Information bulletin. Grade 6 mathematics

32 Pages·1996·4.2 MB·English

by  Alberta. Alberta Education

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V#
Alberta
EDUCATION
■
' S '
This document was written primarily for:
Students ✓
Teachers ✓
Administrators ✓
Parents
General Audience
Others ✓ S uperintendents
DISTRIBUTION: Superintendents of Schools • S chool Principals and Teachers • T he
Alberta Teachers’ Association • A lberta School Boards Association • O fficials of Alberta
Education • G eneral Public upon Request
This bulletin contains general information about the Provincial Student Assessment
program and information specific to the Grade 6 M athematics Achievement Test. This
bulletin replaces all previous bulletins.
Copyright 1996, the Crown in Right of A lberta, as represented by the Minister of
Education, Alberta Education, Student Evaluation Branch, 1 1 160 Jasper Avenue,
Edmonton, Alberta T5K OL2. All rights reserved.
Special permission is g ranted to Alberta educators only to reproduce, for educational
purposes and on a n on-profit basis, this document or any of its p arts.
October 1996
Contents
Looking Back: Highlights of 1996 1
Who Wrote the Test? 1
What Was the Test Like? 1
How Well Did Students Do? 1
Has Achievement Changed Since Last Year? 2
Commentary and Sample Questions from Grade 6 M athematics
Achievement Test 1996 2
Reporting the Results 4
Looking Ahead: What is upcoming for 1997 5
General Information 5
Administering the Assessment............................ 5
Schedule 5
Students in French Programs 5
Marking Achievement Tests Locally 6
Performance Assessments 6
Standards: Curriculum, Assessment, Achievement 7
Definitions 7
Confirming Standards 7
Purpose of Assessment Standards 8
Description of the Mathematics Assessment Standards 8
Acceptable Standard 9
Standard of Excellence 9
Grade 6 M athematics Assessment ......................10
General Description 10
Multiple-Choice Component 10
Reporting Categories Indicators 10
Blueprint .....11
Practice Questions 11
Practice Answer Sheet for Multiple-Choice Questions 21
Key and Descriptors for Practice Questions 22
Preparing Students for the Assessment 23
Suggestions for Answering Multiple-Choice Questions 23
Alberta Education Contact
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https://archive.org/details/informationbull1996albe_4
Looking Back: Highlights of 1996
Grade 6 M athematics
This information provides teachers, school administrators, and the public with an overview of the
results for the June 1996 Grade 6 M athematics provincial assessment. It complements the
detailed school and jurisdiction reports.
Acceptable Standard Who Wrote the Test?
100
All students registered in Grade 6 w ere expected to write
the 1996 Mathematics Achievement Test. A t otal of
38 379 students completed the English version of the
June 1996 test. In 1996, only a s mall proportion of
students in Grade 6 d id not write the test: 2.2% were
absent and 2.9% were excused from writing by their
superintendent.
What Was the Test Like?
The test had 50 multiple-choice questions in five content
areas: Numeration, Operations and Properties,
Measurement, Geometry, and Data Management. The
questions were classified in two reporting categories:
Knowledge Skills Total Knowledge and Skills. Students recorded their
Standard of Excellence responses to questions on a s eparate answer sheet.
30
How Well Did Students Do?
As shown by the graphs, the number of students meeting
the acceptable standard and the number of students
meeting the standard of excellence on the total test was
higher than expected. This is especially impressive
given that a h igh proportion of Grade 6 s tudents wrote
the test.
In 12.3% of the schools, the percent of students meeting
the acceptable standard was significantly above
expectations for the province. In 71.9% of the schools,
the percentage of students meeting the acceptable
standard was not significantly different from provincial
Knowledge Skills Total
expectations. In 15.8% of schools, the percentage of
students meeting the acceptable standard was
||j A chievement Standards*
significantly below provincial expectations. Schools
^Actual Results** where fewer than five students wrote the Grade 6 t est are
not included in these school calculations.
*the percentage of students in the province
expected to meet the acceptable standard and
the standard of excellence
**the percentage of students in the province who
met the standards (based on those who wrote)
1
The results presented here are based on Commentary and Sample Questions
scores achieved by all students writing in from Grade 6 M athematics
English. Results for students writing in Achievement Test 1996
French will be reported separately.
Assessment Specialist observations and
Sample questions from the test and
commentary follow.
accompanying discussion are provided to
highlight the strengths and weaknesses of
Has Achievement Changed Since students meeting the acceptable standard
Last Year? and the standard of excellence. For each
sample question, there is an asterisk beside
the correct answer. These questions are no
A s tudy of changes in achievement was
longer secured and will not be reused
conducted as part of the provincial in 1997.
assessment. Results indicate that math
achievement in 1996 is slightly higher than
in 1995.
Use the following chart to answer question 21. Acceptable Standard*
Overall, results show that students who met the
NUMBER OR ANIMALS OBSERVED
acceptable standard but not the standard of
Student Birds Fur-Bearin6g9 Animals Total
Sandy 47 excellence were able to solve one-step problems.
116
John 65 38 103 Specifically, students meeting the acceptable
41 standard could
Sheila 76 117
• d etermine the operation needed to solve a
straightforward problem and carry out
21. The park ranger asked Sheila a q uestion.
the computation (question 31)
Sheila looked at the chart and answered the
• e stimate sums and products
question using the number sentence
• i nterpret simple charts and graphs
65 - 4 7 = 1 8. What question was Sheila
asked? (question 21)
• t ranslate numbers from one form to another
A. How many more fur-bearing animals • relate a net to the corresponding 3-D object
did you see than John saw? • recognize a r eflection
• apply basic measurement skills to real-
B. How many more fur-bearing animals life situations
did Sandy see than John saw?
They had difficulty
* C. How many more birds did John see
than Sandy saw?
• solving multistep problems
D. How many more birds did you see
• ordering fractions and decimal numbers
than Sandy saw?
(question 24)
• d etermining the perimeter of a p olygon
• c onverting measurements from one unit
to another
Question 21 required students to interpret a
chart to determine the meaning of a n umber
sentence. Students meeting the acceptable
standard were very successful with this
question.
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31. The masses of five of the buffalo are
Question 31 required students to determine
600 kg, 580 kg, 540 kg, 660 kg, and 420 an average. About 75% of students meeting
kg. What is the average mass of these five
the acceptable standard but not the standard
buffalo?
of excellence answered this question
correctly.
A. 420 kg
B. 560 kg
C. 595 kg
D. 610 kg
24. Some students had pizza for lunch in Question 24 required students to order fractions
and find the largest. Only about 50% of the
Banff. Michael ate of his pizza, Cliff ate
students meeting the acceptable standard but
2 3 not the standard of excellence were able to
—5 of his pizza, David ate —10 of his, and answer this question correctly.
3
Patricia ate — of hers. Who ate the
greatest portion of pizza?
A. Michael
B. Cliff
C. David
* D. Patricia
Standard of Excellence
20. The park ranger was concerned about the
large number of elk hit by vehicles in the
Students meeting the standard of excellence
park each year. He said that an average had no difficulty with this assessment.
of four elk are killed each month. At this
rate, how many elk out of 120 would The following commentary highlights the skills
survive after eight months? and knowledge of students who met the standard
A. 124 of excellence.
B. 95
Question 20 required students to apply
* C. 88 understanding of average and solve a m ultistep
D. problem. Over 90% of students meeting the
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standard of excellence could do this.
3
Use the following diagram to answer Question 29 required students to determine a
question 29. strategy to partition the volume of a p rism.
Students meeting the standard of excellence can
do this.
Students who meet the standard of excellence
were more successful in solving multistep and
novel problems than other students. Specifically,
students meeting this standard could
29. Stacy bought a b lock of fudge 9 c m X 9 c m • order integers
X 15 cm and cut it into cubes 3 c m X 3 c m
• apply operations in solving problems
X 3 c m. How many cubes of this size did
(question 20)
she have?
• apply place value concepts
• i dentify a p attern to solve a p roblem
A. 15
• i nterpret, analyze, and accurately apply
B. 27 information from charts and graphs
* C. 45 • carry out calculations with measurements
(question 29)
D. 81
Reporting the Results
On August 23, 1996, each school jurisdiction
received, electronically, a d istrict report and
individual school reports regarding their
students’ achievement, as well as guidelines for
interpreting these results in relation to
provincial standards.
To facilitate reflection on school programs,
we expect that results will be shared with all
school staff (not just teachers of grades 3, 6,
and 9), as well as with parents and the
community.
Two copies of an individual profile for each
student will be sent to the school that the
student will attend in September. We expect
that the Parent Copy will be given to parents
and the School Copy will remain with the
student’s record.
All Achievement tests administered
in 1993 and prior to 1993 are no
longer secured.
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Looking Ahead: What is Upcoming for 1997
General Information approve a l ocal schedule for achievement
test administration within the dates
The Provincial Student Assessment Program provided. Students who are absent when the
provides teachers, parents, students, school tests are administered and who return to
administrators, Alberta Education, and the
school by the end of the school year must
public with information about what students write the tests upon their return. By
know and can do in relation to provincial scheduling the tests early in the
standards. Group results are reported at administration period, most, if not all,
school, district, and provincial levels to absentees can be tested upon their return to
improve learning opportunities for students. school. The principal is responsible for
The assessments are administered in two ensuring the security of the tests.
subject areas at Grade 3 — language arts and The tests that will be administered each
mathematics — and in four subject areas at
grades 6 a nd 9 — language arts, mathematics, yeaGrr a adree: 3
social studies, and science.
English Language Arts {Part A: Writing
The assessments are based on provincial and Part B: Reading)
standards, which reflect important learnings Mathematics (English and French forms)
in the subject areas listed above. Classroom
Grade 6
teachers from across the province are
English Language Arts {Part A: Writing
extensively involved in developing and field
and Part B: Reading )
testing the assessment instruments.
Fran£ais 6e annee {Partie A: Production
ecrite and Partie B: Lecture )
Administering the Assessments
Mathematics (English and French forms)
Information about the nature of the Science (English and French forms)* see
provincial assessments as well as their
Social Studies (English and French forms)
administration to special needs students can
be found in the General Information Grade 9
Bulletin, Provincial Student Assessment English Language Arts {Part A: Writing
Program, which is mailed each fall to all apn.d 6 Part B: Reading)
superintendents and principals.
Fran^ais 9e annee {Partie A: Production
ecrite and Partie B: Lecture)
Schedule Mathematics (English and French forms)
Science (English and French forms)
The written-response component of English Social Studies (English and French forms)
and French Language Arts will be
administered during the last week of May. Students in French Programs
The machine-scorable component of all
achievement tests will be administered
All students in French programs must write
during the last two weeks of June. Specific English Language Arts, French Language Arts
information regarding scheduling is and French versions of other achievement tests
provided in the current General Information if their language of instruction is french.
Bulletin, Provincial Student Assessment Alberta Education will send a c hecklist to
Program. schools by January requesting an indication of
how many English or French tests are required.
To minimize any risks to security, we
These froms must be returned through
recommend that all students complete the
jurisdiction offices by mid-February.
test on the same day. Superintendents
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* Resources for the implementation of the Performance Assessments
revised Program of Studies for elementary
science will not be available until the Performance assessments provide students
with real-life tasks. These assessments
1997-98 school year. Therefore,
address many of the learner expectations
implementation of the revised Program of
that cannot be easily measured using only
Studies for students in French programs is
paper and pencil strategies. These tasks
optional for the 1996-97 school year. have been developed by classroom teachers
Schools offering grade 6 s cience in French and are designed to model good classroom
must decide which form of the science test instruction and assessment practices.
they will write in June 1997. The choices
are either the translated form of the 1996 The Student Evaluation Branch uses these
Grade 6 S cience Achievement Test based tasks to collect a b roader base of information
about what students know and can do than
on the previous program of the 1997
Grade 6 S cience Achievement Test based achievement tests alone can provide. These
assessments will be administered to a
on the revised program. Schools offering
Grade 6 S cience in French must choose provincial sample of students in all subjects
one form or the other for all students in on a r otating basis. The following
Grade 6 w riting in French. assessments will be given in 1997:
Grade 3
Marking Achievement Tests Locally
• informational book tasks in language arts
Teachers will be able to mark the tests
Grade 6
before returning them to Alberta Education.
Teachers can use the results as part of an • social studies: inquiry into basic needs
individual student’s year-end assessment, as Grade 9
well as for planning instruction.
• problem-solving and communication
tasks in science
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