Quiz Rationale & Mathematical Understanding:
ST Math students continue on to the next concept regardless of how they scored on the post-quiz. Post-quizzes are designed to measure how well students can answer your typical test questions and are not presented with the visual elements used elsewhere in the games.
Post-Quizzes are provided to help instructors measure growth and help teachers identify students who have strong conceptual models but are failing to link the model to symbolic math, as well as to help students develop strong meta-cognition skills.
Most levels in ST Math are generated semi-randomly and are free-response, so it is difficult for students to memorize or guess their way through the games. If a student has passed all of the levels in an Objective, then they probably have a good understanding of the math concept visually.
Response Strategies:
-
Ensure that quiz-taking norms are utilized in the classroom.
To increase ST Math quiz reliability, it can be helpful to establish quiz-taking norms before students take them. Some teachers may find it useful to designate a place in the room where students go when they work on quizzes and notify the teacher when they are complete. Others might use quiz recording or tracking resources for increased accountability.
-
Play the Objective with the student - individually or in a small group.
If one or more students have done poorly in an Objective, it can help to take them (individually, or in a small group) into their history to access the content or play as a teacher through All Learning Objectives. Ask them to teach you how to play some of the games from that Objective. Ask the student to write out the puzzle using symbolic math. This can help the instructor identify the disconnect, and help the student complete their understanding.
-
Print the quiz questions and discuss them with the student.
Sometimes students rush through quizzes, thus their quiz score may not reflect their understanding. Consider printing the post-quiz items (using your browser's print function) and discussing them with students or have them show their thinking in this format. While students cannot re-take the quiz within the ST Math student platform, doing so in a printed format can help identify learning targets, if any, that still need strengthening.