Closing the Learning Gaps: Strategies to ensure your students will be successful with the new TEKS

By Brea Ratliff, RME Secondary Math Research Coordinator

The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are the state standards that identify the information students should learn and the academic proficiencies they should demonstrate in each grade level or course. The newly adopted math TEKS are evidence of increased expectations for mathematics education in the state of Texas. Although several changes have been incorporated into the math TEKS, our students do not have to enter the next grade or course with gaps in their understanding of mathematics. As educators, we are charged with the difficult task of meeting students where they are through our reflective practice, which includes the development of instructional techniques designed to support students as they learn mathematics. The biggest, and perhaps the most important step in this process, is for educators and administrators alike to analyze and become familiar with the new math TEKS. In this blog series, we will examine strategies to help teachers and students experience success with the new math TEKS.

Strategy 1: Identify your resources

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has published several resources for math teachers and administrators to help them transition into teaching the new math TEKS. These resources can be used to plan lessons, develop an understanding of the knowledge and skills addressed in a particular grade level / course, and foster conversations with parents and other stakeholders in your community about the changes in the state math standards.

• Side-by-Side TEKS Comparison - this document compares the revised TEKS (adopted in 2012) to the previously adopted TEKS (revised in 2006) and allows the reader to see all of the major changes and shifts made to the math content and mathematical process standards. Documents for grades K through 8, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 are available on Project Share. (Side-by-Side TEKS)
  
• Vertical alignment charts - TEA has published four vertical alignment documents, which organize the TEKS by major concepts and show how these ideas are connected across grade levels / courses. These charts can also be accessed on Project Share. (Vertical Alignment)
• STAAR Mathematics Resources - changes in the math standards have also impacted the state mathematics assessments. The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) assessments Assessed Curriculum, Blueprints, and Reference Materials documents have been updated to reflect these changes. (STAAR Math Resources)
• Texas Response to Curriculum Focal Points - Revised in 2013, this document guides mathematics teachers in understanding the topics within each grade level that require the most emphasis, and can be used to inform instructional pacing and lesson development. This document is also available on Project Share. (TXRCFP)

After reviewing these resources, please share any questions or comments you might have with us via email or on Twitter (@RME_SMU). In the next blog, we will examine how these documents can be used to impact math instruction, with a specific emphasis on Number and Operation.

Math STAAR: Strategies for Success

By Dawn Woods, RME Elementary Mathematics Coordinator

As every math teacher across the state of Texas knows, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) testing window is upon us. You have worked diligently, teaching vocabulary, concepts & skills, through the lens of mathematical process standards thereby empowering your students to implement mathematics in everyday life, as well as perform on this assessment. The strategies listed in this blog are suggestions that could enhance your students’ success.

1. Teach goal setting. Research suggests that when students are taught to set specific academic goals they make progress in learning skills and content, discover how to self-regulate learning, and improve their self-efficacy and interest in the task (Bandura & Schunk, 1981). Through this goal setting and self-assessment process, students are enabled to monitor and evaluate their performance during a lesson, unit of instruction, or review of course material thereby increasing student performance and instilling responsibility for their learning. An example of goal setting for STAAR could look like:
   
   
2. Teach “timed” test strategies. A few strategies include:
• Listen to the test proctor’s directions.
• Budget time appropriately. Work quickly but do not rush.
• Work the problems in the test book, not in your head!  Double check if you copied numbers correctly, if the units are similar, and if you applied the appropriate formulas. Use good handwriting so you do not misread your answer.
• Do not be too happy to see your computed answer as one of the answer choices!  Test makers know what wrong choices could be made and include them in the answers. So check your answer before marking it on the answer sheet!
• Do not panic. If the question is difficult, return to it later. Maybe another question will job your memory on how to answer the difficult question.
• Position the answer sheet next to the test booklet so that you can mark answers quickly while checking that the number next to the circle on your answer sheet is the SAME as the number next to the question you are answering.
• Before turning in your test, double-check your answers.
• Make sure you bubbled in the answers correctly on your answer sheet.
•  Don’t be disturbed by other students finishing before you. Extra points are not given for finishing early!
3. Communicate with parents and students to encourage healthy pre-test behaviors. A few pre-test behaviors include:
• Relaxing for a few hours before bedtime.
• Getting enough sleep the night before a test.
• Eating a healthy breakfast and avoiding foods that could make you groggy or hyper.
• Don’t stress!  You’ve worked hard and are prepared for the test.

Works Cited:
Bandura, A., & Schunk, D.H. (1981). Cultivating competence, self-efficacy, and intrinsic interest through proximal self-motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41(3), 586-598.