3 Tips for Developing Elementary Math Tests

from Concordia University...

http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/educator-tips/3-tips-for-developing-elementary-math-tests/

Elementary math tests are an essential part of the assessment process. Without the information that test results provide, it is nearly impossible for a teacher to accurately judge whether or not her students are understanding or retaining the material she is presenting to them.

Because test results are so important, designing appropriate tests to assess student progress is paramount. How, then, do you develop elementary math tests that accurately measure the success or failure of student learning? Here are three things to consider when you are in the planning stages of your test development.

Three tips for developing elementary math tests

Show and tell – Early elementary students are usually very concrete learners. They can often understand a concept in a hands-on way even when they are not able to accurately articulate it verbally. When at all possible, allow your students to show you what they have learned with physical — or even virtual — props. Students could be allowed, for instance, to demonstrate their understanding of basic mathematical concepts by adding or subtracting objects from a group. They could also construct basic geometrical objects on paper or from straws or popsicle sticks. Use your imagination. There are many ways that allow students to show their understanding of math concepts in a concrete way. Even interactive computer games can be used to test an individual student’s understanding of math. Many of them are available for free on the Internet, including this simple shape-matching game designed for third grade students and hosted on the Georgia Public Broadcasting website, and the resources available at the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives.

Use both timed and un-timed tests – Math skills can be divided roughly into two parts and both parts are equally important. One part is the analytical, problem-solving side of math. This is important for working through story problems and for understanding more and more complex mathematical operations. Testing for this kind of understanding should not be timed. Students need to know they can take as long as they need to puzzle their way through the work. The other part is rote memory. Without a quickly accessible database of facts — such as the answers to basic multiplication problems — further understanding of more complex math problems is simply impossible. Therefore, you should encourage a solid understanding of the basics with timed tests. A word of caution, however, timed tests, according to an article in Education Week by Jo Boaler, can cause anxiety in young students. Emphasis on timed tests should be on the usefulness of speed to the students themselves and their future success with math, not on the grades they are trying to earn.

Mix and match the test questions – Every subject — even one as concrete as mathematics — can be assessed in many different ways. When designing elementary math tests, teachers can include true and false questions, multiple-choice questions and, of course, questions that employ a student’s problem-solving skills. According to the “Improving Your Test Questions” page of the Center for Teaching Excellence website which is hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, every type of testing has both positive attributes and drawbacks. Multiple-choice questions, for example, according to the website, offer “highly reliable test scores.” On the other hand, they can take a lot of time to create and encourage students to simply guess at the answers. By using many different types of questions on any given test, you can take advantage of the best attributes of all of them without weighing your assessments down with the negatives.

It’s the learning that matters

We can all agree that student understanding and retention is what matters most in any school setting. Elementary math tests are just one tool available to teachers to measure both of those important factors. Whether testing shows that your students are learning, or whether it shows that they have failed to learn what you are teaching, important data has been gathered. By using good testing tools, you will either have the satisfaction of knowing that your students are learning, or you will be able to gather the information necessary to make appropriate changes to your teaching style and your curriculum.