Strive for a Five!

Congratulations to the 300+ students that participated in the 4th annual AP Mock Exam.  Our AP students gather together at the ASU downtown campus in April to complete a practice AP exam to prepare for the rigorous exams in May.  In the morning, they complete both sections of the exam and then we celebrate their "test of endurance" with lunch in the park outside the AE Englund building. 

In the afternoon, the students are led through a self-reflection on each free-response question with the expert advice of an AP Reader.  The guest speakers provide them with the rubric for each item, describes the information needed to get the full point value for each response, and give them plenty of tips for writing a well-written free response solution.  The students walk out with tips on how to "Strive for a 5"!  The teachers also receive an item analysis report to identify their student's strengths and weaknesses on the multiple-choice section to target specific areas to study on the upcoming exam. 

The following students were recognized for the performance on the Multiple Choice section of the exams:

AP Calculus AB (Top three scorers)

   1^st Place:  Cesar Bernal, Metro Tech

   2^nd Place Tie:  Brenda Gutierrez, Maryvale

                             and Coniqa Hernandez, Metro Tech  

    3^rd Place:  Geoffrey Graff, Cesar Chavez

AP Calculus BC (Top three scorers)

1^st Place:  Nhi Van, Maryvale

2^nd Place:  Carlos Valentine, Metro Tech

3^rd Place Tie:  Yvette Perez, Metro Tech, Ashley Villalba Escober, Maryvale,  and Nehal Jolly, Bioscience

AP Statistics (Top three scorers)

     1^st Place:  Sam Goldsmith, North

     2^nd Place tie:  Leslie Araujo, North, and Bobby Camon, North

      3^rd Place:  Brandon Hoang, North  

Congratulations to the following schools for having the highest average on the Multiple Choice section of the exams!  They will receive their plaques in a few weeks. 

·        AP Statistics:  North

·        AP Calculus (AB and BC): Maryvale

 I would also like to say thank you to our sponsors:   

·     Access ASU and the Phoenix Union Foundation for Education 

·     Michelle Alcantar:  Thank you so much for your dedication to our math students.  Your support is invaluable!   

·    AP Readers:  Robert Barefoot (AP College board consultant) and soon to be AP Reader John Doherty (North)

·    PUHSD Public Relations

·    PUHSD Principals:  Thank you for your support in arranging transportation and substitutes so your teachers can attend the event!!! 

·    Last but not least, thanks to the AP Teachers!  This day would not happen without their continued support and guidance with improving our AP programs across the district. 

Good luck to all of our AP students in the upcoming month! 

CCSS updates for Algebra - Full implemetation 2012-2013

The ACT Curriculum Team, Assessment Team and the CCSS Honors Team have been working diligently this school year getting ready for full implementation of the Algebra 1-2 and Algebra 1-2 Honors Common Core Curriculum.


Assessment Team:  Kudos to the Assessment teams for completing a daunting task this year.  The team created over 64 exams for more than 13 courses.  For a complete up-to-date list of all of the assessments, refer to SharePoint.  The teams have also started creating assessment blueprints.  These assessment blueprints map which standards are assessed on each district benchmark assessment.

To ensure students are receiving balanced instruction, teacher teams will determine how they are going to assess their students. Assessment Blueprints provide guidelines for PLCs and the Assessment team on what content should be assessed and how items must be written.  The blueprints assist with assessment construction and informs teams on the number of questions that will be tested in each concept unit. The blueprint also identifies the DOK level for each standard to describe the level of complexity that might appear on the test to measure the conceptual understanding and procedural fluency described in each standards. 

ACT Curriculum Team:  The ACT team has been utilizing the ACT framework to create new units for the CCSS curriculum.  In February, 25 Algebra teachers participated in a Modeling workshop and received training on a new Task Generator and Exam View, "On Common Core".  Algebra team leaders learned how to locate tasks aligned to each standards and how to use the updated ExamView software.  Please contact Math IL or Algebra Team Leader to request training on this software.  

CCSS Honors Team:  This team just convened and are currently updating the summer honors packets to align with the CCSS Curriculum.  Updated Summer packets can be found on the Phoenix Union Website (I will post the link when we are all done).  The team is also completing the Honors Assessment blueprints and Phase 2 of the Instructional Design for the Concept unit maps.  

Below are the CCSS Mathematics websites we are utilizing as we progress to full implementation across all courses.  Bookmark these sites and check back frequently as materials are constantly being added.  

• Illustrative Mathematics:  This site has sample tasks aligned to the CCSS. 
• CCSS toolbox: From the Dana Center, Here you will find tools and instructional materials that help you and your team to better understand and to implement the CCSSM.
• Mathematics Assessment Project (MAP):  Here you will find tools for formative and summative assessment that make knowledge and reasoning visible, and help teachers to guide students in how to improve, and monitor their progress. 

If you are interested in working on the upcoming Curriculum Teams, contact the Math Instructional Leaders for registration information.  Registration is due April 13th.