Assessments and the Common Core

I don't know if we're the last school district on the planet to be fully integrating the Common Core next year but it certainly feels like it.  We found out at the beginning of this school year that it was mandatory next year.......which was a double-edged sword. 

I enjoy creating fun games & stuff for my kinders to use for learning.  This year, I had to make a lot of products knowing I couldn't use them again next year.  You see, I feel like our district has toooooo many programs running concurrently.  I made a lot of my products to suit the needs of my students under our current programs.  As we move to Common Core, I will have to change a lot of those activities.

On the positive side, the news gave me a year to figure out how to best handle the change.  I've been combing through the new standards figuring out how to best implement everything.  I do have several things that will carry through the change.  The biggest thing I decided I needed to work on was the devil word....assessments!

I have a hate-hate relationship with assessments.  I feel that there is way to much testing at the elementary level but I feel there is way, wayyy, wayyyyyy too much testing at the kindergarten level.  I have a 4-inch binder PACKED with assessments and we are just finishing our 3rd marking period!  C'mon people!  Their little brains should not be used in this way.  They should be learning how to share, how to build blocks, how to learn phonics and basic math concepts.  I could not have, in my wildest dreams, figured I'd be assessing kids on symmetry and probability in kindergarten!

So anywho, I started to design simple, effective assessments that I could use with my kiddies next year.  I decided to break each Math down then create a few different assessments to meet each one.  I currently have two products done for Math and many more on the way for Math & Language Arts.


I.  CC Math Assessments - Counting & Cardinality for Kindergarten

This first product addresses knowing the number names and the count sequence. The standards addressed are:

CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.1 Count to 100 by ones and by tens.

CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.2 Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence (instead of having to begin at 1).

CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.3 Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).

There are several different assessment options for each strand.  You can download the complete product by clicking here or on the picture.

II.  CC Math Assessments - Operations & Algebraic Thinking for Kindergarten

The standards addressed in this product are:

CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.1 Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings1, sounds (e.g., claps), acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations.

CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.2 Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.

CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.3 Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1).

CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.4 For any number from 1 to 9, find the number that makes 10 when added to the given number, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record the answer with a drawing or equation.

CCSS.Math.Content.K.OA.A.5 Fluently add and subtract within 5.

Again, this product has several assessment options for each strand.  Both products also include a Common Core poster listing each standard.  You can click on the picture or here to download this product.

What type of assessments do you use to meet CC standards?  Do you prefer whole-group assessments, small-group or one-on-one?  And is your district implementing Webb's DOK as well?  Mine is......UGH!  That's a whole other post :)