pass along some very simple stuff that skirts the NDA to you my fellows who may have kids near said age etc.
If you've seen the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High (double bonus for the book reading btw) the theory that Mr. Hand uses the same quizzes etc every year _Is_True_ (with way way smaller degree of change/new questions than you'd believe). Long winded way of telling your kids to ask what they asked last year. Straight out.
I score word problems that require actual thinking/reading skills and so I "discern" how much of the concept they are attempting test your child on really gets.
Make -sure- your 6th grader can 1, read AND understand (good luck!) instructions. 2) knows how to find the volume of a cubic space like a block of wood (LxHxW) 3) If it says to express your answer in inches, for Allah's sake do so or we/I will have to screw you over despite your showing me you reallllly know what you're doing. 3) No Really.. Make sure they FULLY read and understand the directions from a-z. 4) The "helpful " sheets of info they give the student are pretty much designed to lead you astray and start to think about quarts when the answer is in inches. Herrings galore. 5) Make SURE they know how percentages work. 90% of 140 is NOT 130 it's 126. Subtracting 10 means you fucking lose all of it.. 6) You -cannot- bullshit math word problems. Say IDK and move on. .000029292% chance of guessing a number. Use that time elsewhere 7) Completely impress upon said student that EVERY whole number has a decimal at the end of it. The amount of slaying middle schooler futures because they insisted to me that 100 had no decimal point 100.0000000000000000 saddens me. It's simple fuckups or misunderstandings or lazy read too fast that forces me to give your kid 0/3 or whatever most of the time frankly although the percentage who show me They Just Have No Idea and are mightily trying to BS (see rule 6) is also very high and they too get zeros.
Not trying to start a standardized testing ranting but just letting you guys know what I've seen that your kid Must Know mathwise.
/babble ( My daughters seven nearly eight btw!)
I want to pass along some very simple stuff that skirts the NDA to you my fellows who may have kids near said age etc.
If you've seen the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High (double bonus for the book reading btw) the theory that Mr. Hand uses the same quizzes etc every year _Is_True_ (with way way smaller degree of change/new questions than you'd believe). Long winded way of telling your kids to ask what they asked last year. Straight out.
I score word problems that require actual thinking/reading skills and so I "discern" how much of the concept they are attempting test your child on really gets.
Make -sure- your 6th grader can 1, read AND understand (good luck!) instructions. 2) knows how to find the volume of a cubic space like a block of wood (LxHxW) 3) If it says to express your answer in inches, for Allah's sake do so or we/I will have to screw you over despite your showing me you reallllly know what you're doing. 3) No Really.. Make sure they FULLY read and understand the directions from a-z. 4) The "helpful " sheets of info they give the student are pretty much designed to lead you astray and start to think about quarts when the answer is in inches. Herrings galore. 5) Make SURE they know how percentages work. 90% of 140 is NOT 130 it's 126. Subtracting 10 means you fucking lose all of it.. 6) You -cannot- bullshit math word problems. Say IDK and move on. .000029292% chance of guessing a number. Use that time elsewhere 7) Completely impress upon said student that EVERY whole number has a decimal at the end of it. The amount of slaying middle schooler futures because they insisted to me that 100 had no decimal point 100.0000000000000000 saddens me. It's simple fuckups or misunderstandings or lazy read too fast that forces me to give your kid 0/3 or whatever most of the time frankly although the percentage who show me They Just Have No Idea and are mightily trying to BS (see rule 6) is also very high and they too get zeros.
Not trying to start a standardized testing ranting but just letting you guys know what I've seen that your kid Must Know mathwise.
/babble ( My daughters seven nearly eight btw!)
