9+11 = Best Day Ever

I know my posts are too long.  Here's the outline for today...paragraphs 1-3 are my rant on state testing and then the rest is about the Best Day Ever.

California kids are tested to death.  Have I ever mentioned this?  Starting in 2nd grade, the little ones have to take yearly state tests.  For grades 2-11, they have to take English Language Arts and Mathematics tests every single spring.  Starting in 5th grade, they may also take History and Science tests, but not every year...until high school, when students must take 4 tests a year for 9th, 10th, and 11th.  Our school's livelihood depends on these tests, because they are how we are compared to the other schools in the district.  If we don't outperform, our charter could be revoked.  It's scary stuff.  Oh, and they are all multiple choice tests.  No short answer, no essays.  Just bubbling.  Ultra scary.

On top of all that, my students do not get to take a Pre-Calculus test.  No, that would make too much sense.  Instead, for any students who are taking something beyond Algebra 2 in their juinor year, one must take a Summative Math Test on Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2.  While these courses support Pre-Calculus, I am not currently teaching any of them.  I understand that there are many options after Algebra 2 besides Pre-Calc...it could be Probability, Discrete Math, or Statistics that a student takes, but why are we punishing them by making them re-learn three years of math?  And honestly, that's what it is...relearning of so much content, just for a test.  I would be fine if our kids took a test that was nearly identical to the SAT...that would be great!  But, on the SAT, did you ever have to spit out the Associative Property?  Did you ever have to do polynomial long division?  Did you have to calculate a standard deviation by hand?  I'm guessing...no.  My students might have to, depending on what they put on the test this year.

I have a philosophy about teaching math.  I do not make my students memorize too much that they could not look up in a book if they absolutely needed it and when I'm trying to determine if a student passes my class, it certainly would not come down to polynomial long division.  There's a bunch of content on this Summative Test that I don't believe qualifies as "enduring understandings" of mathematics.  Sure, I want you to understand what associative property lets us change (5+3)+2 to 5+(3+2) if we want, but I really could care less if you know the official name.  You can always look this stuff up when you're writing your doctoral thesis.  

Alright, enough of the rant.  Why was today so awesome?  Well, usually I give homework quizzes on Wednesdays (a check in to see if kids are really understanding their homework).  In light of the fact that my students now have to recall most of Geometry, I had a brainstorm.  What if the 9th graders (who must take an entire test on Geometry) and the 11th graders get together to study for this test?  The 9th graders are in the midst of Geometry and we've done a bit with triangle trigonometry, so this could be great for all of us, while building some cross-grade community.  

As the post title states, 9 + 11 = Best Day Ever!  It really was beyond amazing.  On Monday, I polled all my students to find out where they thought they stood with respect to remember Geometry.  The 9th grade teachers did the same and we matched the kids together.  Today, I sent half of my class to the 9th grade room, while half of the 9th grade class came to me.  The students spent 40 minutes on a "Pairs Check"...it's basically a glorified math worksheet, but you only get one sheet per pair, only one person writes at once, you switch off on the problems, and you help each other the whole time.  This is great for helping students talk, talk, talk about math and help them catch mistakes while they are doing a problem, rather than not at all.  The 9th graders were nervous about working with the 11th graders, but my students seemed excited about "Geometry Day" as we called it and were so welcoming and nice.  And I'm not sure when I have felt more giddy after teaching four classes in a row.  They were working so well together...so respectful and compassionate (two of our core characteristics), and they really helped each other.  And, it's always fun for me to get to interact with other students in the school.

Today was that kind of day that reminds me how much I love the job I get to do every day and how lucky I am to teach at a school that allows this kind of collaboration among students...and a school that has developed students into some really wonderful people, who really want to be good at math.

We're going to make this a regular Wednesday thing and I just can't wait for next week!