Weekly Math Quizzes: Reasons, Methods

A weekly math quiz is essential.

A quiz is about 1o or 15 questions. Anything longer constitutes a test. Imagine it takes 5 minutes to go over directions. Another 2 or 3 for students to find their pencil. That's about 8 minutes gone. If you have 40 minutes, you only have 32 minutes left. If you allow one minute per question, then you have room for either a 10 question quiz or a twenty question test with room perhaps for one or two written responses (as in social studies). You then need time to collect back and count your tests.

If you haven't already, have your students use a number along with their name. Make it their habit to number the upper right corner of the test with that number. At the end of the testing period, have a reliable student put them in number order. Missing numbers should be immediately accounted for. If the student is absent, write their name and the test date on the extra test. Pin it up over your desk on a corkboard or similar. This will help you remember to have them take their missing test. If you also make it a habit to copy exactly one test for every student and two extra, you will also have another way to ensure you have all the tests (see earlier test drama blogs). One extra is for your Answer Key. The extra-extra is for the odd mishap of a missing test or to use as master for photocopying at the office, using your assigned office monitor.

If you teach more than one math class (as I do) stagger your testing days. For example, sixth grade on Friday, seventh grade on Thursday, eighth grade on Wednesday. Some teachers use test days as the way to "end" the week and put all their tests on Friday. I think that's crazy. For older students, who usually need to study for multiple subjects (okay, let's pretend they do that), you're asking them to review four or five subjects on Thursday night. It's also crazy because it leaves the teacher (me) with over 100 quizzes to grade Friday afternoon. And that never happens. I don't have all the quizzes to review on Monday. Sometimes not even Tuesday. And a quiz without a review is losing of half of its power to teach and inform.

Well, what if you have the test over on Wednesday, what do you do after? Well, that'a review day. And a mini-lesson on the next topic. What if it's Friday and you don't have a test to "keep the kids on task"? After awhile the students will get used to it being a lesson day. If not, then it's a good day to do something different: fractal lessons, geometry puzzles, or, this works for some classes, jumping to the end of the book and doing stand-alone lessons on triangles, cubes, etc. or problem solving. (Why do they always leave the most interesting subjects until the end of the book?)

Happy Teaching!