Math Intervention for State Exams

1092 Words3 Pages

According to the Student Success Initiative (SSI) 2012-2013 manual, the 81st Texas Legislature in 2009 made changes to their 1999 policy, requiring 5th and 8th grade students to “demonstrate proficiency” on the reading and mathematics section of their tests by their third administration. Additionally, the Grade Placement Committee (GPC) can approve advancement based on grades, standardized test scores and teacher recommendation. With this in mind, the 2013-14 sixth grade students at an elementary school in Ector County Independent School District (ECISD) recently completed their fifth grade SSI mandated assessments. Approximately 55% of the 120 students successfully passed the math section of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) with three attempts. Accelerated instruction, as required per SSI policy, followed each of the three attempts, to include tutorials after school, on Saturdays and during the summer. Through careful analysis of cummulative Student Expectations (SE) with less than 70% unmet, it was determined that a majority of the standards will need reteaching and/or intervention. How will the sixth grade math teachers meet the sixth grade SEs and accommodate for the previously unmet standards?
The initial step for intervention was to employ a strong a team of two math teachers: one to continue on level instruction with a blend of spiral review and another to deliver intervention level instruction for their current study, missed expectations according to previous fifth and ongoing sixth grade level assessments. Within the first two weeks of the 2013-14 school year, these teachers administered a pre-assessment using released fifth grade STAAR questions; a majority of the 115 students failed...

... middle of paper ...

...oing occurrence throughout the year. Small group station activities were adapted for independent practice and/or peer teaching during RTI. “Do Now’s” reviewing previously taught concepts were given in word problem format so that strategy use can be monitored in the classroom rather than homework. Incorporating various strategies and practices the team clearly put forth effort to ensure students received ample ‘advanced organizers’ and scaffolded instruction. The opportunity to apply their knowledge was provided through the textbook and its resources, teacher created materials, interactive notebooks and real world applications. Students demonstrated a desire to succeed because of the rapport the teachers had built and passion for mathematics instilled in them by their teachers. This is an added bonus to their differentiated instructional scaffolding strategies.

Open Document