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Monday, December 5, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 AM Strengths, weaknesses of students' math abilities
Each year, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction analyzes where students, as a group, have trouble in math on the WASL. Here's a sampling from this year's analysis: FOURTH GRADE Strengths: • Algebraic sense, such as understanding how to write an equation to determine how many barrettes two girls have, if one has four in her hair and another has three. • Locating points on a grid, recognizing reflections and lines of symmetry (geometric sense). • Converting minutes to hours, or minutes to seconds, or hours to minutes. Weaknesses: • Understanding relative values of whole numbers and fractions, such as knowing that 36,700 is less than 37,600, and determining what's larger: 2/3 or 3/5. • Comparing and interpreting information in a chart. • Organizing data for a given purpose, such as in a chart, or to support a point of view.
Strengths: • Explaining or describing mathematical information. • Solving single-variable, one- and two-step equations. • Identifying what information is needed, and what isn't, to solve a problem. Weaknesses: • Figuring out a method to solve a problem and justifying the results. • Determining percents. • Taking data that's in one form and putting it in another, such as making a chart or graph. 10TH GRADE Strengths: • Understanding ratio, percent, proportion. • Ability to interpret tables and graphs. • Converting units of measurement. Weaknesses: • Analyzing complex information in a table or chart to draw conclusions about what the data say. • "Great" difficulty figuring out how perimeter, area, surface area or volume changes when, for example, the side of a rectangle changes. Confusing circumference of circle with area of circle. • Determining the number of possible outcomes in a probability question. Source: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company Most read articles
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