Report for 8th Grade
Overall Summary
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for Alignment to the CCSSM. In Gateway 1, the materials meet expectations for focus and coherence, and in Gateway 2, the materials meet expectations for rigor and practice-content connections.
8th Grade
Alignment
Usability
Overview of Gateway 1
Focus & Coherence
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for focus and coherence. For focus, the materials assess grade-level content and provide all students extensive work with grade-level problems to meet the full intent of grade-level standards. For coherence, the materials are coherent and consistent with the CCSSM.
Gateway 1
Criterion 1.1: Focus
Materials assess grade-level content and give all students extensive work with grade-level problems to meet the full intent of grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for focus as they assess grade-level content and provide all students extensive work with grade-level problems to meet the full intent of grade-level standards.
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Materials assess the grade-level content and, if applicable, content from earlier grades.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for assessing grade-level content and, if applicable, content from earlier grades. No examples of above grade-level assessment items were noted.
Each unit contains a Post-Assessment which is a summative assessment based on the standards designated in that unit. The assessments contain grammar and/or printing errors which could, at times, interfere with the ability to make sense of the materials.
Examples of assessment items aligned to grade-level standards include:
Unit 4 Assessment, Question 3, “Consider the relation represented in the table below: (Given x inputs {2, 5, n} and y outputs {9, 7, 5}). Which of the follow(ing) statements is true? a) If n represents any positive integer, the relation will represent a function. b) If the value of n is any number other than 2 or 5, the relation will represent a function. c) If n represent(s) any number, the relation will represent a function. d) If the value of n is any number other than 5, 7, or 9 the relation will represent a function. Explain how you determine(d) which statement was true.” (8.F.1)
Unit 6 Assessment, Question 5, “A sandwich shop makes home deliveries. The average amount of time from when an order is placed until when it is delivered can be modeled by the equation y = 2.5x + 5, where y is the number of miles between the shop and the delivery location and x is the number of minutes. According to this model, if it takes 17.5 minutes for the sandwich shop to deliver the sandwich to your house, how far away do you live? Show your work.” (8.SP.3)
Unit 7 Assessment, Question 7, “A system of linear equations is shown below. Without performing any calculations, determine the number of solutions to the system. Explain your reasoning. 5x + 2y = 4 / 5x + 2y = -1” (8.EE.8b)
Unit 8 Assessment, Question 6, “Glaciers advance at a rate of about 0.000003 of a meter per second. What represents the approximate rate at which glaciers advance in scientific notation? Explain why the exponent has the sign it does.” (8.EE.3)
Unit 10 Assessment, Question 9, “Heather walked 24 feet to the south and 32 feet to the east, but then she walked in a straight line back to where she started, as shown by the dotted line. How far did Heather walk in all?” (8.G.6)
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Materials give all students extensive work with grade-level problems to meet the full intent of grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for giving all students extensive work with grade-level problems to meet the full intent of grade-level standards.
Each lesson provides State Test Alignment practice, Exit Tickets, Think About It, Test the Conjecture or Exercise Based problems, Error Analysis, Partner Practice, and Independent Practice, which all include grade-level practice for all students. The Partner and Independent Practice provide practice at different levels: Bachelor, Masters and PhD. Each unit also provides Mixed Practice, Problem of the Day, and Skill Fluency practice. By the end of the year, the materials address the full intent of the grade-level standards. Examples include:
Unit 2, Lesson 4, Independent Practice Question 8 (PhD level), students establish facts about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal. “How could you use a transparency to prove that the angles created when a transversal passes over one line are identical to the angles created when the transversal crosses the other line if it is parallel to the first? How does this relate to rigid transformations?” (8.G.5)
Unit 3, Lesson 3, Think About It!, students understand congruence and similarity using transformations. “Rectangle ABCD dilated by a scale factor of 3 about the origin and resulted in the image A’B’C’D’. Record the coordinates for the image and pre-image. What relationship exists between the points on the image and pre-image?” (8.G.4)
Unit 7, Lesson 7, State Test Alignment, students analyze and solve simultaneous equations. “What is the solution to the system of equations below? 3x+4y=-2 and 2x - 4y = -8 A. x = 2, y = -2 B. x = 6, y = -5 C. x = 4, y = 4, D. x = -2, y = 1.” (8.EE.8)
Unit 8, Lesson 3, Independent Practice Question 6 (Master level), students apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. “Jose simplified the expression 5^3×2^3and wrote 7^3. Did he simplify the expression correctly? How do you know? If Jose made an error, identify it, and fix the mistake.” (8.EE.1)
Criterion 1.2: Coherence
Each grade’s materials are coherent and consistent with the Standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for coherence. The materials: address the major clusters of the grade, have supporting content connected to major work, make connections between clusters and domains, and have content from prior and future grades connected to grade-level work.
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When implemented as designed, the majority of the materials address the major clusters of each grade.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations that, when implemented as designed, the majority of the materials address the major clusters of each grade.
The approximate number of units devoted to major work of the grade (including assessments and supporting work connected to the major work) is 8 out of 10, which is approximately 80%.
The number of days devoted to major work of the grade (including assessments and supporting work connected to the major work) is 128 out of 140, which is approximately 91%.
The number of minutes devoted to major work (including assessments and supporting work connected to the major work) is 9815 out of 12,600 (90 minutes per lesson for 140 days), which is approximately 78%.
A minute-level analysis is most representative of the materials because of the way lessons are designed, where 55 minutes are designated for the lesson and 35 minutes are designated for cumulative review each day, so it was important to consider all aspects of the lesson. As a result, approximately 78% of the materials focus on major work of the grade.
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Supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations that supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade.
Although connections are rarely explicitly stated, problems clearly connect supporting and major work throughout the curriculum. Examples where supporting work enhances major work include:
Unit 6, Lesson 4, supporting standard 8.SP.3 enhances the major work of 8.EE.B. Students informally fit a straight line to data in a scatter plot, write an equation for the line, and make and justify a prediction using the equation. Independent Practice, Question 1 (Bachelor level), “The scatterplot below shows the number of texts that a middle school scholar sends per day and their GPA. Which of the following statements would correctly describe the equation written from the line of best fit in the form y = mx + b? Select all that apply. a) m will be positive. b) b will be between 3.8 and 4.0. c) y will represent GPA. d) the slope will describe the change in number of texts sent per GPA point. e) If 100 is substituted into the equation for x, the resulting y value should be around 3.4.”
Unit 6, Lesson 5, supporting standard 8.SP.3 enhances the major work of 8.F.4. Students interpret the slope and y-intercept of the line of best fit given the context of the data to answer questions or to solve a problem. Independent Practice Question 3 (Masters level), “Julie recorded the number of female students and male students in her school for the past 8 years in a table and graphed the data using a scatter plot where the x-axis represents the females and the y-axis represents the males. She wrote the equation y = 1.2x + 12 to represent the line of best fit. Step A: What does the slope of the equation represent? Step B: What does the y-intercept represent? Step C: Draw a sketch of what you would expect the scatter plot to look like and explain why you drew the scatter plot in that way.”
Unit 9, Lesson 7, supporting standard 8.G.9 enhances the major work of 8.F.B. Students explore volume as a function of radius by graphing the relationship and identify the function as linear or non-linear and justify the identification. Independent Practice, Question 4 (Master Level), “Determine a rule that could be used to explain how the volume of a cylinder or cone is affected as the radius changes.” Also, Independent Practice Question 7 (PhD level), “Predict if the relationship between volume and height for cylinders and cones is linear or non-linear. Explain your reasoning.”
Unit 10, Lesson 14, supporting standard 8.G.9 enhances the major work of 8.G.7. Students solve problems involving volume of cones, cylinders, and spheres by applying the Pythagorean Theorem. Independent Practice, Question 6 (Master level), “An ice cream cone is 6 inches tall with a slant height of 7.5 inches. The opening of the cone is a circle. What is the diameter of the opening of the cone?”
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Materials include problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain or two or more domains in a grade.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for including problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain or two or more domains in a grade. Examples include:
Unit 2, Lesson 6 connects 8.G.A and 8.EE.C as students determine similarity of a missing corresponding angle measure in a transversal diagram by writing and solving an algebraic equation. Independent Practice (Bachelor Level), Question 2, “If \angle5=5x and \angle1=100\degree, what is the value of x? Justify your reasoning by identifying any relevant angle pair relationships.”
Unit 5, Lesson 8 connects the concept of similarity (8.G.A) to work in defining slope (8.EE.B) as students compare triangles on a coordinate plane. Independent Practice, Question 2 (Master level), given a diagram of a line on a coordinate plane with two sizes of “slope triangles,” “A smaller triangle is inscribed inside a larger triangle. Use the triangles to prove that the slope between any two points on a line is equivalent to the slope between any other two lines. Your explanation should prove that the triangles are similar first.”
Unit 5, Lesson 13, students use functions to model relationships between quantities (8.F.B) to develop understanding about connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations (8.EE.B). Independent Practice, Question 10 (PhD level), students are instructed to, given a table of a proportional relationship, “Write an equation that represents the function in the table below. Explain how you were able to determine the slope and y-intercept.”
Unit 7, Day 2 connects the work between two major clusters 8.F.A and 8.F.B when students construct functions to model linear relationships and then compare them. Problem of the Day, Day 1, “Nathaniel is trying to expand his investment portfolio. His broker presents him with three shares that he can buy. Nathaniel is only looking to buy shares from one corporation during this first quarter and wants to buy the share that will give him the most profit over time. The first company, Apple, Inc. sells 15 shares for $225 and 30 shares for $450. From those shares, Nathaniel is likely to receive $15 for each share per month. Lush is selling their shares for $7.50 each. A previous shareholder of Lush says that she regularly got 200 dollars in dividends for her twenty shares. Lastly, GoPro is selling shares for 20 dollars each but there is an additional broker’s fee of 10 dollars for your first purchase of shares. However, reports from last year indicate that the largest shareholders of the company received a gross income of $15,000 in dividends for the 750 shares that they owned. Using the information above, help Nathaniel make an informed decision about the shares that he should buy to get the biggest bang for his buck. Be sure to mathematically justify your answer. (Dividends is the amount of money that you earn from buying a share monthly. Gross income is the amount of money that you earn before tax).”
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Content from future grades is identified and related to grade-level work, and materials relate grade-level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations that content from future grades is identified and related to grade-level work, and materials relate grade-level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.
The materials relate grade-level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades. This can be found in the progressions descriptions listed above, but also often focuses explicitly on connecting prior understanding. Examples Include:
Each Unit Overview provides a narrative for the teacher that introduces the student learning of the Unit and the background students should have. Unit 5, “Most of Unit 5 draws directly from Ratios & Proportions and Expressions & Equations in seventh grade math as well as Expressions & Equations and Geometry already studied thus far in eighth grade. In the seventh grade, scholars spend a majority of the year developing a deep understanding of ratios and proportions in different variations and contexts. In eighth grade, scholars continue to draw on this knowledge to extend their understanding of ratios to include rate of change in Unit 4 which directly aligns to slope in Unit 5. Additionally, during the seventh grade, scholars develop the ability to write equivalent expressions by manipulating the terms in an expression to simplify and/or expand; this ability will lend itself directly to helping eighth grade scholars manipulate linear equations written in different forms to be rewritten in the desired form (SMP4).”
The Unit Overview includes “Previous Grade Level Standards and Previously Taught and Related Standards” which describes in detail the progression of the standards within each unit. Unit 3, “In fourth and fifth grades, scholars learn how to draw and classify shapes based on their lines, angles, and properties (4.G.A. and 5.G.B.). In the sixth grade, scholars continue to develop their understanding of two-dimensional figures and extend their understanding to the coordinate plane by learning how to ‘draw polygons in the coordinate plane given coordinates for the vertices’ (6.G.3) and determine the length of a side with joining points. Additionally, during Unit 2 in the eighth grade, scholars developed an understanding of congruence by investigating rigid transformations on and off the coordinate plane (8.G.A.).”
The narrative for the teacher in the Unit Overview makes connections to current work. Unit 1, “The start of this unit connects to the previous geometry work that students have done in grades 4,5, and 6. Students recall basic terminology such as line, line segment, polygon, etc. They build upon being able to draw and identify angles, and classify shapes by their angles and properties while classifying two-dimensional figures based on their properties. In this lesson, students discover that translations, reflections, and rotations are distance-preserving transformations which means that they create congruent images.”
Each lesson includes a “Connection to Learning and Conceptual Understanding” section that relates to prior knowledge. Unit 4, Lesson 1, “This is the first lesson of the new unit on functions, drawing heavily from prior knowledge that students have learned in ratios and proportions, and expressions and equations units in 7^{th} and 8^{th} grade. In 7^{th} grade, for example, students studied proportional relationships in depth: They analyzed these relationships using a variety of representations including the equation y=kx.”
In the Scope and Sequence Detail from the Implementation Guide, the Notes + Resources column for some lessons includes a lesson explanation that makes connections to prior learning. Unit 2, “Lesson 6 builds on the understanding of using angle pair relationships formed by a transversal of two parallel lines and focuses on the common error of identifying congruent vs. supplementary angle pairs and using them to solve.”
Each lesson includes a “Connection to Learning and Conceptual Understanding” section that describes the progression of the standards within the unit. Unit 8, Lesson 13, “In the previous lesson, students developed a method for multiplying and dividing numbers in scientific notation by applying the commutative and associative property to group the coefficients and powers of ten to efficiently apply the product/quotient rule of exponents. In this lesson, students apply everything that they have learned about scientific notation to solve real-world problems by picking the correct operations to use in a problem-solving way.”
In the Scope and Sequence Detail from the Implementation Guide, there are additional progression connections made. The Cumulative Review column for each unit provides a list of lesson components and the standards addressed. Prior (Remedial) standards are referenced with an “R” and grade level standards are referenced with an “O.” In Unit 1, Geometry states, “Skill Fluency (4 days a week): 7.NS.1 (R), 7.NS.2 (R), 7.NS.2d (R), 7.NS.3 ® Mixed Practice (3 days a week): 7.NS.3 (R), 7.EE.4 a(R), 8.G.3 (O), 8.G.1 (O).”
The materials clearly identify content from future grade levels and use it to support the progressions of the grade-level standards. These connections are made throughout the materials including the Implementation Guide, the Unit Overviews, and the lessons. Examples include:
End of the Unit Overview, “In high school scholars formalize their understanding of similarity developed in middle school to defining it as rigid motions followed by dilations. In middle school, scholars will work with dilations centered around the origin or a vertex point on the figure (for figures with vertical and horizontal side lengths that can be counted on the coordinate grid), whereas in high school, scholars will learn how to perform dilations in the coordinate plane around a point other than the origin or a vertex point on specific types of figures.”
Throughout the narrative for the teacher of the Unit Overview, there are descriptions of how the lessons will be used as the grade level work progresses. In Unit 5, Lessons 11 and 12 allow students to graph a line using a table and equation before progressing into writing equations from graphs, tables and points in Lessons 13-15. In Lesson 11, Exit Ticket Question 1, “Graph the equation y=-\frac{1}{2}x+2 by making a table of values.” In Lesson 15, Exit Ticket, Question 1, “Write an equation in slope-intercept form of a line with a slope of -3 that travels through the point (-5,4). Show all of your work.”
The last paragraph of each narrative for the teacher in the Unit Overview describes the importance of the unit in the progressions. Unit 9, “Then, looking further ahead to high school, scholars ‘begin to formalize their geometry experiences from elementary and middle school, using more precise definitions and developing careful proofs’ (CCSS 74). More specifically, in high school, scholars will have to understand and apply theorems about circles, find arc lengths and areas of sectors of circles, explain volume formulas in addition to using them to solve problems, and visualize relationships between two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects.”
For units that correlate with the progressions document, the materials attach the relevant text so that connections are made. Unit 8, Appendix A: Teacher Background Knowledge (after the assessment), the “6-8 Expressions and Equations” progression document is included with the footnote, “Common Core Expressions and Equations Progression 6-8” by Common Core Tools. Achievement First does not own the copyright in ‘CC Expressions and Equations Progression’ and claims no copyright in this material.”
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In order to foster coherence between grades, materials can be completed within a regular school year with little to no modification.
The instructional materials for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 foster coherence between grades and can be completed within a regular school year with little to no modification.
As designed, the instructional materials can be completed in 140 days.
There are 10 units with 130 lessons total; each lesson is 1 day.
There are 10 days for summative Post-Assessments.
There are three optional lessons: two before Unit 2, Lesson 1 and another in Unit 8 between Lessons 6.2 and 7. Since they are optional, they are not included in the total count.
According to The Guide to Implementing Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8, each lesson is completed in one day, which is designed for 90 minutes.
Each day includes a Math Lesson (55 minutes) and Cumulative Review (35 minutes).
The Implementation Guide states, “If a school has less than 90 minutes of math, then the fluency work and/or mixed practice can be used as homework or otherwise reduced or extended.”
Overview of Gateway 2
Rigor & the Mathematical Practices
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for rigor and balance and practice-content connections. The materials reflect the balances in the Standards and help students develop conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application. The materials make meaningful connections between the Standards for Mathematical Content and the Standards for Mathematical Practice (MPs).
Gateway 2
Criterion 2.1: Rigor and Balance
Materials reflect the balances in the Standards and help students meet the Standards’ rigorous expectations, by giving appropriate attention to: developing students’ conceptual understanding; procedural skill and fluency; and engaging applications.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for rigor. The materials develop conceptual understanding of key mathematical concepts, give attention throughout the year to procedural skill and fluency, spend sufficient time working with engaging applications of mathematics, and do not always treat the three aspects of rigor together or separately.
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Materials develop conceptual understanding of key mathematical concepts, especially where called for in specific content standards or cluster headings.
The instructional materials for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for developing conceptual understanding of key mathematical concepts, especially where called for in specific content standards or cluster headings.
The instructional materials develop conceptual understanding throughout the grade level. Materials include problems and questions that promote conceptual learning. Examples include:
Unit 1, Lesson 1, THINK ABOUT IT!, students develop conceptual understanding of rigid transformations by using manipulatives such as tesselation tiles. “Thomas was playing with three tessellation tiles on his desk. He went to the bathroom and when he returned, he found that someone had moved all the tiles and put them in a different place (a before and after diagram is provided). Part A: Look at each tile before and after and describe how someone moved the tile using as much detail as possible.Triangle; Rectangle; Trapezoid. Part B: How could you prove that the triangle tile could be the exact same tile and someone didn’t switch it out for a larger or smaller tile?” (8.G.A)
Unit 2, Lesson 4, Independent Practice, Question 8 (PhD Level), students develop conceptual understanding of angle relationships within parallel lines by using manipulatives and properties of transformations. “How could you use a transparency to prove that the angles created when a transversal passes over one line are identical to the angles created when the transversal crosses the other line if it is parallel to the first? How does this relate to rigid transformations?” (8.G.A)
Unit 4, Lesson 2, THINK ABOUT IT!, students develop conceptual understanding of functions by analyzing examples. “The following input/output tables have been split into two categories; relations and relations that are also functions. Look for similarities and differences and write a definition for what a function is.” (8.F.A)
Materials provide opportunities for students to independently demonstrate conceptual understanding throughout the grade. Examples include:
Unit 4, Lesson 7, Independent Practice, Question 2 (Bachelor Level), students demonstrate conceptual understanding of function definitions by organizing information in a table. “Does the equation represent a linear function? Prove your answer by showing the constant ROC (rate of change) in a table.” (8.F.A)
Unit 5, Lesson 8, Independent Practice, Question 2 (Master Level), students demonstrate conceptual understanding of slope by using similar triangles. “A smaller triangle is inscribed inside a larger triangle. Use the triangles to prove that the slope between any two points on a line is equivalent to the slope between any other two lines. Your explanation should prove that the triangles are similar first.” (8.EE.B)
Unit 10, Lesson 2, Independent Practice, Question 2 (Bachelor Level), students demonstrate conceptual understanding of rational numbers by justifying their classification, “Is 0.6666… rational or irrational? Justify in two ways.” (8.NS.1)
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Materials give attention throughout the year to individual standards that set an expectation for procedural skill and fluency.
The materials for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for giving attention throughout the year to individual standards that set an expectation of procedural skill and fluency. Although there are not many examples to practice within a lesson, students are provided opportunities to practice fluency both with a partner and individual practice, especially within exercise based lessons and the skill fluency of the cumulative review section.
The materials develop procedural skill and fluency throughout the grade level. Examples include:
Unit 5, Lesson 12, Independent Practice, Question 4 (Master Level), students develop procedural skill and fluency by graphing functions. “Graph the function y=3x-2 and explain the steps you used to create the graph based on the structure of the equation.” (8.F.5)
Unit 7, Lesson 7, Partner Practice, Question 3 (Master level), students develop procedural skill and fluency by solving simultaneous equations using elimination. “Solve the system of equations using elimination two different ways (addition and subtraction) and verify both methods produce the same solution. {$$4y + 3x = 22;-4y + 3x = 14$$}.” (8.EE.8b)
Unit 10, Lesson 8, Partner Practice, Question 3 (Bachelor Level), “Which set of measurements are the side lengths of a right triangle? a) 7, 8, 12; b) 9, 12, 15; c) 10, 24, 26; d) 2.4, 3.4, 5.5.” (8.G.6)
The materials provide opportunities to independently demonstrate procedural skill and fluency throughout the grade-level. Examples include:
Unit 1, Lesson 11, Independent Practice, Question 7 (PhD Level), students demonstrate procedural skill and fluency by using coordinates to describe transformations. “Triangle ABC has vertices at A (3, 4), B (3, 9), and C (6, 4). What are the vertices of the image A’B’C’ if the triangle was rotated 180 degrees around the origin and translated four units up. Explain how you know.” (8.G.3)
Unit 2, Lesson 2, Independent Practice, Question 2 (Bachelor level), students demonstrate procedural skill and fluency by solving multi-step linear equations and using substitution to check their answer. “Solve the equation and check your solution using substitution. \frac{1}{5}b + 3b = 2b + 42.” (8.EE.7b)
Unit 8, Lesson 7, Exit Ticket, Question 3, students demonstrate procedural skill and fluency by expressing scientific notation. “The length of a very fine grain of sand is about 0.0005 inches. Which of the following also show the length of the grain? Select all that apply. a) 5 × 10^3 ; b) 5 × 10^4 ; c) 5 × 10^{-3} ; d) 5 × 10^{-4}; e)$$\frac{5}{10^{-4}}$$ f) \frac{5}{10^{4}}” (8.EE.3)
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Materials are designed so that teachers and students spend sufficient time working with engaging applications of the mathematics.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for being designed so that teachers and students spend sufficient time working with engaging applications of the mathematics. Students are given multiple opportunities to engage in real-world applications especially within exercise based lessons as well as the problem of the day in each cumulative review.
Materials include multiple routine and non-routine applications of the mathematics throughout the grade level. Examples include:
Unit 2, Lesson 3, Day 3, Mixed Practice, Question 4, students use informal arguments to establish routine facts about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal. “Lines 1 and 2 are parallel, and lines 3 and 4 are parallel. (note: diagram shows transversals) Use your knowledge of angle relationships to find the measure of angle E. Explain how you determined your answer.” (8.G.5)
Unit 3, Lesson 4, Partner Practice, Question 2 (Master Level), students engage in a non-routine problem by using a series of transformations and dilation to prove similarity. “Are the two figures similar? Prove your answer.” (8.G.4)
Unit 5, Lesson 4, Day 1, Mixed Practice, Question 5, students compare two routine functions represented in different ways. "The table and the equation below represent the proportional relationship between the time (x), in seconds, and the distance (y), in meters, of two runners. Runner 1: y=6.8x; Runner 2; a time/distance table (which yields y = 7.5x) Which runner is moving faster? Explain your reasoning.” (8.F.2)
Unit 7, Lesson 14, Partner Practice, Question 2 (Master Level), students solve routine real life problems by using simultaneous equations to find pricing data. "Two chocolate chip cookies and three brownies cost a total of $9.50. One chocolate chip cookie and two brownies cost a total of $6.00. What is the price of a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie?” (8.EE.8c)
Materials provide opportunities for students to independently demonstrate routine and non-routine applications of the mathematics throughout the grade level. Examples include:
Unit 6, Lesson 5, Independent Practice, Question 3 (Master Level), students interpret a scatterplot and its line of best fit in a non-routine format. "Julie recorded the number of female students and male students in her school for the past 8 years in a table and graphed the data using a scatter plot where the x-axis represents the females and the y-axis represents the males. She wrote the equation y = 1.2x + 12 to represent the line of best fit. Step A: What does the slope of the equation represent? Step B: What does the y-intercept represent? Step C: Draw a sketch of what you would expect the scatter plot to look like and explain why you drew the scatter plot in that way.” (8.SP.3)
Unit 8, Lesson 13, Independent Practice Question 3 (Master Level), students use scientific notation to solve a routine real-world problem. "If one water molecule contains 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom, and 10 water molecules contain 20 hydrogen atoms and 10 oxygen atoms, how many hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms are in 6.02 × 10^{23} water molecules? Show your work.” (8.EE.4)
Unit 9, Assessment Question 7, students solve a non-routine problem using the volume formulas for cones, spheres, and cylinders. The materials provide a graphic of the three bottles with dimensions. “The manager at Scents for Cents needs to order the new bottles for the perfume the store sells in order from least to greatest volume. a) Help the manager determine the order in which he needs to buy the new bottles. Explain your reasoning so that the manager will feel confident using your work to place his order. b) Change the dimensions of the cone and cylinder shaped bottles so that all three have the same volume.” (8.G.9)
Unit 10, Lesson 13, Independent Practice, Question 6 (PhD Level), students use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve routine real-world problems. “The typical ratio of length to width that is used to produce televisions is 4:3. A TV with length 20 inches and width 15 inches, for example, has sides in a 4:3 ratio; as does any TV with length 4x inches and width 3x inches for any number x. a) What is the advertised size of a TV with length 20 inches and width 15 inches? b) A 42” TV was just given to your family. What are the length and width measurements of the TV?” (8.G.7)
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The three aspects of rigor are not always treated together and are not always treated separately. There is a balance of the three aspects of rigor within the grade.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations in that the three aspects of rigor are not always treated together and are not always treated separately. There is a balance of the three aspects of rigor within the grade. Overall, there is an emphasis on the application aspect with the conceptual component of rigor being slightly less represented; however, each aspect of rigor is demonstrated throughout the curriculum. The materials often demonstrate a combination of aspects of rigor within single lessons and even single problems.
All three aspects of rigor are present independently throughout the program materials. Examples include:
Conceptual Understanding:
Unit 8, Lesson 3, Exit Ticket, Question 2, students demonstrate conceptual understanding of properties of integer exponents when they explain why a rule is true. “Explain why the rule a^5 × b^5 = (ab)^5 is true using the commutative and associative properties.” (8.EE.1)
Fluency and Procedural Skill:
Unit 1, Lesson 7, Independent Practice, Question 6 (PhD Level), students demonstrate procedural knowledge in order to determine which ordered pair represents a reflection. “Which of the following describes the location of a point (x,y) reflected over the y-axis and reflected over the x-axis? a) (x,y); b) (-x,y); c) (x,-y); d) (-x,-y).” (8.G.3)
Application:
Unit 9, Lesson 6, Independent Practice, Question 3 (Bachelor Level), students apply their knowledge about volume to determine how much cheesecake they get. “A round cheesecake has a diameter of 8 inches and a height of 3 inches. It is cut into 8 equal-sized slices. How many cubic inches does each slice take up in the cheesecake? Use 3.14 for pi and round your answer to the nearest tenth of a cubic inch.” (8.G.9)
Multiple aspects of rigor are engaged simultaneously to develop students’ mathematical understanding of a single topic/unit of study throughout the materials. Examples include:
Unit 3, Lesson 6, Independent Practice, Question 6 (Master Level), students engage in application and conceptual understanding about properties of transformations to prove that triangles are similar. “Are the two triangles similar? Prove by graphing and a series of rigid transformations. Triangle A: (1, 2), (4,8), and (10, 5); Triangle B: (-4, -2), (-4, -3), and (-3, -5).” (8.G.4)
Unit 7, Lesson 12, Independent Practice Question 3 (Master level), students demonstrate fluency by solving simultaneous equations in more than one way as they apply the mathematics to understand given data. “In the fall, the math club and science club each created an Internet site. You are the webmaster for both sites. It is now January and you are comparing the number of times each site is visited each day. Science club: There are currently 400 daily visits and the visits are increasing at a rate of 25 daily visits per month. Math club: There are currently 200 daily visits and the visits are increasing at a rate of 50 daily visits per month. a) Write a system of linear equations to represent the situation. Then graph to determine the solution. b) Explain what the solution to the system means in the context of the problem.” (8.EE.8)
Unit 8, Lesson 10, Independent Practice, Question 5 (Master Level), students apply their procedural fluency of operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation to real world scenarios. “Bubba’s Boot Barn is a favorite stop of visitors to Nashville’s downtown shopping area. Last year, 2.42 × 10^5 people visited Bubba’s. This year it has become and even more popular venue, with 2.53 × 10^6 visitors. Step A: How many total visitors did Bubba’s get over the two years? Step B: How many more visitors did Bubba’s get this year compared to last year?” (8.EE.4)
Criterion 2.2: Math Practices
Materials meaningfully connect the Standards for Mathematical Content and Standards for Mathematical Practice (MPs).
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for practice-content connections. The materials meaningfully connect the Standards for Mathematical Content and the Standards for Mathematical Practice (MPs). However, there is no intentional development of MP5 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content.
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Materials support the intentional development of MP1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them; and MP2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively, for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for supporting the intentional development of MP1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them; and MP2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively, for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards. The Standards for Mathematical Practice are identified and incorporated within mathematics content throughout the grade level. The Mathematical Practices are listed in the Unit Overviews as well at the beginning of each lesson. There are instances where the Unit Overview gives a detailed explanation of the MPs being addressed within the unit, but the lessons do not cite the same MPs.
There is intentional development of MP1 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content. Examples include:
Unit 5, Lesson 10, Independent Practice, Question 3 (Master Level), students make sense of the problem by interpreting the graph. “Juan, Ronnie, and Justin all walk to school every day. Juan can walk to school, a distance of 0.75 miles, in 8 minutes. The graph below represents Ronnie’s walk to school. The table below the graph shows different distances Justin walks and how long it takes him. Who walks the slowest to school and how much faster is the faster boy?”
Unit 7, Lesson 15, Exit Ticket, Question 1, students persevere as they determine the most appropriate strategy to solve a systems of equations word problem. “Use the most appropriate strategy to solve the problem described below. Show all of your work. A hotel offers two activity packages. One costs $192 and includes 3 hours of horseback riding and 2 hours of parasailing. The second costs $213 and includes 2 hours of horseback riding and 3 hours of parasailing. What is the cost for 1 hour of each activity?”
Unit 10, Lesson 13, Partner Practice (Master Level), Question 4, students determine the most appropriate strategy to solve a systems of equations word problem. “Christopher has a garden in the shape of an isosceles trapezoid (pictured below). He wants to plant roses on \frac{1}{4} of the garden and tulips on the other \frac{3}{4} of the garden. How many more square feet will be covered with Tulips than Roses? Round your answer to the nearest hundredth.”
There is intentional development of MP2 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content. Examples include:
Unit 6, Lesson 3, Exit Ticket, Question 2, students reason about quantities in order to make predictions based on data points. “Draw an appropriate line of best fit given the scatter plot below. Explain why the line you drew is an appropriate model for the graph by discussing the patterns of association present in the data. Use your line of best fit to predict the temperature at an elevation of 750 meters.”
Unit 6, Lesson 6, Exit Ticket, Question 1, students contextualize the meaning of the slope and y-intercept from a visual scatter plot graph. “Justin drew a line of best fit in the scatter plot below represented by the equation y=2x+50 to determine how many hours he would need to study during the unit to earn a 100% on his upcoming test. Part A: What do the slope and y-intercept mean given the context of the scatterplot?”
Unit 8, Lesson 2, Think About It, students de-contextualize powers of exponents by expanding a problem out to determine the procedural process. “Simplify the following exponential expressions by first expanding and then rewriting as a base raised to a single power. a) (2^3)^2 ; b) (h^2)^3.”
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Materials support the intentional development of MP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for supporting the intentional development of MP3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards.
There is intentional development of MP3 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content. Examples include:
The Guide to Implementing AF Math describes Error Analysis lessons as one way to address MP3. “Purpose: Through the use of error analysis, guided questioning and discussion students will identify and fix a common misconception related to a skill they learned the previous day. These are sequenced so that after a particularly complex conceptual lesson or a lesson involving a skill that surfaces a common misconception, students get another focused at bat to either fix their misunderstanding or deepen their reasoning around key mathematical concepts and viable strategies to guide them away from making the same error. These lessons start with analyzing fictional student work and are structurally based off of the Standards for Mathematical Practice 3.”
Unit 2, Lesson 6, Error Analysis Lesson, Independent Practice #6 (Master Level), students investigate angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal. “In the diagram below, \angle3 = 105\degree and \angle8 = 5x. Scholar A says that the value of \angle7 = 75\degree. Describe the mistake that the scholar made and provide at least two different ways to prove the scholar wrong.”
Unit 4, Lesson 8, THINK ABOUT IT!, students compare functions represented in different ways. “Below are two different linear functions. Determine which function is changing the fastest using any methods you have learned. Justify why the function you choose is changing faster than the other.” Students are given a table and a graph to compare.
Unit 5, Lesson 1, Independent Practice, Question 5 (Master level), students determine the number of solutions to an equation. “Mark and Molly are debating over the solution to the equation 11(x + 10) = 110. Mark says that there is no solution because the 110’s cancel out of the equation. Molly says that the solution x = 0 is a valid solution to the equation. Who do you agree with and why?”
Unit 8, Lesson 5, Independent Practice, Question 6 (Masters level), students explore properties of integer exponents. “Prove that any number raised to a negative exponent is equal to the reciprocal of the base raised to the opposite exponent. Use examples and explain.”
Unit 10, Lesson 13, THINK ABOUT IT!, students use the Pythagorean Theorem. Teacher prompts include, “Which scholar do you agree with? What did both scholars do correctly in their approach to the problem, and why does it make sense?”
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Materials support the intentional development of MP4: Model with mathematics; and MP5: Choose tools strategically, for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 partially meet expectations for supporting the intentional development of MP4: Model with mathematics; and MP5: Choose tools strategically, for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards. Students are provided with occasions to develop their own task pathways, but have limited opportunities to choose tools.
There is intentional development of MP4 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content. Examples include:
Unit 8, Mixed Practice 8.3, Question 2, “Joseph and Nina just had business cards made. Joseph's printing company charged a one-time setup fee of $4 and then $19 per box of cards. Nina, meanwhile, ordered hers online. They cost $15 per box. There was no setup fee, but she had to pay $20 to have her order shipped to her house. By coincidence, Joseph and Nina ended up spending the same amount on their business cards. How much did each spend? How many boxes did each buy?”
Unit 9, Lesson 2, Independent Practice, Question 8 (PhD Level), “Juan and Sandy are two members of a product development team. They are discussing the effect that doubling the radius of the base of a cylindrical can has on the volume of the can. Juan insists that if the radius of a cylinder doubles, the volume will double. Sandy thinks that the volume will be more than double. Who is correct? To help you determine who is correct, consider using an example of a cylinder. Explain your reasoning.”
Unit 10, Problem Of the Day 10.1, Question 1, “ Tim is selling tickets to the school sporting event to raise money for his club. He put some extra money in his box before he began. As he sells tickets, he records the number of tickets he has sold and the total amount of money in the box. Some of his data are shown below. Assuming all the tickets are the same price, write an equation that represents the situation in the table. Explain how to use your equation to determine the amount of money originally in the box before any tickets were sold and the price of each ticket. Show your work.”
There is no intentional development of MP5 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content because students rarely choose their own tools. Examples include:
MP5 is identified in Units 1 and 2, so there is limited exposure to the practice.
Students are rarely given choice in tools to solve problems. Unit 9, Problem of the Day 2 9.1, Question 1, “Stanley drove his car on a business trip. When he left, the mileage was 840 miles, and then he returned, the mileage was 1,200 miles. The car used 12 gallons of gasoline for this trip. Draw a graph on the grid below to show the relationship between gasoline used (a), and the distance traveled, (y) during Stanley’s trip. Carla made the same trip as Stanley, but her car used only 10 gallons of gasoline. Graph the gasoline usage of Carla’s car on the same grid as Stanley’s car. How do the slopes for Stanley’s and Carla’s car compare? Explain your answer in terms of unit rate.” Students are not given the opportunity to select their tools to use to show the relationship. The coordinate plane is provided with the labels determined for them.
Lack of intentional development of MP5 is seen in misaligned identification in the Unit Overviews and lessons. In the Unit 2 Overview, MP5 is identified in lessons 4 and 8. “students have a variety of concrete manipulatives they may use.” In Lesson 4, MPs 3, 6, and 7 are identified as standards in the lesson. In Lesson 8, MPs 3, 6, and 8 are listed.
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Materials attend to the intentional development of MP6: Attend to precision; and attend to the specialized language of mathematics for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for supporting the intentional development of MP6: Attend to precision; and attend to the specialized language of mathematics, for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards.
There is intentional development of MP6 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content. Many problems present students with the opportunity to attend to precision within the mathematics and the reasoning of the answer. Examples include:
Unit 3, Lesson 2, Test the Conjecture #2, students attend to precision as they investigate the effect of a dilation on a figure. “Determine the side lengths and angle measurements if the figure was dilated by a scale factor of \frac{1}{2} about the given point.”
Unit 7, Lesson 7, Independent Practice, Question 6 (Master Level), students attend to precision as they solve systems of linear equations algebraically. “Write two equations that describe the problem below and solve the system with elimination. Check your solution.”
Unit 8, Lesson 1, Exit Ticket, Question 2, students attend to precision as they apply and explain the product of powers properties. “A scholar simplified the expression 42 × 43 and wrote 46. Did this scholar simplify the expression correctly? If yes, prove it. If no, explain the error in this scholar’s reasoning and provide the correct simplified expressions.”
Unit 9, Lesson 2, Exit Ticket, Question 1, students attend to precision when working with volume and rounding to a specified place value. “Find the exact and approximate volume of the cylinder shown below by rounding the volume to the nearest hundredth.”
The instructional materials attend to the specialized language of mathematics. The materials use precise and accurate mathematical terminology. Examples include:
The teacher is routinely prompted to use precise vocabulary such as in Unit 1, Lesson 1, Debrief. “How would you describe how the individual tiles were moved? Mathematicians have specific names for these movements. We call a slide a translation, a flip is a reflection, and a turn is a rotation. All three of these are called rigid transformations. How did these rigid transformations change the figure?” Guidance is included within a possible student response, which “Rigid transformations changed where the figure is sitting (T: We call this location) and which way it is facing (T: We call this orientation).”
At the beginning of each lesson plan, there is a section labeled “Key Vocabulary” for the teacher. Unit 4, Lesson 4, Key Vocabulary,
“Independent Variable – a variable (often represented by x) whose variation does not depend on another variable.
Dependent Variable – a variable (often represented by y) whose variation depends on another variable.
Substitution – replacing a variable with a value or expression.
Relation – any set of ordered pairs.
Input – the independent variable, defines the function.
Output – the dependent variable, changes based on change in the input.
Function – a mathematical relationship where each input has a unique output.
Rate of Change – a change in the dependent variable per a change in the independent variable; when comparing rates of change, you compare the magnitude of the rate of change, not the actual value.”
Unit 5, Lesson 6, Opening, Debrief, FENCEPOST #1, students determine the rate of change. “The slope of a linear function is its rate of change: \frac{\triangle y}{\triangle x}.” Teachers are prompted to show student work that starts with the expression \frac{\triangle y}{\triangle x} and ask, “Do you agree with the formula this scholar used? Vote.” Students might say, “I agree because in unit four we learned that the rate of change between any two points is equal to \frac{\triangle y}{\triangle x} which is the change in y over the change in x in which the delta implies subtraction.” Teachers follow up with, “What does ‘change in y’ mean/imply? How would you define the relation graphed?” Students might say, “Since there is exactly one output for every input and the graph produces a straight line, this is a linear function. When working with linear functions and equations, the rate of change has a special name called the slope of a line and is often denoted using the variable m.”
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Materials support the intentional development of MP7: Look for and make use of structure; and MP8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning, for students, in connection to the grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for supporting the intentional development of MP7: Look for and make use of structure; and MP8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning, for students, in connection to grade-level content standards, as expected by the mathematical practice standards.
There is intentional development of MP7 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content. Examples Include:
Unit 2, Lesson 3, Think About It, students use the structure of proportions to solve linear equations. “Solve the two equations using any methods and check to verify that your solution satisfies the equation. How was your method for solving the same or different between the two equations? \frac{4}{5} = \frac{52}{n}; \frac{4}{8} = \frac{2}{n+1}”
Unit 5, Lesson 4, Independent Practice, Question 8 (PhD Level), students analyze the structure of equations in order to determine the number of solutions. “Write two equations, one with no solution and the other with one solution, that requires combining like-terms to determine the number of solutions. Explain how you created the equations using the structure of the equations.”
Unit 7, Lesson 10, Exit Ticket, Question 1, students inspect equations and use the structure and components to identify how many solutions a system of equations has. “Determine the number of solutions to the following system of two linear equations without performing any calculations. Explain how you were able to determine the number of solutions without performing calculations. 3x - 2y = 5; 3x - 2y = -1.”
There is intentional development of MP8 to meet its full intent in connection to grade-level content. Examples Include:
Unit 2, Lesson 3, Exit Ticket, Question 2, students use repeated reasoning to describe an error in work about solving proportions. “Explain the mistake made in the work below. Your explanation should include a description about solving proportions.”
Unit 5, Lesson 1, Test the Conjecture #2, students use repeated reasoning to understand if equations have one solution, no solution, or many solutions. “Determine the number of solutions for the following equation -(-4x - 6) + (-2x) = -4x - 5 + (-5).”
Unit 8, Lesson 4, THINK ABOUT IT!, students use repeated reasoning to understand the value of a number raised to the zeroth power. “Simplify the expression 3^0×3^2 using the product rule. Simplify the expression a^0×a^4 using the product rule. What can you conclude about the value of a number raised to the zeroth power?” The teacher provides a conjecture to discuss: “Any number raised to the zeroth power is 1.”
Overview of Gateway 3
Usability
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not meet expectations for Usability. The materials partially meet expectations for Criterion 1, Teacher Supports, partially meet expectations for Criterion 2, Assessment, and do not meet expectations for Criterion 3, Student Supports.
Gateway 3
Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports
The program includes opportunities for teachers to effectively plan and utilize materials with integrity and to further develop their own understanding of the content.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 partially meet expectations for Teacher Supports. The materials: provide teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for enacting the materials, include standards correlation information that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series. The materials do not provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities. The materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level concepts, but do not contain adult-level explanations and examples and concepts beyond the current grade so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. The materials provide explanations of the instructional approaches of the program but do not contain identification of the research-based strategies.
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Materials provide teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials, with specific attention to engaging students in order to guide their mathematical development.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for providing teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials, with specific attention to engaging students in order to guide their mathematical development. Teacher guidance is found throughout the materials in the Implementations Guides, Unit Overviews, and individual lessons.
Materials provide comprehensive guidance that will assist teachers in presenting the student and ancillary materials. Examples include:
The Guide to Implementing AF Math provides a Program Overview for the teacher with information on the program components and scope and sequence. This includes descriptions of the types of lessons, Skill Fluency, Mixed Practice, and Problem of the Day.
The Teacher’s Guide supports whole group/partner discussion, ask/listen fors, common misconceptions and errors.
Each lesson includes a table identifying the steps and actions for the teacher which helps in planning the lesson and is intended to be reviewed with a coach.
Materials include sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions that are presented within the context of the specific learning objectives. Each lesson includes anticipated challenges, misconceptions, key points, sample dialogue, and exemplar student responses. Examples from Unit 5, Expressions and Equations - Linear Equations, Lesson 6 include:
“What do we want every student to take away or do as a result of this lesson? How will a teacher know if students have met this goal? Understand: The terms ‘slope’ and ‘rate of change’ can both be used to describe the way two variables change together. They are mathematically the same- determined by dividing the change in output by the change input at two distinct points of a function. For a straight line, the slope will be the same between any two points because for a function to be linear, the rate of change must be constant. Do: Students calculate the slope of a graphed line given points or having to pick their own points. Students prove that the slope of a line is the same regardless of the points that are chosen on the line by calculating multiple slopes using multiple points.”
“Key Learning Synthesis - Conjecture: The slope between any two points in a linear function is equivalent to the slope between any other two points on the line.”
Teacher prompts state, “What will we be able to do if our conjecture is true? Take 30 seconds to read and annotate the problem. What is the question asking us to do? How can we apply our conjecture to solve the problem? If we were being strategic, which two points would we pick? Model creating a quick input/output table and adding these points to it. How do I calculate the slope? How can we prove that our conjecture worked? With your partner, identify two more points and calculate the slope. Teacher can walk scholars through this if they are struggling with calculating the slope. So far, does our conjecture hold up?”
“Anticipated Misconceptions and Errors: Students might mix up the x and y coordinates. Students might correctly determine Δx and Δy but write the final slope as Δx/Δy. Students might make a subtraction error when subtracting negative values. Students might not start with the same point for calculating the rise and run (e.g. for (1, 4) and (2, 6), scholars might find Δy as 4 - 6 = -2 but then switch the order and find Δx as 2 - 1 = 1).”
Each lesson includes a “How” section that lists the key strategies of the lesson and delineates what “top quality” work should include. Examples from Unit 5, Expressions and Equations - Linear Equations, Lesson 6 include:
“Key Strategy: Write the equation Slope = \frac{Δy}{Δx}, Identify two points on the line and make an input/output table to record them. Calculate Δy or the rise. Calculate Δx or the run. Give final answer in the form of a fraction.”
“CFS (Criterion for Success) for top quality work: Equation for slope is written. Coordinate pairs are annotated with x and y. Individual Δy and Δx are calculated. Final slope is written as the ratio of Δy/Δx.”
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Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level/course-level concepts and concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 partially meet expectations for containing adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade/course-level concepts and concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. There is very little reference or support for content in future courses.
Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade/course-level concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. Examples include:
The Unit Overview Appendix also often includes an excerpt from an unknown source which provides a teacher with an understanding of grade level standards progression. Unit 10, Appendix A: Teacher Background Knowledge 8.NS, Unpacking the standard, “Students understand that Real numbers are either rational or irrational. They distinguish between rational and irrational numbers, recognizing that any number that can be expressed as a fraction is a rational number. The diagram below illustrates the relationship between the subgroups of the real number system. Students recognize that the decimal equivalent of a fraction will either terminate or repeat. Fractions that terminate will have denominators containing only prime factors of 2 and/or 5. This understanding builds on work in 7th grade when students used long division to distinguish between repeating and terminating decimals.”
The Unit Overview includes an Appendix titled “Teacher Background Knowledge” which includes a copy of the relevant pages from the Common Core Math Progression documents which includes on grade-level information.
Materials rarely contain adult-level explanations and examples of concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. Examples include:
The Common Core Math Progression documents in the Appendix are generally truncated to the current grade level and do not go beyond the current course. At times, they may reference how the content connects to the next grade.
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Materials include standards correlation information that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for including standards correlation information that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.
Correlation information is present for the mathematics standards addressed throughout the grade level/series. Examples include:
Guide to Implementing AF Grade 8, Program Overview, “Scope and Sequence Detail is designed to help teachers identify the standards on which each lesson within a unit is focused, whether on grade level or not. You will find the daily lesson aims within each unit and the content standards addressed within that lesson. A list of the focus MPs for each lesson and unit and details about how they connect to the content standards can be found in the Unit Overviews and daily lesson plans.”
The Program Overview informs teachers “about how to ensure scholars have sufficient practice with all of the Common Core State Standards. Standards or parts thereof that are bolded are addressed within a lesson but with limited exposure. It is recommended that teachers supplement the lessons addressing these standards by using the AF Practice Workbooks to ensure mastery for all students. Recommendations for when to revisit these standards during Math Practice and Friday Cumulative Review are noted in the Practice section of each unit.”
The Unit Overview includes a section called Identify Desired Results: Identify the Standards which lists the standards addressed within the unit and previously addressed standards that relate to the content of the unit.
In the Unit Overview, the Identify The Narrative provides rationale about the unit connections to previous standards for each of the lessons. Future grade-level content is also identified.
The Unit Overview provides a table listing Mathematical Practices connected to the lessons and identifies whether the MP is a major focus of the unit.
At the beginning of each lesson, each standard is identified.
In the lesson overview, prior knowledge is identified, so teachers know what standards are linked to prior work.
Explanations of the role of the specific grade-level/course-level mathematics are present in the context of the series. Examples include:
In the Unit Overview, the Identify the Narrative section provides the teacher with information to unpack the learning progressions and make connections between key concepts. Lesson Support includes information about connections to previous lessons and identifies the important concepts within those lessons. Examples include:
Unit 7, Lesson 6, Connection To Learning and Conceptual Understanding identifies previous skills for grade level related standards. “How does this lesson connect to previous lessons? In the previous lesson, students solved a system of equations using substitution when at least one of the equations in the system was solved for a variable making it easy to substitute the equivalent expression into the second equation for the same variable. In this lesson, students are given a system of equations where both equations are not solved for a variable and students must decide which equation to rewrite and for what variable in order to apply the substitution method of solving systems. Students also must solve more situations in which distributing after the first substitution is required.”
Unit 9, Lesson 4, Connection To Learning and Conceptual Understanding identifies previous skills for grade level related standards. “How does this lesson connect to previous lessons? In the previous lesson, students compared the volumes of cylinders and cones with the same height and radius to determine that the formula for the volume of a cone is \frac{1}{3} of a cylinder with equal height and radius. In this lesson, students are given the formula for the volume of a sphere and use it to determine exact and approximate volumes of sphere in and out of context.”
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Materials provide strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not provide strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement. No evidence could be found related to informing stakeholders about the materials.
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Materials provide explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 partially meet expectations for providing explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.
Materials explain the instructional approaches of the program.
The Implementation Guide states, "Our program aims to see the mathematical practices come to life through the shifts (focus, coherence, rigor) called for by the standards. For students to engage daily with all 3 tenets, we structure our program into two main daily components: math lesson and math cumulative review. The math lessons are divided into three structural lesson types: conjecture-based lesson, exercise-based lesson, and error analysis lesson. On a given day students will be engaging in EITHER a conjecture-based, exercise-based lesson or less often an error analysis lesson. The math cumulative review component has three sub-components: skill fluency, mixed practice, and problem of the day. Three of the five school days students engage with all three sub-components of the math cumulative review. The last two days of the week have time reserved for lessons, reteach lessons, and assessments. See the diagram below followed by each category overview for more information.”
Materials do not include and reference research-based strategies.
The materials do not explicitly name any strategies as research-based strategies.
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Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not meet expectations for providing a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities.
Each lesson includes a list of materials, but it often does not support the teacher in preparing the lesson. For example, “Handout” is commonly named on the materials list, but there is no link provided to the document and the title of the handout is not provided. For example, in Unit 7, Lesson 5, the Lesson Overview includes, “Materials: Handout.”
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This is not an assessed indicator in Mathematics.
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This is not an assessed indicator in Mathematics.
Criterion 3.2: Assessment
The program includes a system of assessments identifying how materials provide tools, guidance, and support for teachers to collect, interpret, and act on data about student progress towards the standards.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 partially meet expectations for Assessment. The materials identify the standards, but do not identify the practices assessed for the formal assessments. The materials provide multiple opportunities to determine students' learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance but do not provide suggestions for following-up with students. The materials include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/course-level standards and practices across the series.
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Assessment information is included in the materials to indicate which standards are assessed.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 partially meet expectations for having assessment information included in the materials to indicate which standards are assessed. There are connections identified for standards, but not the mathematical practices.
Materials identify the standards assessed for the formal assessments. Examples include:
Each Unit Overview provides a chart that identifies CCSS Math Content standards for each item on the Unit Assessment. Occasionally, an individual item on the assessment identifies the standard, but in general, student-facing assessments do not include the standards.
Each lesson includes an Exit Ticket that aligns with the standard of the lesson.
Materials do not identify the practices assessed for the formal assessments.
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Assessment system provides multiple opportunities throughout the grade, course, and/or series to determine students' learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 partially meet expectations for including an assessment system that provides multiple opportunities throughout the grade, course, and/or series to determine students' learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.
The assessment system provides multiple opportunities to determine students' learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance but does not provide suggestions for following-up with students. Examples include:
Assessments include an informal Exit Ticket in each lesson and a formal Unit Assessment for every unit.
There is guidance, or “look-fors,” to teachers about what the student should be able to do on the assessments.
All Unit Assessments include an answer key with exemplar student responses.
The is a rubric for exit tickets that indicates, “You mastered the learning objective today; You are almost there; You need more practice and feedback.”
There are no strategies or suggestions if students do not demonstrate understanding of the concept, and no next steps based on the results of the assessment.
Indicator {{'3k' | indicatorName}}
Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/course-level standards and practices across the series.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for providing assessments that include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level standards and practices across the series. There are a variety of question types including multiple choice, short answer, and constructed response. Mathematical practices are embedded within the problems.
Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level standards across the series. Examples include:
The Unit 2 Assessment contributes to the full intent of 8.G.5 (Use informal arguments to establish facts about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal). Item 10, “Use the diagram below to answer equations for 9 and 10. Which statement is false? a) Angles 3 and 4 have a sum of 180° because they are supplementary. b) Angles 1 and 8 are congruent because they are alternate exterior angles. c) Angles 6 and 7 are congruent because they are vertical angles. d) Angles 1 and 4 are congruent because they are alternate interior angles.”
The Unit 7 Assessment contributes to the full intent of 8.EE.8b (solve systems of two linear equations in two variables algebraically, and estimate solutions by graphing the equations). Item 3, “Solve the following system of equations by graphing. Explain how you know that the coordinate pair identified represents the solution. $$y = -\frac{1}{4x} - 1$$ ; y = \frac{3}{4x} + 3”
The Unit 8 Assessment contributes to the full intent of 8.EE.3 (use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times an integer power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities). Item 8, “The estimated number of chickens in the world is 1.9 X 1010. The estimated number of cows is 1.5 × 109. The estimated amount of chickens in the world is about how many times greater than the estimated amount of cows? Show all of your work and explain what operation was necessary to use to solve this problem.”
Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level practices across the series. Examples include:
Unit 3 Assessment, Item 7, supports the full development of MP3 as students evaluate others' reasoning and construct arguments. “Aaliyah that rectangle EFGH is similar to rectangle IJKL because she can find a series of transformations that maps EFGH to IJK. She says that if she dilates EFGH by a scale factor of \frac{1}{2} around point E and then reflects the resulting image across the x-axis followed by the y-axis, the image of EFGH will be exactly the same as IJKL. Jeremiah agrees with Aaliyah that the rectangles are similar because he can find a series of transformations that maps one rectangle to another, but he disagrees with the steps that she followed. Jeremiah says that he must dilate IJKL by a scale factor of 2 around point K and then rotate the resulting image 180 degrees around the origin. a. Who has correctly identified why these two rectangles are similar? Justify your answer.”
Unit 7 Assessment, Item 11, supports the full development of MP1 as students must make sense of the problem to solve. “Michael and Lindsey are saving money. Michael begins with $20 and saves $5 per week. Lindsey begins with no money, but saves $10 per week. Determine the number of weeks it will take Lindsey and Michael to save the same amount of money. How much money will they each have when they have the same amount?“
Unit 10 Assessment, Item 6, supports the full development of MP6 as students attend to precision. “Find a rational approximation of the value \sqrt{73} to the nearest tenth.”
Indicator {{'3l' | indicatorName}}
Assessments offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not provide assessments which offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment. This is true for both formal unit assessments and informal exit tickets.
Criterion 3.3: Student Supports
The program includes materials designed for each child’s regular and active participation in grade-level/grade-band/series content.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not meet expectations for Student Supports. The materials do not provide: strategies and supports for students in special populations or for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to support their regular and active participation in learning grade-level/series mathematics.
The materials provide multiple extensions and/or opportunities for students to engage with grade-level/course-level mathematics at higher levels of complexity, and manipulatives, both virtual and physical, are accurate representations of the mathematical objects they represent and, when appropriate, are connected to written methods.
Indicator {{'3m' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide strategies and supports for students in special populations to support their regular and active participation in learning grade-level/series mathematics.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not meet expectations for providing strategies and supports for students in special populations to support their regular and active participation in learning grade-level/series mathematics.
The materials do not provide specific strategies and supports for differentiating instruction to meet the needs of students in special populations.
Indicator {{'3n' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide extensions and/or opportunities for students to engage with grade-level/course-level mathematics at higher levels of complexity.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for providing extensions and/or opportunities for students to engage with grade-level/course-level mathematics at higher levels of complexity.
Materials provide opportunities for students to investigate the grade-level content at a higher level of complexity. Examples include:
Implementation Guide, philosophy of the Problem of the Day, “The typical question types selected for this component of the program are of the highest level of rigor in the program. They often cross standards, are multi-step and require a full problem-solving process in order to solve.”
Implementation Guide, philosophy of the Mixed Practice Overview, “[problems are] presented in mixed problem types and normally at a middle or high level of rigor. These questions are often in the form of word problems, multi-step problems, or a novel context.” In Unit 8, Mixed Practice 8.3, Problem 1 states, “Write and draw a system of equations that meets the following criteria: The system has infinite solutions; The slope of both equations is between 0 and -1; One equation has x isolated; One equation is in standard form and passes through the point (2, -4).”
Independent Practice work in each lesson provides three levels of rigor in the lesson for student work: Bachelor, Master, and PhD work, with the PhD including the most rigorous problems.
Indicator {{'3o' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide varied approaches to learning tasks over time and variety in how students are expected to demonstrate their learning with opportunities for students to monitor their learning.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 provide varied approaches to learning tasks over time and variety in how students are expected to demonstrate their learning; however, there are few opportunities for students to monitor their learning.
The program uses a variety of formats and methods to deepen student understanding and ability to explain and apply mathematics ideas. These include: Conjecture Based Lessons, Exercise Based Lessons, Error Analysis Lessons, and Math Cumulative Review. The Math Cumulative Review includes Skill Fluency, Mixed Practice, and Problem of the Day.
In the lesson introduction, the teacher states the aim and connects it to prior knowledge. In Pose the Problem, the students work with a partner to represent and solve the problem. Then the class discusses student work. The teacher highlights correct work and common misconceptions. Then students work on the Workshop problems, Independent Practice, and the Exit Ticket. Students have opportunities to share their thinking as they work with their partner and as the teacher prompts student responses during Pose the Problem and Workshop discussions. For each Exit Ticket, students have the opportunity to evaluate their work as well as get teacher feedback.
Indicator {{'3p' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 provide some opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies. Grouping strategies within lessons are not consistently present or specific to the needs of particular students. There is no specific guidance to teachers on grouping students.
The majority of lessons are whole group and independent practice; however, the structure of some lessons include grouping strategies, such as working in a pair for games, turn-and-talk, and partner practice. Examples include:
Unit 4, Lesson 2, Key Learning Synthesis, “Let’s form our key point for today. With your partner, come up with a key point which will be our concise definition of what a function is.”
Unit 7, Lesson 6, students are given the opportunity to work with a partner during partner practice. The lesson includes a ‘Bachelor Level’ handout to be solved with a partner.
Indicator {{'3q' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to regularly participate in learning grade-level mathematics.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not meet expectations for providing strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to regularly participate in learning grade-level mathematics.
Materials do not provide any resources for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards through regular and active participation in grade-level mathematics.
Indicator {{'3r' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics. Examples include:
Lessons portray people from many ethnicities in a positive, respectful manner.
There is no demographic bias seen in various problems.
Names in the problems include multi-cultural references such as Mario, Tanya, Kemoni, Jiang, Paige, and Tomi.
The materials are text based and do not contain images of people. Therefore, there are no visual depiction of demographics or physical characteristics.
The materials avoid language that might be offensive to particular groups.
Indicator {{'3s' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning.
The materials do not provide suggestions or strategies to use the home language to support students in learning mathematics. There are no suggestions for teachers to facilitate daily learning that builds on a student’s multilingualism as an asset nor are students explicitly encouraged to develop home language literacy. Teacher materials do not provide guidance on how to garner information that will aid in learning, including the family’s preferred language of communication, schooling experiences in other languages, literacy abilities in other languages, and previous exposure to academic everyday English.
Indicator {{'3t' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student cultural and social backgrounds to facilitate learning.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student cultural and social backgrounds to facilitate learning.
The materials do not make connections to linguistic and cultural diversity to facilitate learning. There is no teacher guidance on equity or how to engage culturally diverse students in the learning of mathematics.
Indicator {{'3u' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide supports for different reading levels to ensure accessibility for students.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not provide supports for different reading levels to ensure accessibility for students.
The materials do not include strategies to engage students in reading and accessing grade-level mathematics. There are not multiple entry points that present a variety of representations to help struggling readers to access and engage in grade-level mathematics.
Indicator {{'3v' | indicatorName}}
Manipulatives, both virtual and physical, are accurate representations of the mathematical objects they represent and, when appropriate, are connected to written methods.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 meet expectations for providing manipulatives, both virtual and physical, that are accurate representations of the mathematical objects they represent and, when appropriate, are connected to written methods.
Manipulatives are described as accurate representations of mathematical objects in the narrative of the Unit Overviews, and although there is little guidance for teachers or students about the use of manipulatives in the lessons, the use of manipulatives can be connected to written methods.
For example, in Unit 1 Overview, “Students are introduced to multiple tools that can be used to analyze transformations: tracing paper, rules, and then software (https://www.geogebra.org/geometry) to explore the effects of flipping, rotating, and sliding figures. These tools are available throughout the unit for students to use as they explore reflections and rotations. Students add to their list of tools different rules and observations regarding patterns of behavior on the coordinate plane when reflecting and/or rotating.”
Criterion 3.4: Intentional Design
The program includes a visual design that is engaging and references or integrates digital technology, when applicable, with guidance for teachers.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic mathematics software in ways that engage students in the grade-level standards, include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, or provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning. The materials have a visual design that supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.
Indicator {{'3w' | indicatorName}}
Materials integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic mathematics software in ways that engage students in the grade-level/series standards, when applicable.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic mathematics software in ways that engage students in the grade-level/series standards, when applicable.
The materials do not contain digital technology or interactive tools such as data collection tools, simulations, virtual manipulatives, and/or modeling tools. There is no technology utilized in this program.
Indicator {{'3x' | indicatorName}}
Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.
The materials do not provide any online or digital opportunities for students to collaborate with the teacher and/or with other students. There is no technology utilized in this program.
Indicator {{'3y' | indicatorName}}
The visual design (whether in print or digital) supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 have a visual design that supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.
The student-facing printable materials follow a consistent format. The lesson materials are printed in black and white without any distracting visuals or an overabundance of graphic features. In fact, images, graphics, and models are limited within the materials, but they do support student learning when present. The materials are primarily text with white space for students to answer by hand to demonstrate their learning. Student materials are clearly labeled and provide consistent numbering for problem sets. There are several spelling and/or grammatical errors within the materials.
Indicator {{'3z' | indicatorName}}
Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grade 8 do not provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.
There is no technology utilized in this program.
Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability for Achievement First Mathematics | Math
Math K-2
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grades K-2 meet expectations for Alignment to the CCSSM. In Gateway 1, the materials meet expectations for focus and coherence. In Gateway 2, the materials meet expectations for rigor and practice-content connections. The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grades K-2 do not meet expectations for Usability, Gateway 3.
Kindergarten
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Usability
1st Grade
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Usability
2nd Grade
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Usability
Math 3-5
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grades 3-5 meet expectations for Alignment to the CCSSM. In Gateway 1, the materials meet expectations for focus and coherence. In Gateway 2, the materials meet expectations for rigor and practice-content connections. The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grades 3-5 do not meet expectations for Usability, Gateway 3.
3rd Grade
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Usability
4th Grade
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Usability
5th Grade
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Usability
Math 6-8
The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grades 6-8 meet expectations for Alignment to the CCSSM. In Gateway 1, the materials meet expectations for focus and coherence. In Gateway 2, the materials meet expectations for rigor and practice-content connections. The materials reviewed for Achievement First Mathematics Grades 6-8 do not meet expectations for Usability, Gateway 3.