E-squared General Information

The number of days in a cycle, and the percentage of time each student spends in the E² Math program as opposed to the regular math classroom setting will vary by unit and by individual needs.  The program is a combination of individual and small group investigations.  These units are designed to challenge high-ability students in a setting where differentiation and collaborative exchanges provide extensions to our curriculum.  There are frequent assessments of each participant’s grasp of the material being presented in the regular classroom.  Demonstration of mastery leads to more in-depth work, which may happen inside or outside of the regular math classroom depending upon the students’ interests and progress, and the content and unit of study.

 

E² is a replacement math program for qualifying students at these levels.  This means that your child will no longer have math in the regular classroom setting.  Instead, your child will be taught in a cluster group of high-ability students and will have the chance to move through the curriculum at a more rapid pace than his/her peers.  This curriculum compacting may provide your child with the opportunity to “skip” ahead to eighth grade Algebra at the beginning of his/her seventh grade year.  If he/she then successfully completes the eighth grade Algebra class, they may take the exam that may afford him/her the opportunity of taking a high school math class during his/her eighth grade year if they successfully achieve the minimum required score on the exam.

 

Students must meet EACH of the following requirements in order to be eligible to join the E² Math program:

In order to be a Skipper, your child must meet ALL of the following criteria at the end of the sixth grade year:

At the start of the third marking period of the sixth grade year, the entire E² class transitions from the Everyday Math curriculum into a compounded seventh grade pre-algebra curriculum.  This affords your child the opportunity to be exposed to advanced mathematics, and, should they meet all of the above criteria, possibly enter into eighth grade math the following year.   

 

The TOMAGS is correlated with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards and is designed to identify students who have talent or giftedness in mathematics.  This test requires students to use mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills to understand how to communicate mathematically to solve problems.  The TOMAGS is a standardized norm-referenced test that utilizes open-ended responses rather than multiple-choice answers.  It asks students to use computation skills to solve problems in situations involving geometry, measurement, money, etc.  The raw score is converted to a final standard score or quotient based on the child’s age.  A score between 121 and 130 shows mathematical strength.  A score above 130 is considered to be exceptional.

 

Missing the cut-off by one point is somewhat deceptive.  It doesn’t actually mean that if your child had one more correct answer on the test that he/she would have qualified.  Since all raw scores are converted to scale scores then placed on a scoring matrix and assigned point values, earning one more point on the scoring matrix isn’t as easy as it sounds.  He/she would have needed many more points on his/her actual raw score (the number of correct responses on the test) to earn just one more point on the scoring matrix.

 

 

Your child will receive a strong academic experience in the regular math setting and, if he/she excels, will again earn the opportunity to test for E² Math next year provided that he/she meets each of the other qualification protocols.  Every year all students will be reviewed and those who have demonstrated exceptional performance and ability are whose scores we will consider and who will have the opportunity to join the program.

 

There may be times where a student has not advanced sufficiently to meet the qualification protocol of the E² Math program, but he/she may already have attained mastery of some of the content in the regular classroom.  In that case, the parent should discuss the child’s achievement level with the classroom teacher and if needed, your child’s math teacher will be able to differentiate the regular classroom math instruction to better meet your child’s needs.

 

Our placement procedures are both rigorous and accurate but in the event that your child finds the E² Math placement too demanding, we will work together to place him/her into a more suitable situation.

 

 If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at abrenner@cpsnj.org.