Math test today

Grade 9s had a test today. We decided to make it fun and students could choose where they sat. We have a small class so I let them have free rein. It was a little chaotic. Some chose to sit so they faced the window and could look out. Some faced the whiteboard so they wouldn’t be distracted. One embraced and encouraged chaos and sat right behind the door, which would have been problematic had anyone needed to come in.

We also used Howie Hua’s test talk routine, where the first 5 minutes of the test is time to talk…pencils down, students read the test over and can talk with friends (without writing) to go over anything they’re confused about. This helps calm everyone’s nerves about the test, and encourages students to read things over and strategize about which questions to answer first.

Our tests have some questions that everyone answers, and some where there’s a choice of “mild” “medium” or “spicy” questions to do. The questions have more complexity, more steps, more thinking to do. Answering mild questions is the bare minimum, and earns a level 1, medium done well can earn level 3, spicy done well can earn level 4+.

We make sure everyone has what they need, the same manipulatives as we use in class are available for the test. This test some students used algebra tiles, and linking cubes to help model the algebra and measurement questions. There’s also a little “roche dans la poche” (a smooth stone) that’s kind of like a worry rock that students have to help keep us grounded and focused.