Review: CAMS & STAMS books from Curriculum Associates

I have just finished my review of CAMS & STAMS books from Curriculum Associates... It is a series of assessment books, student worktexts, and teacher guides for struggling students that presents each math topic in a highly scaffolded manner.

These books are supplemental to any basal math curriculum, and have been specifically designed to support struggling students. Each level consists of:

  • a student book (consumable worktext) with instruction and exercises. This is the heart of the program, and always covers the most important topics of the grade level, as given in the NCTM Focal Points and Connections.
  • A test booklet, which contains a pretest, a postest, and four "benchmark" tests. The benchmark tests are to be used to monitor student progress throughout the year.
  • A very detailed teacher guide for the student text, and another, much thinner teacher guide for the assessment booklet.

Read the review!

Comments

Carol said…
Maria,
I appreciate your review of CAMS/STAMS - very helpful. Could you add more comments about the usefulness of the assessment materials? Do you think they're comprehensive enough that CAMS could be used by a teacher to do an overall assessment of a class at the start of the year? As kids move between school systems and teachers, I find they often end up with holes that go undetected until algebra! And if CAMS isn't the right tool for this sort of assessment, I wonder if you have other suggestions. Thank you.
11:48 AM, May 12, 2011
Maria Miller said…
I think they are not good to use for a comprehensive assessment because they are too easy... the word problems especially are too easy. The whole series is designed for struggling learners.

Consider using yearly tests from just about any state, because they are usually available online for free. For example check out Texas math tests. Of course you would use the test from grade level below the one you're starting.
10:03 AM, May 28, 2011
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Conversion chart for measuring units

Image
I was just sent a link to this site; all it is, is a handy one-page printable conversion chart for various US measures, metric measures, and US vs. metric measures. Includes even a comparative Fahrenheit vs. Celsius thermometer. http://metricconversioncharts.org/
Read more

Geometric art project: seven-circle flower design

Image
I got inspired by the blogpost Art School | Geometric Design with Islamic Art where Deborah shows how to make a neat flower design with seven circles , using a compass, and then coloring it using 2, 3, or 4 colors (or however many of your own). I think it ties in neatly with mathematics, and lets students practice drawing circles with a compass.  My girls loved the art/math project. Here are pictures they made: Here are step-by-step instructions for the flower design: 1.  Draw a line and a circle so that the circle's center point is on the line. Then mark the points where this circle intersects the line. 2. Use those points as center points, and draw two more circles. The radius is the same all the time, so make sure you don't change it on your compass!We used 5 cm as the radius, and that made the whole design fit neatly on a regular letter size paper. 3. Now note the two points marked in the picture. They will be used as center points in the next
Read more

Meaning of factors in multiplication: four groups of 2, or 4 taken two times?

Someone asked me about the interpretation or meaning of the two numbers in multiplication, such as 4 × 2. Do you view it as four groups of 2 , or as four, taken two times ? Here's their question: "...I noticed that your explanation about how to interpret a math phrase, such as 4 × 2, is different from how I have understood it and taught it to my older daughter who was using RightStart Math at this level. Let me explain:  I see that you are using the first factor to denote number of groups and the second factor tells how many are in each group (4 × 2 would be interpreted 4 groups of 2).  On the other hand, I have taught and thought of it reversed, with the first factor telling how many are in each group and the second factor telling you how many groups (4 × 2 would be 4 taken 2 times).  I know that the difference in explanations does not ultimately change the product, but I am wondering what you thoughts are.  When I conceptually picture what I'm doing I see it as 4
Read more