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A list of items that we have selected in order to illustrate various problems with
individual standards and objectives. A brief explanation is provided for each.
Detailed discussion of two larger issues that impact on many individual items.
A long list of further standards and objectives that we think need attention. In the
interest of keeping this report manageable, this list is given without further comment,
and it only covers three separate grade levels and two high school courses, even
though all grade levels require similar attention.
Among the three of us, we have spent a total of approximately 100 hours in preparing this
report. Standards are very complex, making them very difficult to review But the
difficulty of reviewing them is nothing compared to the difficulty of writing them. We
appreciate the time and effort that has gone into writing the Oklahoma draft document.
It is hoped that our feedback will be helpful in making decisions about your next steps.
pointing to the shape is strictly a classroom activity and doesnt really belong in a
standard or objective.
3) 2.A.2.3 Apply commutative and identity properties and number sense to find values
for unknowns that make number sentences involving addition and subtraction true or
false and 3.A.2.2 Recognize, represent and apply the number properties
(commutative, identity, and associative properties of addition and multiplication)
using models and manipulatives to solve problems.
Comment: Mentioning the commutative, identity and associative properties so
prominently at the 2nd and 3rd grade levels gives an inappropriate emphasis. Rather,
the focus at this level should be on number sense skills like composing,
decomposing and compensating. It is true that in a technical sense, compensating
involves identity properties, but that property is certainly not an appropriate focus
for these students. Note: In the 7th grade standard 7.A.3 and in the 7th grade
objective 7.A.4.1, the opposite mistake is made. In those items, properties like the
commutative and identity properties are necessary and should be emphasized. But
instead, they are either not mentioned at all, or in the case of 7.A.4.1, restricted
incorrectly to exclude the identity and inverse properties.
4) 2.A.2.2 Generate real-world situations to represent number sentences and vice versa.
Comment: This is one example of many where an important idea is obscured. In
this case, the phrase vice versa does disservice to the very significant expectation
that students will learn to use number sentences to represent real world situations.
Since using mathematics to represent the real world is one of the fundamental
reasons for studying mathematics, it is wrong to diminish its importance by saying
vice versa..
5) 3.N.1 Compare and represent whole numbers up to 10,000 with an emphasis on place
value and equality and 3.N.1.2 Use place value to describe whole numbers
between 1,000 and 10,000 in terms of ten thousands, thousands, hundreds, tens and
ones, including expanded form and 3.N.2.4 Recognize when to round numbers
and apply understanding to round numbers to the nearest ten thousand, thousand,
hundred, and ten and use compatible numbers to estimate sums and differences.
Comment: The standard 3.N.1 restricts the expectation in 3rd grade to whole
numbers up to 10,000, but several of the objectives within that standard seem to
require working with numbers up to 100,000 (as we do in Minnesota). For
example, the phrase ten thousands is used in 3.N.1.2 and rounding to the nearest
ten thousand is expected in 3.N.2.4. Neither of these seem appropriate if the
overall restriction is to numbers up to 10,000.
6) 3.N.2.3 Use strategies and algorithms based on knowledge of place value and
equality to fluently add and subtract multi-digit numbers.
of most 5th graders. The intention for this objective seems to be to prepare students
for more specific facts about volume and surface area in later grades. But the fact
that the surface area of a general 3-dimensional shape with polygonal faces is
determined in some way by all of its dimensions has little meaning to students at this
level, except possibly for the simplest shapes.
11) 6.N.1.2 Compare and order positive rational numbers, represented in various forms,
or integers using the symbols <, >, and =.
Comment: This 6th grade objective should be expanded to include negative rational
numbers, to make it consistent with the previous objective, 6.N.1.1, where students
are expected to plot both negative and positive rational numbers on a number line.
Being able to plot negative and positive rational numbers on a number line certainly
encompasses the ability to compare all rational numbers to each other, not just
positive ones.
12) 6.GM.2.1 Solve problems using the relationships between the angles (vertical,
complementary, and supplementary) formed by intersecting lines.
Comment: Including complementary angles in his 6th grade objective seems
incorrect. The other two types of angles (vertical and supplementary) are always
formed when two lines intersect. In order to form complementary angles, at least
three lines are needed, and two of them must intersect in a right angle, as in a right
triangle or when a line intersects the origin in a coordinate system with two
perpendicular axes. If those situations were intended to be part of the context of
this objective, then this expectation needs clarification. In the Minnesota standards,
complementary angles do not appear until High School Geometry, and that is the
first place they appear in the Oklahoma standards after this 6th grade objective.
13) 6.GM.4.3 Use distances between two points that are either vertical or horizontal to
each other (not requiring the distance formula) to solve real-world and mathematical
problems about congruent two-dimensional figures.
Comment: This 6th grade objective only makes sense in the context of a coordinate
system, because the words vertical and horizontal are not relevant otherwise.
But this context is not consistent with the corresponding standard 6.GM.4 or with
the other objectives within this standard, because those items are not intended to
involve coordinate systems at this grade level. Aside from that issue, the
expectation in this objective seems weak and not worth the trouble at this grade level,
because it restricts attention to figures formed from segments that are all at right
angles to each other.
14) 6.D.2.1 Represent possible outcomes using a probability continuum from impossible
to certain.
Comment: This 6th grade objective contains incorrect wording.
It is the likelihood
unrelated topics.
Focus concerns the way topics support one another within a grade level and whether
there are too many different topics at a grade level. When there is a lack of focus, it is
impossible for most students to master the most important topics in a way that provides a
strong foundation for higher grade levels, and it can be difficult for teachers to decide
what should be mastered. To use a familiar phrase, the curriculum becomes a mile
wide and an inch deep. In order to help us achieve focus in Minnesota we carefully
followed most of the guidelines in the NCTM Curriculum Focal Points, where all of the
important concepts for K-8 are efficiently and effectively arranged into the various grade
levels so that it is clear each year what students need to master and so that the number of
mastery topics each year is just right. Unfortunately, it does not appear that the
Oklahoma draft adhered very closely to such principles. We provide examples below to
illustrate this point.
Alignment concerns the way a given topic or strand progresses from one grade level to
the next. Standards should be written in a way that makes these progressions clear.
Ideally, student expectations for a given topic will increase smoothly from year to year
over a suitable time span. It is clear that some attention was paid to alignment in the
Oklahoma document. For example, it contains a Vertical Alignment chart, where it is
possible to follow various topics from one grade level to the next. (There are some
unfortunate features in the chart, such as inconsistent numbering, but those are not fatal.)
Even though alignment is important, it may be the case that too much emphasis on
alignment can degrade focus. For example, several topics may naturally span across a
number of grade levels, but in order to achieve good focus, it may not be desirable for all
of them to appear explicitly in the standards every year, and it is often necessary to first
address a particular topic in the standards at a grade level that is higher than the first place
that topic might be discussed in the classroom. Well focused standards are primarily
concerned with those parts of topics that are to be mastered at each grade level, rather
than with everything that might be done in a classroom each year. In Minnesota, we
included a particular concept at a grade level only if we felt that mastery was to be
achieved. We noticed several instances in the Oklahoma document where expectations
were essentially repeated at multiple grade levels, presumably in an attempt to maintain
alignment across grade levels, but focus was lost in the process. A few examples will be
provided here.
2.N.4.1 Determine the value of a collection(s) of coins up to one dollar using the cent symbol.
2.N.4.2 Use a combination of coins to represent a given amount of money up to one dollar.
3.N.4.1 Use addition to determine the value of a collection of coins up to one dollar using the cent
symbol and a collection of bills up to twenty dollars.
3.N.4.2 Select the fewest number of coins for a given amount of money up to one dollar.
4.N.3.1 Given a total cost (whole dollars up to $20 or coins) and amount paid (whole dollars up to
$20 or coins), find the change required in a variety of ways. Limited to whole dollars up to $20 or
sets of coins.
Comment: There are 9 objectives spread over 5 grade levels for this topic. It is
easy to see that progress from one grade level to the next is very slow, and the
endpoint at grade 4 is weak. We want students to be able to work with actual
money amounts, such as $1.43 or $47. But these are unnecessarily excluded in the
Oklahoma money objectives, where the expectations are restricted to whole dollar
amounts up to $20 or to coins without bills. In Minnesota, there are only three
objectives devoted specifically to money, spanning grades 1 through 3. Already in
grade 3, students are expected to find amounts of change up to $1, which includes
being able to make change for an amount like $1.43 from $2, and there is no
restriction to whole dollar amounts or numbers of dollars when bills are involved.
We leave it to the teachers and test-makers to use good judgment when choosing
amounts for students to work with at this level. After grade 3 in Minnesota,
problems involving money are assumed to be contained in real world situations
involving arithmetic with decimals and calculations with percents. This is how we
maintain focus while thoroughly covering the topic. Note that the grade levels
where we have separate money objectives are those in which an emphasis on
working with money supports other priorities in those grades, such as counting with
1s, 5s and 10s and addition and subtraction.
2) Volume and Capacity, Kindergarten through Algebra 2. Naturally teachers will
talk about volume and capacity at all grade levels. But for standards that are
supposed to focus on expectations of mastery, this topic should not be a priority
before 5th grade, according to the NCTM Curriculum Focal Points. One can
quibble about this choice, but in any case, Kindergarten is much too early for any
type of mastery in this topic. Here are the objectives from the Oklahoma document
that address volume and capacity in grades K through 7:
K.GM.2.4 Compare the number of objects needed to fill two different containers.
1.GM.2.5 Use standard and nonstandard tools to identify volume/capacity. Compare and sort
containers that hold more, less, or the same amount.
2.GM.2.3 Explore how varying shapes and styles of containers can have the same capacity.
3.GM.2.7 Count cubes systematically to identify the number of cubes needed to pack the whole or
half of a three-dimensional structure.
4.GM.2.3 Using a variety of tools and strategies, develop the concept that the volume of rectangular
prisms with whole-number edge lengths can be found by counting the total number of same-sized unit
cubes that fill a shape without gaps or overlaps. Use appropriate measurements such as cm3.
4.GM.2.5 Solve problems that deal with measurements of length, when to use liquid volumes, when
to use mass, temperatures above zero and money using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or
division as appropriate (customary and metric).
5.GM.2.1 Recognize that the volume of rectangular prisms can be determined by the number of
cubes (n) and by the product of the dimensions of the prism (a x b x c = n). Know that rectangular
prisms of different dimensions (p, q and r) can have the same volume if a x b x c = p x q x r = n.
6.GM.3.2 Solve problems in various real world and mathematical contexts that require the
conversion of weights, capacities, geometric measurements, and time within the same measurement
systems using appropriate units.
7.GM.1.2 Using a variety of tools and strategies, develop the concept that the volume of rectangular
prisms with rational-valued edge lengths can be found by counting the total number of same-sized
unit cubes that fill a shape without gaps or overlaps. Use appropriate measurements such as cm3.
Comment: There are 9 objectives in these grades that address volume and
capacity. A careful reading of them shows a very slow progression from one grade
to the next, with lots of overlap, similar to what weve seen with the money topic.
For example, the volume of rectangular prisms (boxes) is addressed in very similar
language in grades 4, 5 and 7, and it is not until the next grade level (Pre-Algebra)
that it is completed. Here is the Pre-Algebra objective for the volume of
rectangular prisms:
PA.GM.2.3 Develop and use the formulas V = lwh and V = Bh to determine the volume of
rectangular prisms. Justify why base area (B) and height (h) are multiplied to find the volume of a
rectangular prism. Use appropriate measurements such as cm3.
Note that this objective has a lot of overlap with the previous ones, and that in any
case, finding the volume of rectangular prisms is a relatively easy part of the
Geometry strand past 5th or 6th grade. In Minnesota, this Pre-Algebra objective
appears much earlier, in 5th grade, and it is extended to non-rectangular prisms in 6th
grade. In Oklahoma, non-rectangular prisms are not addressed until high school
Geometry. There is a similar problem with the development of area in the Oklahoma
document: lack of focus and slow progression.
3) Data and Probability. In the Oklahoma document, the Data topic begins in
Pre-Kindergarten and continues at a slow pace through the high school Algebra
courses. In the early grades, students should be involved in classroom activities
related to Data, to supplement their work with arithmetic and whole numbers, but the
focus should not be on mastering Data objectives. The Minnesota standards first
include Data objectives in 3rd grade, consistent with the recommendations in the
NCTM Curriculum Focal Points. Yet in spite of our later starting point, a much
higher level is achieved in Data & Probability in the Minnesota standards than in the
Oklahoma document. This illustrates an important point. Reducing the number of
places where a particular topic appears can make room for higher expectations
overall. When students are exposed to too many requirements for mastery at earlier
grades, their readiness for later material can be diminished.
Wherever Data topics appear in the Minnesota standards, we tried hard in Minnesota
to connect the Data objectives to the objectives in Number at the same grade level.
Similarly, we tried to ensure that objectives in Algebra, Geometry and Measurement
are connected to objectives in Number, and in many places to objectives in Data &
Probability. This effort provided a focus that is not apparent in much of the
Oklahoma document.
It appears to us that the 5th grade objective asks more of the student concerning mean,
median and mode than the 6th grade objective. To be fair, the Oklahoma document
includes a second objective (6.D.1.2) at the 6th grade level concerning the mean,
median and mode, but that objective does not really alleviate the poor alignment
between 5.D.1.1 and the corresponding objective at the next grade level, 6.D.1.1,
which should be eliminated..
We also note that 6.D.1.2 is flawed. It asks students to determine which of the
quantities mean, median and mode gives the most descriptive information for a
given set of data.. But there is no one answer to such a question. It depends very
much on the purpose of the descriptive information, and in many cases, both the
median and the mean will be required for an adequate description. This can be true
even for data sets that contain extreme outliers, in spite of the fact that many people
mistakenly believe that the median always provides better information than the mean
in such cases.
4th Grade: 4.N.1.2, 4.N.1.6, 4.N.1.7, 4.N.2.3, 4.N.3.1, 4.A.1.2, 4.GM.1, 4.GM.2.4,
4.GM.2.5, 4.D.1.1, 4.D.1.2
7th Grade: 7.N.2.2, 7.N.2.4, 7.A.1.2, 7.A.2.1, 7.A.3, 7.A.4.1, 7.GM.1.1, 7.GM.1.2,
7.D.1.1
High School Geometry: G.RL.1.2, G.RT.1.3, G.2D,1 and all nine of the objectives
within this standard, for several reasons, only one of which was discussed earlier, G.C.1.1,
G.C.1.3, G.3D.1.1
Algebra 2: A2.N.1.1, A2.N.1.3, A2.N.1.4, A2.A.1, A2.A.1.1, A2.A.1.3, A2.A.1.5,
A2.A.1.7, A2.A.1.9, A2.A.2.2, A2.A.2.3, A2.F.1.4, A2.F.1.5, A2.F.1.6. A2.F.1.7, A2.F.2.1,
A2.F.2.4, A2.D.1, A2.D.1.2