Q: What is a comprehensive assessment?
A: Mathnasium's comprehensive assessment is given to all potential students. It gives us a very clear picture of where the student is in math - what strengths they have, and what concepts and topics need to be shored up or even taught. Our assessment process which takes 90-120 minutes includes time getting to know the child, which also helps alleviate some of the anxiety they might feel about taking a "math test." The process starts in the center director's office where it is quiet and not distracting. The parents are welcome to join us for this portion which can take 15-30 minutes depending on how talkative we get! The assessment process also includes a few verbal math questions which helps us identify the appropriate level of written assessment to give the child. We don't automatically give the grade level a student is in or just finished because we are looking for where their gaps started and that is often 1-2 grades before their current grade. We also want the student to feel some success in the assessment process - something many children don't experience frequently in classroom tests. After discussing how the child feels about math and asking some of the qualifying questions, they get to sit in the main room to work on a packet of worksheets (the assessment). They get to observe the instructors and other students, see how we celebrate children's successes and possibly even see some of their friends. This all makes the overall experience pleasant, even fun! Once they finish the worksheets, we meet again in the office to look over what they've done, ask a few clarifying questions and answer any concerns they or their parents might have. The child then gets to purchase something from our rewards cabinet and go home. We score their assessment and send the parents a detailed email with results charts and commentary on areas of strength, as well as, a list of the concepts we will be working on with the student. This email is sent within 30-75 minutes and we follow up within a day or two to answer questions.
Q: What things do you learn about a student when they take a comprehensive assessment?
A: We learn so much during the assessment process! We start with basics about the child including what they enjoy doing, how they spend their free time, what their favorite and least favorite subjects in school are, what they want to be or do when they grow up and how they feel about math. We also learn what they feel they are good at in math, as well as, areas they want some support in. Finally, when they have completed the written portion of the assessment, we know which topics or concepts have been mastered and which ones need addressing. Our results are very detailed, not just broad concepts such as what parents and teachers receive following the state standardized tests. It is really impressive to me how much we learn. I have been doing this for 9 years and I still love giving student assessments!
Q: What is a customized learning plan?
A: A customized learning plan means we put together a course of topics specifically for each individual child based on their assessment results. We could have all students from a given school and given grade attend our center and each child would be working on different topics at different times depending on what their individual needs are. Each child works at a pace that is appropriate for them, typically mastering 4-6 concepts per month if they are attending twice a week. The customization goes even further, in that, we reassess students regularly to gauge not only mastery and progress but retention of the concepts and skills we have taught. There is a "mastery check" at the end of each concept packet to verify the student understands the topic, and we give a shortened version of the initial assessment a month after joining the center to capture topics the child actually knows but missed that first day due to nerves. Midterm-like assessments are given every 3 months or about 9 topics to capture knowledge gained in school, as well as, to ensure the students are retaining what we've taught them. A final assessment is given once the learning plan is complete and then the child moves up a level, and the process is repeated.
Q: How do you gauge progress?
A: We gauge understanding and progress through our teaching method which includes a lot of Socratic questioning and having the student explain their thinking as they move through a packet, along with frequent assessments. We know they have mastered a concept when they can explain what they are doing and thinking, as well as, through observing their use of effective and efficient techniques to problem solve.
(303) 979-9077
(303) 979-9077
