Test | AskDrCallahan Blog

Teaching to the Test: This philosophy will bite you later

July 1, 2010

Many parents ask us about our curriculum and specifically our method of testing. They wonder at how we don’t teach our students to memorize formulas, nor do we drill them over and over on how to work the problems that will appear on the test.

We do ask our students to study the concepts that will be addressed on an exam, but the difference is just that: we focus on concepts.

The overall goal of any education is to learn. We want to be smarter at the end of things, knowing how to do something better than we did before because we went through an edcuational process to be more academically astute.

In the case of mathematics, we study math so that we can function in society as educated individuals, being able to accurately pump gas, buy groceries, build bridges, measure medication, and so on.

Yet, despite all these examples of how math will be essential to students once they leave their K-12 educational haven, parents are still approaching the teaching process as if memorizing and garnering an “A”, will be all their students need for their futures.

My apologies to all of the nice old ladies who taught me 5th, 6th, and 7th grade math, but I just can’t accept the memorization philosophy at the high school level. Not meaning to step on any toes, but that is just a mediocre way to look at things. The bigger goals need to be teaching students HOW to do something, WHY to do something, and checking to be sure they understand. And the way to do this is not to drill students, and certainly not rote memorization. I’ve seen too many students come through my tutoring center who are able to work problems, and get the right answer, but they have no idea what they are doing and if you gave them a real world example (Begrudgingly known as “word problems” among the student population), they will be lost and confused. Even though the “math” they are doing is exactly the same in both situations.

So I encourage you, as you approach your next exam in math, make sure your students understand the concepts behind what they are doing. If you have to let them re-take the test and correct their mistakes, great! That is a learning process. Don’t be afraid to take the time to learn well the first time. Everyone will be grateful for your efforts–and better educated— in the end.

By Cassidy Cash | Posted in Ideas and Opinions, support | Tagged academic, approach, concepts, education, goals, learning, math, methods, outcome, philosophy, reason, test | Comments (0)

AskDrCallahan Tests, Test Grading, and Support

April 7, 2010

Our Tests are taken from the Chapter Review sections for the chapters the test covers. For instance, if Test 1 covers Chapters 1-3, then the test questions are taken from Chapter 1 Review, Chapter 2 Review, and Chapter 3 Review. We do not tell students exactly which problems from the reviews will be on the exam, but we do allow them to know that is where they are coming from so that they can use the review sections as study guides.

Grade them correct answer only allowing them to correct wrong answers for partial credit.. This approach works well (we always use it) and really helps the students learn from their own mistakes. Feel free to use our test grade sheets
This form is intended to help you grade according to our grading method. For detailed solutions to test questions our Algebra 1 Teachers Guide provides detailed answers to each test question on the test. They are divided up by Test 1, 2, 3, etc. And will be titled “Test # Answer Key”. We are working on providing similar test answer keys to the Teachers Guides of the other courses, but in the meantime you can either refer to the Solutions Manual (since all test problems come from the Chapter Review sections and our teachers guides give detailed problem reference guides per problem, per test) or you can email us and we will work them out for you and send them back via email pdf.

In fact, since we recommend it we will support it for FREE. If there is something you do not understand from the solutions manual, just let us know and we will attempt to clear up the issue. We provide detailed answers to any questions your students may come across at any time, from the tests or anywhere else in the course. All they need to do is send us an email to hwhelp@askdrcallahan.com

By Cassidy Cash | Posted in Calculus, Geometry, Ideas and Opinions, Kids math, Resources, algebra, trigonometry | Tagged chapter, grading, math, prepare, problems, review, study, support, test | Comments (0)

What grading scale should we use?

March 30, 2010

We suggest using the point value students make on the exam to decide their grade. What scale you use to determine what letter that number warrants is up to you. However, our Teachers Guides give a detailed outline of how we would assign grades if we are teaching it in a classroom.The teachers guides for each course can be downloaded on our website. Click Products and navigate to the course of your choice.

For parents who are new to homeschooling, or who didn’t know there were scale options, we have listed some popular grading scales here:

The Tens System:

90-100 A

80-89 B

70-79 C

60-69 D

59 and Below F

The Nines System:

92 and above A

83 -91 B

74-82 C

64-73 D

65 and below F

The Eights System 1:

93 and above A

85- 92 B

77-84 C

69-76 D

70 and below F

The Eights System 2:

94 and above A

86- 93 B

78- 85 C

69- 76 C

70 and below F

There isn’t really any indication that any one system is particularly harder than any of the others. In fact some studies show that the Tens System, which most consider the easiest, might actually be the most difficult since that system also accounts for pluses, minues, etc. In addition, the grade depends a lot of the test difficulty level, extra credit, and student ability. As you can see, there are a lot of factors that go into assigning a grade, therefore we prefer to let parents decide what works best for their students.

By Cassidy Cash | Posted in Geometry, Ideas and Opinions, Prealgebra, algebra, support, trigonometry | Tagged A, B, C, chapter, D, F, grading, grading scale, letter grade, math, prepare, problems, review, scale, study, support, test | Comments (0)

Will AskDrCallahan grade my student’s tests?

March 28, 2010

We do not currently have a system in place for doing the test grading for parents. If you are in need of this service, you may email us about that.

We will be glad to help you as we can.

However, we do provide parents with a detailed outline of how to test students. In our Teacher’s Guides for every course we sell, we include test grading sheets and sample test grading sheets to demonstrate our grading process. For most parents the Grading Guides we provide in our Teacher’s Guide are quite sufficient. You may download the teachers guide here. If you have questions about grading, test taking, or if you’re unsure if your process is correct, please send us an email. We will be glad to walk you through the process and get you pointed in the right direction.

By Cassidy Cash | Posted in Calculus, Geometry, Ideas and Opinions, Resources, algebra, trigonometry | Tagged AskDrCallahan, grade, grading, guide, help, homework, math, service, teach, test | Comments (0)

Understanding Math Using Teddy Bears

March 18, 2010

Many students struggle with understanding their math courses. They memorize and they struggle, but they are just getting by, they aren’t really learning. We have already written an article on why memorizing isn’t the answer, but here we want to talk about how to help your students understand math in a tangible way.

Have them teach their Teddy Bears. No, seriously. Almost every household has some kind of teddy bear, stuffed toy, or figurine—even the pet dog, cat, lizard, or hermit crab— that can be propped up in a room, on a table, or on the bed, and they make a fantastic captive audience. They don’t heckle, they don’t talk back, they only listen attentively for as long as you can talk.

Take this environment where there is great openness, wonderful reception, and absolutely no negative reaction or risk of embarassment, and place your student. Have them decide what are good questions. Really make them think about it. Not just “why teacher?” but ask “why did you use x instead of y there”, “what happens if you don’t take away the negative sign?” or “what happens if you divide by zero?” Challenge your students to not only ask themselves good questions but have them generate good answers as well. Encourage them to ask themselves really hard questions. In this way students are learning not only to ask good questions, but they are forcing themselves to delve into the material and really know what they are talking about.

It seems kind of silly to talk to inanimate objects or even the dog, but if you let go of that initial pride response that says “I can’t talk to teddy bears, that’s ridiculous” what you’ll find is a great tool for teaching your students to teach themselves. The process will not only improve their math skills but the process will also teach students to be self-reliant. They learn how to educate themselves, how to find answers on their own, and how to anticipate what “good questions” are, which makes them better able to anticipate and prepare for test questions. Taking the time now to develop this skill of self-teaching will be invaluable to your students after high school. They will learn how to be life learners, educating themselves even when there isn’t a teacher there making them do the work.

By Cassidy Cash | Posted in Calculus, Geometry, Ideas and Opinions, Kids math, Resources, algebra | Tagged activities, algebra, bears, education, fun math, hard, home school, learning, math, prepare, problems, self-reliant, skills, students, teddy, test, understanding, understaning | Comments (0)

Reviewing for a Test

March 7, 2010

Hey everybody,

How do you study for a test? Well, I’m just so glad you asked. Here’s what I think:

As far as video reviewing, re-watch any section of the dvds you feel needs review. Also, The working of practice problems similar to what is on the test is an excellent way to prepare. Some students go back and re-work homework problems–also great. When I teach my students this course we work the Chapter Review section to prepare for the test. There are many varied methods of preparing for a test and each one works differently for different students. That said, I think that working and grading the Chapter Review section, grading it and identifying weak spots, then going back to those sections in the book to rework problems and re-watching dvd sections as needed, as well as reviewing particularly difficult homework problems are all great ways to get ready for a test. The idea is to focus on the weak spots. I don’t feel it is necessary to review concepts students understand fully.

Also, even though we take our test problems directly from the Chapter Review, working the Chapter Review should not be considered “cheating” and here’s why I say that: The point is that the students learn and that they do well. If they don’t understand the math, they won’t get the problems correct on the test. Once students reach upper level math, it doesn’t matter if they’ve seen the problems previously–or even how many times they’ve seen the problems previously, memorization at this point just isn’t the student’s best friend anymore. Trust me, I’ve taught this course to several different groups of students in several different schooling situations and the outcome is consistent. We review the Chapter Review section AND I TELL THEM that the problems in the chapter review section are exactly like what’s on the test. I still have students fail. I really didn’t see that as possible, but apparently it is. This shocking (and repetitive occurrence) has cemented my belief that if students understand, they will do well, if they do not understand, they won’t. It really is that simple. Dont be afraid to practice what will be on the test. If nothing else, this method of studying helps eliminate the “bad test taker” moments.

Just because of the sheer volume of problems in the chapter review section, most students are not (and we don’t really recommend) working every single problem there. So the odds of them landing on “the” problem that’s on the test is small, but the probability of them working problems similar in concept is very high–also one of the goals of studying. Especially since the textbooks we’ve chosen often repeat concepts throughout. In addition, this isn’t the “2 + 2 =4″ kind of math. You aren’t going to be able to rely on your calculator or even on your ability to memorize specific problems in order to do well. I would have students who failed my exams even if I gave them the exact test ahead of time. I know you think I’m crazy, but you can trust me, I tried it on a class one time just to confirm my theory.

Please don’t think I’m ok with students failing, that’s not the point. I worked with those failing students to bring up their grades later, and all of that. My point with saying this stuff about studying is to show definitively that studying to understand is the key, not memorization. That’s why working problems is a good way to practice, but at some point you need to give your brain a break and just rest. Don’t focus on working every problem available. If it takes you that many, then more power to you, but if you can work 3 and nail them cold, go for it. Study and practice for comprehension, review where needed, practice what you need, then take the test.

These are just some of our suggestions. If you have other study suggestions you think I should mention, or if you’d like help setting up a “study process” for your specific student, please contact us and let us know.

Oh, and when I was a student, I pretended to be the teacher and taught my schoolwork to my stuffed teddy bears as a way to prepare. I mean, you never learn as much as when you teach, right? Well, it worked then too! More on that later….

hwhelp@askdrcallahan .com

God Bless,

Cassidy Cash

By Cassidy Cash | Posted in Calculus, Geometry, Ideas and Opinions, Prealgebra, Resources, algebra, trigonometry | Tagged calculator, chapter, class, homework, math, memorize, prepare, problems, review, study, test | Comments (0)

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