Mathematics Update
www.esc11.net/math
Describe a #Teacherin3words
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! There are many ways to describe teachers, but how would you describe one in three words? Tweet your response using the hashtag #teacherin3words!
What is the Role of a Mathematics Teacher?
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, NCTM thanks you for your continued passion and dedication to mathematics education. We share common goals and are here to support your journey as a mathematics educator.
Thank you for your steadfast commitment to your students and to high-quality mathematics teaching and learning.
Sincerely,
Matt Larson
NCTM President
Math Academies to Begin this Summer
SB 934 establishes mathematics achievement academies for teachers who provide mathematics instruction to students at the kindergarten or first, second, or third grade level. The Texas Legislature has appropriated funding to pay stipends to eligible teachers who successfully complete academies. The agency is required to grant priority for academy participation and stipend eligibility to teachers employed at campuses at which 50% or more of the students enrolled are educationally disadvantaged (eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-price lunch program). A list of priority campuses by ESC region is posted at www.tea.texas.gov/Curriculum/Academies.
The agency does not anticipate that funding will be sufficient to allow all teachers at all priority campuses to attend an academy this summer. Consequently, additional prioritization will occur to allow teachers from as many priority campuses as possible to attend academies.
ESC 11 staff are currently working with district administrators regarding registration of teachers for the summer 2016 academies. For questions regarding the academies, please contact the Laura Carson, Coordinator of Teaching and Learning, by telephone at (817) 740-7573 or by email at lcarson@esc11.net
STAAR Interactive Journals Grades 5-8
Join us on June 9, 2016 Register Now!
These TEKS-based Mathematics interactive journals are designed to incorporate all of the major topics throughout Grades 5-8. The journals are organized around the information that students need for understanding, but leave room for teacher autonomy in choosing what students will include within the document. Practice cards, puzzles, and notes are included in this one-of-a-kind packet. Teachers will receive a blackline master of each journal. Participants will be required to review and sign the Rules of Use before participating in this training.Elementary Con June 23-24, 2016
$75 for ESC Region 11 teachers
$100 for out of region teachers
Administrators attend free with a team of 4 teachers.
Texas Success TOT Session: Think Through Math
DATE & TIME: June 27, 2016 • 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: ESC Region 11 • 1451 S. Cherry Lane • White Settlement, TX 76108
AUDIENCE: Teachers, Administrators
REQUIRED MATERIAL: Technology: Computers/Tablets
CONTACT INFORMATION: Michelle Bateman, M.Ed.
Educational Consultant
817-740-3691
REGISTRATION: There is no cost for this session. Register here!
STAAR results for first 2016 administration of fifth and eighth grade reading, mathematics released
Approximately three-quarters of the state’s fifth and eighth graders successfully passed the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) reading and mathematics tests, according to preliminary results released today by the Texas Education Agency. The results reflect passing rates for the spring 2016 administration of STAAR in March.
Seventy-five percent of fifth and 82 percent of eighth-grade students passed the STAAR reading test on their first attempt. Seventy-nine percent of fifth and 73 percent of eighth-grade students passed the STAAR mathematics test on their first attempt.
Under state law, Texas students in grades 5 and 8 must pass the STAAR reading and mathematics tests to be promoted to the next grade. Students who did not pass these exams have the opportunity to retake the tests in mid-May and will have a third opportunity in June. State law requires students who do not pass these tests to be retained in their current grade – unless a parent appeals the retention and a local, campus-based grade placement committee unanimously agrees to promote them.
To review STAAR state-level reports for all grades, visit the Texas Education Agency website at http://tea.texas.gov/staar/rpt/sum/.
Use of Test Results Affected by March 2016 STAAR® Online Testing Issues
The purpose of this communication is to provide information about how March 2016 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test results affected by online testing issues will be used in state accountability and performance-based monitoring. The decisions summarized below will help ensure districts are not penalized because of these issues.
State Accountability
The test results of the affected students (grades 5 and 8 reading and mathematics; grades 4 and 7 writing; and the English I and English II EOCs) will be excluded from all index calculations. In addition, any results from the May Student Success Initiative (SSI) retest administration for the affected students will also be excluded. Prior to the August 12 ratings release, TEA will conduct an analysis to determine whether including the affected results would change a district or campus rating from Improvement Required to Met Standard.Should that analysis result in a campus or district receiving a Met Standard rating, the data reported for the district or campus will not change; only the rating will be raised.
The results evaluated for distinction designations and system safeguards will also exclude the affected results. The Division of Program Monitoring and Interventions will provide further guidance on campus improvement plan requirements for affected campuses in August after the 2016 ratings are released.
Performance reports, such as the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) and the School Report Card (SRC), will also exclude the affected results. This also applies to the legislative report required by House Bill 2804 (84th Texas Legislature, 2015) that will be released by January 1, 2017.
Performance-Based Monitoring (PBM)
The affected test results will only be included in the Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System (PBMAS) if the student meets or exceeds the applicable standard for Satisfactory Academic Performance. In addition, the PBM Student Assessment Data Validation selection process will ensure districts are not held accountable for the affected results.
Contact Information
If you have questions about state accountability, please contact the Performance Reporting Division at 512-463-9704 orperformance.reporting@tea.texas.gov. If you have questions about PBM, please contact 512-936-6426 or pbm@tea.texas.gov.
TxAIR Tutorials
Teachers and administrators can now learn more about the Texas Achievement Items Repository (TxAIR) system with the TxAIR video tutorials, now available on the Texas Gateway. The TxAIR system allows teachers to create TEKS-aligned assessments for math and science (grades 3–8), Integrated Physics and Chemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. For more information, contact txair@esc4.net.
Math is Figure-out-able
Have you seen the Math is Figure-out-able website? Be sure to check out her blog, "Pam's Brain Today....." and her YouTube channel, "Figuring Math"!!
Reset the Play Clock with our #MagicOfMaddenVFT Now Available on Demand!
Thank you so much to the fans of EA SPORTS Madden NFL: Football by the Numbers for tremendous support during our live event! We were thrilled to see classrooms across the country tuning in and sharing their reactions with us.
If you're eager to relive #MagicOfMaddenVFT like your favorite classic game, you're in luck! Our team went behind the scenes at EA SPORTS to see S.T.E.A.M. in action, and we captured it all for you. The entire live event is now available on demand!
Meet the animators, producers, engineers, and designers who create some of the world's coolest games. Score tips from Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins, as he breaks down the physics of the perfect pass and even explains how constant preparedness and hard work got him to where he is today. Finally, bear witness as one lucky student finds himself in the game!
Before you kick off the virtual field trip, explore the variety of educator resources available at Madden NFL: Football by the Numbers. Your students won't want to miss the thrilling digital interactive, developed for grades 5-9!
Building Understanding in Mathematics
Building Understanding in Mathematics is a free professional learning community (PLC) that provides a platform, advice and support in helping educators learn methods that help students build understanding in mathematics. In this forum you are encouraged to share resources, engage in discussions and collaborate with peers across the nation.
The community hosts free monthly webinars and online discussions, providing an easy way to converse, collaborate, and share ideas and experiences with math educators around the country. Some of the topics to be discussed in this community include:
- Suggested frameworks/time lines
- Formative/summative assessments
- Engaging lessons (encouraging DOK 1-4)
- Manipulatives (Concrete-Representational-Abstract Model)
- Content standards
- Mathematical practices
- Family Involvement
- Technology
- Differentiation
Upcoming Webinars
All webinars are presented by Sara Delano Moore, Ph. D., Director of Mathematics and Science at ETA hand2mind, unless otherwise noted.
Fraction and Decimal Essentials Series
Wednesday, May 11 at 4 p.m. Eastern Time
Now is the Perfect Time for STEM! Strategies to End the Year with Fun
Join the Webinar Room at the scheduled time.
Bootstrap Training at UT Dallas
Teach Your Students to Program, Mathematically
Bootstrap teaches students to program their own video games in an algebraic programming language, exposing them to key concepts aligned to the TEKS Math Standards. Middle- and high-school teachers across the country have implemented the curriculum as part of a regular math class, or as a math or CS elective. Bootstrap reaches thousands of students each year, and has been recognized by the National Science Foundation, Code.org, Google, and Microsoft.
In this Workshop, You Will
· Participate in a real classroom demonstration of the curriculum
· Build your own video game, using the math you already know
· Learn how TEKS Math Standards can be met through a STEM-focused programming curriculum
· Explore cutting-edge research on algebra education
Registration is located at —>
https://ezpay.utdallas.edu/C20239_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=1569
Downloadable flyer (PDF)