Will Carnegie REALLY Raise Test Scores?

Is it just me or do the last six weeks of school seem like only two weeks of actual instruction!!?! If your school is anything like mine, these last several weeks are extremely crazy. Getting ready for our end-of-year state test along with MAP testing and GMade testing; the kids have got to be feeling exhausted before they even begin to answer the first multiple choice question!! I know in years past when April rolls around, I have been overwhelmed with getting my students ready for the “open response” portion of their end of year mathematics assessment! [In Kentucky our students’ end of year testing is made up of two parts; multiple choice (50% of their score) and open response (50% of their score). The open response is a mathematical task where students have to write out their answers to a usually scaffolded mathematical question. My 8th grade students usually have about 6 of those type questions each year.]

If you look at the difference in proficiency on the multiple choice portions of the test and the open response portion of the test (in almost all subject areas) you will see huge discrepancies (at least in our school and I’d venture to say most schools in the state). It seems that students KNOW the content (they can answer the multiple choice questions), they just don’t know how to apply that knowledge to solve new problems and show and explain their work on the open response items.

But since I have been teaching with Carnegie I have started to notice a new trend!! Because students have HAD to show their work, write their answers in complete sentences, label their answers, prove their method, explain their reasoning, argue their point and present their results ON A DAILY BASIS in my classroom, open response items have become a piece of cake!! Things that I have had to coach them to do before the test year after year are now mathematical habits.
My 2008-2009 8th grade class showed a 20% increase in the number of students who were proficient in writing math open response after having had Carnegie for one year. And I cannot WAIT to see what this year’s class will do as they were already scoring as high as last year’s 8th grade in their 7th grade year!!

People ask me all the time, “If I have to choose between the software and the textbook because we don’t have the money to buy both, which should I choose?” My answer…."FIND THE MONEY!!” The software is such an amazing tool….the epitome of differentiation and most of my students get exposed to so much more than they would have if they were only relying on my teaching!! But the textbook is equally important. It forces us as teachers to let go of the control of our classroom and let our students begin to take control of their own learning. And it forces our students to begin to explain their thought process in ways they’ve never had the opportunity to before!!

If you want to see your test scores rise, you have to jump in ALL THE WAY!!