Cohorts!

In New York State all children who are born from Jan. 1- August 31 must enter kindergarten at the age of 5. This time range determines the class cohort that keeps all students of one age together for 13 years of school. They are called the class of “------.” This year will be the June …

How do we Assess Cohorts?

You go to the doctor because you have a nasty cold. Your throat is on fire. Your doctor does a quick swab test for strep. Before you leave the doctor’s office you get a diagnosis. The doctor tells you it’s a strep infection and you need to take antibiotics for a period of time. You …

Book Signing!

I'll be doing a book signing on Saturday, April 21 at 12 PM at the Barnes & Noble in Eastchester. Come by and say hi!

Non-Routine Questions-Preferred Math Learning Styles

Navigating MathLand: A Guide for Parents to Help Their Kids Through the Maze followed a student’s struggle learning math from fourth grade through middle school.  At the end of grade 5, the student was placed into an advanced middle school program. The program compressed three years of math curriculum (Common Core), a rigorous program, into …

*MST, CCLS, *NGSS, NGS – Alphabet Soup for Math Standards – Where Has the Rigor Gone?

On September 19, 2017, the Associated Press released “Most of the U.S. Uses Common Core, Despite Blowback,” an article bringing readers up-to-date on the status of the states which are using Common Core academic standards. The findings from the 45 states (plus DC) found that eight of the states have repealed the standards, and 21 …

Is Just Passing Really Achieving?

Many students find when they get to their freshman year in college that they are not prepared for college math or writing, and they need to take remedial courses. Remedial courses, which have to be paid for affect students chances of graduating college in four years. On the other end of the spectrum are those …

One-on-One with Vin Dacquino

I sat down with Vin Dacquino and talked about Navigating MathLand. Check it out!

Measuring Reality

I want to take this opportunity to express my best wishes and prayers for the families that have been displaced by Hurricane Harvey. What inappropriate timing of the hurricane’s landfall, as the school year has just begun. I am wondering if teachers are going to take the opportunity to address the issues of such a …

What Does the Data Say? Hidden figures! Where’s Watson?

It is important as a parent to not only be cognizant of your child’s score on the state math assessment but also how your child scores compared to your district’s overall scores. If your school district’s scores are low (below state level), there generally is a tendency for the math program to not be as …

Cutting Edge Technology and 21st Century Schools

I was wondering how you did with my second blog post? As a parent, were you able to acquire your child’s score and analysis from the 2017 spring state math assessment or the online local support program your child can use to support his/her individualized plan to improve mathematically? Most school systems today have cutting-edge …