Massachusetts teachers' math exam
I was almost ready to comment on this exam, where only about 27% of aspiring aspiring elementary school teachers passed the new math section of the state's licensing exam this year...
Boston.com says about this test, "Education leaders said the high failure rate reflects what they feared, that too many elementary classroom and special education teachers do not have a strong background in math and are in many ways responsible for poor student achievement in the subject, even in middle and high schools."
...and then I noticed I had been looking at the wrong link for the practice test. The real link is this:
Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure, Mathematics Subtest, from MTEL Practice Tests website.
I feel that test is pretty good! In fact, I'd recommend that you do some problems from it, if you're teaching any grade from 1-12. If you're teaching middle or high school, you could use some of those problems with your students, and if you're teaching elementary, it's just to check if YOU have the adequate math skills.
The open-response item is particularly interesting, and good, I think. It shows a student response on a particular geometry problem, and asks:
"Use your knowledge of mathematics to create a response in which you analyze the elementary school student's work and provide an alternative solution to the problem. In your response, you should:
- correct any errors or misconceptions evident in the elementary school student's work and explain why the response is not mathematically sound (be sure to provide a correct solution, show your work, and explain your reasoning); and
- solve the problem using an alternative method that could enhance the elementary school student's conceptual understanding of ratios and decimal multiplication in the context of the problem."
What kind of math would I test elementary teachers on
If I made a test for future elementary school teachers, I'd ask lots of questions about elementary and middle school math INCLUDING "WHY" questions. If they know that, then they can explain the math to their students as well.I might ask questions related to common errors and misconceptions kids have. "Sally calculated that 0.5 + 0.12 = 0.17. What concept is Sally not understanding (and it's not decimal addition)? What kind of intervention do you think would help?"
I would ask questions that test their understanding of why long division or long multiplication works.
I'd test their knowledge of middle school level math and some high school level math. I'd test for problem solving abilities.
Elementary teachers should know middle school math well (percents, proportions, equations, geometric constructions, statistical graphs, etc.) so that they know what the elementary math they teach is leading to. For example, they should know square roots and Pythagorean theorem. That way, when they teach multiplication, they can throw in a "teaser" for the best kids in the class, asking, "What number multiplied by itself is 64?" Or, "I say a number, you say what number multiplied by itself gives that number."
So, I might actually ask, "What further mathematical concepts after 3rd grade depend on a good knowledge of multiplication tables?" Or, "Students study prime factorization in 6th grade. Give two examples where the understanding of this concept is needful in further mathematics studies within grades 6-12."
See also what MathMama writes about Tests .... (TIMSS & the MA teacher licensing test)
Comments
I would like to be the best teacher I can be for my children, and I feel like I should be able to do a test like this. How can I brush up on my math skills?
Good post. I read the article previously but did not look at the test until your post. It is a nice test. Wouldn’t it be great if all elementary school teachers could pass that test? I looked for a passing score. They did not set a passing score for the practice test. What do you think should be a passing score?
There are many options - the handiest is probably to read books and/or read math material on websites. Such as:
www.math-mate.com/chapter3.shtml
www.purplemath.com
www.mathtv.com
Burt, I saw somewhere that 75% was a passing score on the Massachusetts test.
Where did our country go wrong in teaching math?? I went to school in the 70s and 80s, when they were doing "new math." Math was always a struggle for me. Although I remember when my dad helped me with my homework, he explained things differently than my teachers, and his way made a lot more sense. But I didn't see him often, so I floundered through math in high school.
For instance, my Algebra 2 teacher had no idea what he was doing. He would go through the sample problems from the textbook, and that was it. If we had any questions, he would just say, "Look at the book." No thanks to him, I failed Algebra 2, and ended up having to take college algebra at a community college to get accepted at university. I had the most awesome professor, and he taught in a totally different way than the teachers at my school. After struggling with math throughout elementary, middle school, and high school, I made a B+ in the class, and an A on the final exam. He even recommended I take more math classes! I couldn't believe it.
How did our country get to where it is? I'm probably over-generalizing, but people of my parents' generation (baby boomers) seem to have had a solid foundation in math. But I've read that the reason people came up with "new math" is that they felt that kids were being taught math by rote, not understanding. But it seems like ever since they came up with new math, and new-new math, things have gotten worse.
www.guaranteach.com
The website teaches K-12 math topics in easy, convenient, 2 to 3 minute videos each. One of the neatest features is the ability to customize the learning to their own personal style. Is one of the videos not getting through? simply click 'show me another way' to see the same topic approached in a different manner.
My post on the Huffington Post about Math education, titled "Let's Ban English in School Except in English Class." They put it in the comedy section.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-goldstein/lets-ban-english-in-schoo_b_217509.html
Lot's more math at Blog on the Universe
http://blogontheuniverse.org
Please share!
Jeff Goldstein
Center Director
Nat'l Cntr for Earth & Space Sci Ed
It seemed *tedious* and *tricky*; I can imagine it was tough for a lot of teachers who, well, don't take a lot of timed tests themselves.
I highly recommend anyone who needs a refresher check out our free videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ThinkwellVids
Or check my blog where I post more.
http://blog.thinkwell.com
Often the videos have multiple lectures on them. Our math instructor, Edward Burger, is really great at teaching math!