Imagine Math provides many data points for you to monitor student progress and make educational decisions to further students' mathematical abilities. The considerations below will help you analyze both the quantity and the quality of work each student has completed.
QUANTITY: It is important that students are on task, meeting the goals you've set for them (individually and as a class), and producing a quantifiable amount of work within the program over a set period of time. This information is best monitored on the Usage Overview report.
QUALITY: Attaining a level of quality that shows progress is often the real success story. This information is best monitored from the Student Progress report.
The below situations will help you to decide how to direct/redirect students for better success with Imagine Math.
Situation A - Students have attempted many lessons but have passed only a few (mostly below-grade-level), have not frequently accessed the Math Helps, but have a good deal of time on the system:
- Conjecture: These students may be quickly clicking through the lessons in the hopes of gaining THINK Points.
- Solution: Review their journal/notebook to check and see if they are taking time to work out problems before selecting their answer choices. Consult with the student on the results of their work. Do a 'reset' of their individual implementation requiring that they do their work on paper before selecting responses in the program. Remind the student how to access the Math Help and the audio tools, and reiterate your expectations on how they should be using Imagine Math. You may want to re-enroll them on their current pathway to allow them a fresh start.
Situation B - Students have attempted many lessons, have passed roughly 50% of their grade-level lessons, seem to do well on the below-grade-level lessons, have satisfactory usage time in the program, but have not frequently accessed the Math Helps:
- Conjecture: These students are most likely struggling through the grade-level content. Take note of their performance level; if their performance level is Basic, Below Basic, or Far Below Basic (or equivalent labels, depending on your state) and you know that they are Tier 2 students, or students who teeter on needing special learning services, they may not be ready for the grade-level lessons on their pathway.
- Solution: Consult with the students to get a feel for how they believe they are doing in the program. Ensure that they are using the audio tools and remind them how to access the Math Help. Review their Student Progress report to see if it is a specific topic they are struggling with or if they are struggling with the overall grade-level lessons. Consider lowering their grade-level pathway or assigning a content/domain specific pathway to address a specific topic.
Situation C - Students have attempted an appropriate amount of lessons, are passing the majority of both below- and on-grade-level lessons, have sufficient use of the Math Helps and satisfactory usage time in the program, and their performance level is Basic, Proficient, or Advanced (or equivalent, depending on the labels used in your state).
- Conjecture: These students have an excellent individual implementation of the program. They are meeting your expectations and requirements, and most likely are following the prescribed Best Practices for student implementations.
- Solution: Review the students' Progress reports, consult with the students on how they believe they are doing, and provide positive feedback and encouragement to keep up their pace or maybe set a goal of passing a certain amount of lessons within a set time period. Consider switching their pathway to a higher grade level or adding a content/domain specific pathway if you believe they'd benefit from a challenge.