We teach them how to read questions carefully, how to highlight parts of a question. Dedicated, innovative teachers. Tutoring programs and homework clubs after school. The school saw a 49 percent increase in students meeting state standards in 2000 and a 7 percent increase in students exceeding state standards, compared to 1999. Diven had a 150 percent increase in the number of students exceeding state standards.
Students write definitions of math terms in journals.
The ultimate objective is to strengthen students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills, said Harriet Sweet, principal of Hendy Avenue Elementary School in West Elmira. Hendy saw a 79 percent increase in students meeting state standards in 2000. Fourth-graders who took the state assessment benefited from exposure to a consistent approach to mathematics through a new textbook and associated program adopted two years ago, Sweet said. It's pretty much aligned with what the state is expecting on the assessments of the children. The shift away from rote learning and simple computation isn't the only change in math.