Standardized testing is not going anywhere. However, the format is ever-changing and has to be up to date with curriculum and technology. This is necessary for all students to prepare them for life beyond the classroom.
I completed my first article analysis on The Effect of Success Maker Software on State Scores in Elementary School Math. In this article, the author’s purpose was to research why students were not passing the standardized test thus not showing yearly progress in math. The article seemed short and only a tiny particle of my research. However, at the end of my article and digging deeper to understand it I was mind blown. There is a huge need for consistency and validity within what the curriculum shows, what and how teachers teach, and finally the standards that are being measured.
Going beyond traditional teaching (Kiriakidis & Geer, 2014) state we must individualize intervention to have success. The authors also measure other methods in order for students to grasp these math concepts.
As a teacher, we constantly look for new ways to show math problems. Alone this year, the school district I work for is using a math program that goes beyond the basic algorithm we were once taught. In order for concepts and strategies to be retained we must teach conceptually and practice daily.
Standardized testing begins in 3rd grade where reading and math are tested. From there on we add writing and science in the following years. One thing for sure is we intertwine all subjects. From my research of Success Maker, the software program tested in the article I could watch a demo lesson. The first thing this demo lesson started off with was vocabulary. They taught the word multiply, multiple, and multiplication. They used a real word situation that a student would understand. This is amazing and helpful for students. How can we expect a student to comprehend 4 x 5 = 20 without being knowledgeable about what ‘times or multiply’ mean?
Technology is here to stay and if we can use that to guide and assist our students so they pass these standardized tests then were winning. Not only in Math, but in all subjects. The beauty of quantitative data and math is we’re able to look at numbers and determine an outcome. For someone like myself or a 3rd-grade student, we can make changes and know where we stand based on data. At the end of the article (Kiriakidis & Geer, 2014) revealed that Success Maker helped students increase their proficiency in math as measured by state tests.
Works Cited
Kiriakidis, P. P., & Geer, B. T. (2014). The Effect of Success Maker Software on State Scores in Elementary School Math. Romanian Journal for multidimensional Education / Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 6(2), 127-138. https://doi-org.wmlsru.Idm.oclc.org/10.18662/rrem/2014.0602.10
Is there anything like Success Maker for students studying at home? (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2020, from https://www.time4learning.com/learning-successmaket.shtml