Product Description

''Math isn't about getting the answer. It's about sense-making: perceiving patterns, producing reasoned explanations, developing productive habits of mind. This book offers a collection of engaging problems that provide middle school students with opportunities to think mathematically. The problems are grist for mathematical thought--I had fun working them!''

--Alan Schoenfeld, University of California, Berkeley

''This is a great teacher resource. The assessments add a level of fun, interest, and challenge to the mathematical curriculum. I recommend them for use with students at all levels of ability and with courses at all levels of rigor.''

--Melanie Nichols, Dean of Academic Affairs (ret.), Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, Hot Springs, Arkansas

''Teachers who know that their students need to think in math class will find this book, from a distinguished design team, an invaluable assessment tool.''

Hugh Burkhardt, Shell Centre for Mathematical Education, University of Nottingham, UK

In this innovative book, two experienced educators present a fresh and engaging approach to mathematics learning in the middle grades with the transition from arithmetic to algebra. The authors provide a collection of balanced, multi-dimensional assessment tasks designed to evaluate students ability to work with mathematical objects and perform mathematical actions. Assisting teachers in their efforts to put into practice the NCTM and Common Core State Standards, these assessments were carefully developed and tested to make them as revealing and adaptable as possible, suitable for incorporation into any curriculum. Teachers will appreciate the explicit and illustrative material the authors include to specifically help assess the mathematical understanding of students in grades 5-8. The text features a teachers guide to each task, reproducible student tasks, and solutions and rubrics.