Our School's Year 2 Root Causes

Team members independently brainstormed possible root causes of our problem of practice on post its. Then we grouped them together as we shared out to help us consider possible drivers for our year-long goal.

• they don't connect math to real life

• lack of music instruction in public education

• representation

• they don't see basic patterns

• poor computation skills

• their basics are shaky

• they give up on math in early spring so they miss the more complex math

• testing exhaustion

• frustration

• their friends are bad at math and don't try, so why should they?

• bad relationship/history with math

• anxiety (math, testing)

• lack of exposure to the test or style of test questions

• regents word problems are worded in alienating ways

• need support in independence (yes, we know)

• they are not attending math tutoring on a regular basis

• the test isn't differentiated

• differentiation in class isn't enough for where students are coming in at

• students pick the 'best wrong answer' on multiple choice questions

• students don't understand the grading of the test

• numbers, equations, and figures are not part of play

• students don't fully understand the graphing calculator

• teachers maybe focus on multiple choice in class, especially during review

• they don't attempt to try different solutions

• "I don't know so I won't try. I'd get it wrong anyway."

• fixed mindset

• fear of being wrong

• literacy--language of the test

• don't understand the language

• can't translate skills learned in class to word problems

• math literacy is in short term memory

• need support in generalization and literacy skills