Math assessment and placement

My daughter just completed the end-of-year math test for 4th grade. She scored 82%. She missed doing one question (just forgot), made a few careless mistakes, and then missed several in the measuring unit section because she didn't remember how many ounces are in a pound or how many grams in a kilogram. So we need to review some of that.

But overall, I am happy with the results, because (and I knew this beforehand too) she understands the concepts well! That is the most important thing. It's always easy to review some forgotten facts (such as measuring units), but when child has not understood the main concepts, the "patch-up" work is more tedious.

I have provided these Math Mammoth end-of-year tests on my site as free downloads so that people can use them as placement tests or for general math assessment. I often have people email me about their kids' results, and based on that, I feel those tests are working fine.

I have also collected a few other math assessment resources on this page, notably the yearly tests from Texas, Florida, and California (which are free) and a few commercial resources. Note: in my opinion, California's math standards are a bit too advanced, so use care when using their tests.

Some parents are against testing, but I feel testing for assessment is often needful in order to know what the child knows and doesn't know. The tests are like a "diagnostic toolbox" for me when I need to guide parents in what Math Mammoth books they might need for their children. So the purpose is not to "put on the pressure", but just to find out.

Comments

Unknown said…
Thank you so much for this!
Anonymous said…
Hi Maria,
Thank you for this valuable information, but none of the links are working for me. Please repost the links?
thanks.
Anonymous said…
Thank you from South Africa!
Maria Miller said…
Anonymous,
all the links work for me.
gopykryshna said…
Agreed that your child has learnt the concept and you have done well as a teacher to get that right. However, it is also important that children retain the concepts they learn. This comes by way of practicing the use of the concepts in different scenarios. So I would suggest that you provide such an environment / worksheets to help your child to get better. There are several sites on the web that provide worksheets and solved examples. Let me know if you need any URLs.

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