Resist the Urge!

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So this is the time of year that we as teachers start thinking…. “MCA testing season”….is the panic setting in?

Are my students going to be ready?

Have I taught them all the standards?

How can I get them ready so that they are all  “green or blue”?

The answer is yes, yes, they are ready!

PLEASE RESIST THE URGE TO PAUSE YOUR MATH JOURNEY in your classroom for the sake of review.

DO NOT GIVE STUDENTS TIME TO MCA PREP (not at school and not at home) You have been doing the best MCA prep all year long by engaging them in rich mathematical tasks and fostering deep student thinking and understanding through student discourse. These experiences are what prepare our students for success.

You and your students have worked so hard all year to build mathematical capacity, to make sense of problems, and to develop strategies that help students to “use what they know to figure out what they don’t know”  

You have been awed by the thinking you are seeing and hearing from your students!  Don’t jump ship now…stay the course!

The BEST thing you can do to prepare you students for the MCA is this:

1. Continue engaging your students in rich mathematical tasks and discussions everyday.

2. Share this messaging with your students:

MCA tests give you an opportunity to show what you have learned this year. None of you will know the answer to every question on the test.  All of you have been problem solvers all year long. You have strategies and problem solving tools that will support you in doing your very best thinking during this test.  Show what you know! Use what you know to figure out what you don’t know! All math is connected! Use your strategies! You are a mathematician!

This message gives students permission to try something when they don’t quite know what to do instead of giving up.  This SHIFTS the testing experience to be one of “how can I can figure this out” instead of “my teacher never taught me to do this one” or “I can’t remember the steps for this kind of problem”.

I know this may feel scary for many of you.  All your hard work this year will pay off!

With spring comes testing (and birds).

Give your students the opportunity to fly!

Happy March!

Courtney LaRoche

MCTM President Elect