I conducted math fluency interviews for all of my math intervention students this week. This was the first time I tried them. I learned much more about my students from fluency interviews than I ever did from timed math fact quizzes. This is the form I use to record data from the interview.
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math_fact_automaticity_interview_-_pdf.pdf |
I chose 10 fact flash cards for each grade level. (I teach third, fourth, and fifth grades.) I used addition for third and fourth grades and multiplication for fifth grade for my interviews this week. Each student came to my desk for the interview. I put the fact card in front of them and waited. if the student answered in 4 seconds or less, they earned 2 points for being automatic. NOTE: I timed in my head and did NOT mention that I was timing to my students. If they answered it correctly anytime after 4 seconds, they earned one point and I asked them what strategy they used. For my third graders, the strategy was sometimes obvious. I still asked, because I want them to feel comfortable talking about math strategies. If the student answered incorrectly, they earned points. I did not tell the students if they answered correctly or not. They did not see what I was recording on the rubric. I wanted to assess their fluency without all the typical stress of a timed fact quiz.
I learned so many new things about my students, even some I have worked in previous years. Some examples...
A new third grade student does not know how to count on. 7 + 6 was solved first by counting out seven on her fingers, and then counting 6 more on her fingers. Her teacher and I have discussed this and know we need to find strategies to help her learn to count on from the larger number.
A fifth grader answered all 20 questions within 4 seconds each, but most of them were not accurate. Conversely, another fifth grader answered all 20 questions correctly, but needed more than 4 seconds for each question. These two students need a different type of intervention in fluency.
I fifth grader who never performed well on timed fact quizzes in my room last year excelled at this fact interview. This student has some facts memorized, but can quickly use other strategies to solve the fact. (Ex. 7 x 8 = 56 because 8 x 5 is 40 so I need to add two more eights to get to 56.) I wish all my students could memorize facts, but am thrilled to see the mathematical thinking going on when they use other strategies to produce the solution.
I will interview my students again in 2 weeks and compare results. This will help me determine if my interventions are helping my students in fluency. My fluency assessment is a work in progress. After my last fluency blog, several teachers contacted me to see if they could try it, too. I would love to hear how it is working for others. It is a work in progress. i believe strongly in using something other than timed quizzes as a fluency assessment
I learned so many new things about my students, even some I have worked in previous years. Some examples...
A new third grade student does not know how to count on. 7 + 6 was solved first by counting out seven on her fingers, and then counting 6 more on her fingers. Her teacher and I have discussed this and know we need to find strategies to help her learn to count on from the larger number.
A fifth grader answered all 20 questions within 4 seconds each, but most of them were not accurate. Conversely, another fifth grader answered all 20 questions correctly, but needed more than 4 seconds for each question. These two students need a different type of intervention in fluency.
I fifth grader who never performed well on timed fact quizzes in my room last year excelled at this fact interview. This student has some facts memorized, but can quickly use other strategies to solve the fact. (Ex. 7 x 8 = 56 because 8 x 5 is 40 so I need to add two more eights to get to 56.) I wish all my students could memorize facts, but am thrilled to see the mathematical thinking going on when they use other strategies to produce the solution.
I will interview my students again in 2 weeks and compare results. This will help me determine if my interventions are helping my students in fluency. My fluency assessment is a work in progress. After my last fluency blog, several teachers contacted me to see if they could try it, too. I would love to hear how it is working for others. It is a work in progress. i believe strongly in using something other than timed quizzes as a fluency assessment