It was 10:30pm in September when my neighbor’s daughter called me on the phone asking for help. I walked over to her house and two hours later we had created her Seventh-grade Chapter 1 end of unit math test to be given to her students the next day. Three sections with 103 students, total.
As I walked home, I had a mixture of feelings. On one hand I was very proud of her. She was a graduate of our local school system, had chosen a career to teach middle school math, and had come back home for her first job.
Our profession needs teachers just like her.
On the other hand, I noticed I was angry. And I was trying to figure out why. I made it home and literally sat outside on our front porch.
As we constructed the test, I kept peppering her with questions, to the point she finally asked me to just help her finish this test, she was really tired. And so we did.
I wonder what questions you would be asking a first-year teacher trying to construct her own end-of-unit math test, just hours before she needs to give it to her students?
Here are just a few of mine that evening. Followed by her brief responses
Why did she wait to the last minute to construct the test? (It has been a really busy time).
Were there any samples in a digital folder of math unit one tests from years previous? (Not that she knew of)
What were the end-of-unit tests being given to the 7th grade students by the other math teachers on her team? (She did not know)
Were the other 7th grade teachers also giving their end-of-unit tests tomorrow? (Again, she did not know).
Why weren’t all three 7th grade teachers giving the same common end-of-unit assessment? (She had no idea. They had not met yet.)
How do we know this math assessment is at the right level of rigor compared to the other teachers on the team? (eye roll, and another “I don’t know”).
How and when does she plan to score or grade the assessment? (Had not thought about it).
And finally, my last question, that led to her exasperation with me, what do the other teachers on the team do when they pass back the test to their students?
Since it was past midnight, I left these questions hanging in the air with her, but sitting on my front porch I realized I was upset. Not so much with her, but with what appeared to be a lack of teacher team assessment supports for this new teacher.
Apparently, the digital assessment wallet was sitting empty.
Yet, my mentor, Rick DuFour always mentioned to avoid quick judgments. Assume good intentions by the school, the 7th grade team, and the principal. Be less judgy (that’s an essay for another day), and more inquiring. Ask questions and seek to understand.
And so I did. The next afternoon, I drove over to the middle school, met with the principal and the teachers, and asked her what was in her wallet? Well, her digital math folders to be exact.
And that conversation is our topic for Math Essay #2: What’s In Your Wallet, Part 2 to be released the week of August 31st!
Stay tuned.
Tim Kanold
My Front Porch Math Questions:
What are the assessment experiences like for the new teachers on your team?
What’s in their math assessment wallet as you start the new year?
I would love to hear your thoughts about your front porch perspective on K-12 mathematics, Send a note about this essay or any of the others and join the conversation!
Leave a comment below!
Writing in the Margins of the Essay