 |
| From Projects and Activities |
Welcome back to the Limelight Education Blog.
Check out our other blog The California Homeschool Blog at: http://californiahomeschool.blogspot.com
I just checked over some CST (also known as the STAR) test scores from 2007, when I was a teacher at High Tech Middle Media Arts in San Diego, California and compared them to 2009. I have been out of the public education scene for about a year now and wanted to see how things are going. Secretly, I was really hoping that they would show a huge improvement because I know what a challenge it is to teach project-based math.
Check STAR test scores here: http://star.cde.ca.gov/
First off I noticed that the 7th graders are performing much worse. In 2007, 8% of seventh graders were basic or far below basic. The 2009 class had 25% of students scoring at basic or below basic. I am sure this has little to do with the fact that I am now a tutor, not a full time teacher and much more to do with their high turnover rates for faculty and lack of standardized testing practice.
A similar trend is seen comparing homeschoolers with other students. My students wanted to compare the average homeschool student to the average student at Chula Vista Elementary School. They found that about 3 times more homeschool students score below basic on the California Math STAR test than students at Chula Vista Elementary. Hmmmmmm!!!????
Currently, this homeschool class is working on the SQUARE FOOT GARDEN PROJECT while performing some STAR test practice. We have incorporated math and writing into every activity. Last week we took STAR test released test questions (search google for "star test rtq" that were below and above our grade level just to practice test taking strategies.
Check back this week for SQUARE FOOT GARDEN updates from myself and my wonderful students!!
