Resources: Assessing Mathematical Proficiency for Common Core

What questions do you have about this?

http://map.mathshell.org.uk/materials/background.php?subpage=formative

I had the honor of attending Critical Issues in Mathematics Education (CIME) at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute on April 3-5. There was an impressive gathering of mathematicians, educators, education researchers, and other interested parties. We worked collaboratively to build mathematical tasks, and felt unguided and uncertain of our products. It is critically important that tasks are implemented, iterated, reshaped, and adapted to the needs of the particular students. While we don't all have time to go write tasks, we do have the time to meet with our departments and create realistic goals for ourselves. I recommend for anyone who isn't already incorporating weekly or monthly common group tasks in their classrooms, to do so. Once there is momentum in the direction of this change, it will become increasingly easier to implement these ideas. I hope to quickly share some of the resources I was introduced to.

CIME 2013 Resources for Item Writers

• A livebinder with a collection of great resources (some of which are repeated):

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/187117

• PARCC sample items

http://www.parcconline.org/samples/item-task-prototypes#7

• Smarter Balance Sample Items

http://sampleitems.smarterbalanced.org/itempreview/sbac/index.htm

• New York City Common Core math task exemplars developed by “Common Core Fellows”

http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/TasksUnitsStudentWork/default.htm

• New York State Common Core Sample Assessment Questions

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/common-core-sample-questions/

• The Mathematics Assessment Project

          http://map.mathshell.org/materials/index.php

"The team uses its well-established engineering research [PDF,100K] methods involving: input from prior research; design skills to produce draft materials; iterative systematic development through trials in US classrooms, with revision informed by structured feedback data from the observer teams."

• Illustrative Mathematics, 700+ tasks aligned to the CCSSM intended for a variety of purposes:

http://www.illustrativemathematics.org/

• The Shell Centre:

http://www.mathshell.com/

• East Side Community High School Math Portfolio

https://sites.google.com/a/eschs.net/www/mathportfolios@eastside

There is a clandestine implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics in LAUSD. Everybody expects there to be a mastermind pulling the strings, but in the end, it is our collective effort and effective collaboration that will eventually result in changing the way we teach.

A large district like ours seems very much like a game of telephone, and the messages get morphed as they are passed from vessel to vessel. Luckily, we all have the freedom to access materials at their source. Unfortunately, many parties use this freedom as an opportunity to spread ideas/practices, and this creates the added job of data filtration and discovery.

For all skeptics of the Common Core, be mindful of the research and work that has been put toward these efforts. As for the image above, I emailed the Shell Center requesting the research paper it is in. I could not find it on their publications site.

Enjoy work.