1. Using the Michigan Focal Points to Guide Instruction and Assessment
DACTM Annual Conference
November, 2009

2. Introduction
Looking at the GLCE through a mathematical focus permits teachers to step back from treating the GLCE as a checklist and begin to develop a coherent curriculum that focuses on key mathematical ideas. This session will familiarize participants to the Focal Points and how they are used to guide the MEAP. MDE’s instructional framework will also be introduced and how it can work with the Focal Points to develop a curriculum vision in the classroom.

3. Agenda What are the Focal Points (curriculum)
How Focal Points guide MEAP design (assessment)

4. What does a good mathematics curriculum look like?
A curriculum must be focused on important mathematics.
“When instruction focuses on a small number of key areas of emphasis, students gain extended experience with core concepts and skills. Such experience can facilitate deep understanding, mathematical fluency, and an ability to generalize”.

5. What is a Focal Point? Curriculum Focal Points Michigan Focal Points
Developed by NCTM
Recommended content emphases for each grade level
Michigan Focal Points
Aligned our GLCE to NCTM Focal Points maintaining as much of the NCTM wording as possible

6. Focal Points vs. GLCE
Our GLCEs are the endpoints for learning whereas curriculum focal points are areas of instructional focus that “help students learn content that gives them a foundation for increasing their understanding as they encounter richer and more challenging mathematics”.

7. Curriculum and Instruction
Focal Points vs. GLCE
Focal Points
Curriculum and Instruction
Expectations

8. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel
Benchmarks of the Critical Foundations of Algebra
Identify those concepts taught in elementary and middle school that lay the foundation for high school algebra
These are all similar to some of the focal points
See handouts

9. The Michigan Focal Points and the MEAP
The MEAP needs to reflect the curricular emphasis implied by the GLCE.
Current factors necessitating changes in MEAP design:
Subject tests given on the same day instead of over a 2-week window for test security reasons means a shortened test
Future core scheduled to be incorporated

10. The Michigan Focal Points and the MEAP
The solution was to change core and extended designations
Each test needs to have no more than 20 core expectations which are tested with 2 items each
NASL stay NASL
All others are considered extended which are tested with one item and sampled

11. The Michigan Focal Points and the MEAP
To be considered core an expectation had to be linked to a focal point so both the assessment and the curriculum will emphasize the same mathematical concepts.

12. Connections What about those topics that don’t align to a focal point?
They are
Laying groundwork for a big idea in a later grade, or
Extending a focus from a previous grade, or
Build relationships among content strands within a grade, or
Connected to a topic in another subject area

13. Instructional Implications
Help to design instruction around the question, “What are the most important ideas at my grade level?”
Prioritize uses of activities, assessments and other published materials
Support rich, deep appropriate mathematics for every student

14. Instructional Implications
“It is essential that these focal points be addressed in contexts that promote problem solving, reasoning, communication, making connections, and designing and analyzing representations.”