Regular Practice in Math Builds Confidence
For students in grades 3 on wards: CyMath and Ab7G of Purdue recommend 15-30 minutes of Math practice 4-5 days a week. For older students add 5-10 minutes per grade. Summer is the time to catch up on lost learning and to prevent learning loss!
How?
- How? – Free Options
- Khan Academy: free and best starting point for all students
- K5 Learning: worksheets that can be printed
- Beestar – two free 20-problem worksheets each week; some Math challenge
- How? – Paid options
- Work-books: many options, no one good answer. CyMath has tried
- ALEKS – CyMath uses it; great for tutoring large groups of students at all levels of Math
- Beast Academy known in Asian American STEM parent community. CyMath director has parent experience w it; great for students needing to be challenged
- Art of Problem Solving books for grade 6-12 – easy to buy used copies online
State-wide Testing and Math Differentiation
- ISASP test (Iowa test): April usually
- The test is adaptive. There is a lot of time given to finish the test.
- Adaptive test. What this means: (i) encourage the student to go slow and think before answering (cannot correct your answer): make sure the first few questions are correctly answered in order to get harder problems later in the test. (ii) The grading of the test is also adaptive, harder questions are worth more points.
- Free practice MAP or MAP-type test links:
- Math Circles – Spring, 8-10 once a week sessions
- AMC Math – Fall, 8-10 once a week sessions
- Ames Middle School has a lot of clubs