Digital Learning CommonsDigital Learning Commons

September 2006

Using Math ClassTools for WASL Prep

North Kitsap High School, Bill Hobaugh and Mike Daling, Math Teachers

This summer, North Kitsap High School (NKHS) used the DLC's Math ClassTools® with students in their Summer WASL Prep Program for Math.

Math teachers Bill Hobaugh and Mike Daling worked with students four hours a day, four days a week, for five weeks. The students' time was divided into two two-hour blocks: Math ClassTools and OSPI Math Modules.

Of the Math ClassTools, Hobaugh and Daling used Math Fundamentals, Algebra, and Geometry, focusing on the units and lessons that correlated to the standards measured on the 10th Grade WASL.

This year, 200 tenth graders at NKHS did not pass the WASL; 61 of these signed up to retake the math portion in August; and 19 of them attended the summer program (15 of the 19 took the August math WASL).

When the WASL remediation program started, students took the Math ClassTools diagnostic tests. "That really showed where their weaknesses were," Hobaugh says. He and Daling then used the ClassTools management system, which created individual learning plans so that students could focus on the skills they needed to learn. At the end of each unit, students took diagnostic tests to see how they were doing.

"We could see their scores instantly," Hobaugh says. "I thought that was kind of powerful. It breaks it down into categories. We could tell students, 'The only problem you had was right here. Just work on this.' And if they had questions, we'd go over it with them."

Hobaugh and Daling found that the various Math ClassTools "worked beautifully," specifically because these resources:

  • Are versatile and flexible so they easily adjust to the needs of the students and the format of a class or program.
  • Appeal to both students who need to review as well as those who need remediation.
  • Work well for students who want to do extra math review and go beyond WASL preparation topics.
  • Can be used for homework to extend and support classroom instruction.

Hobaugh plans to continue to use Math ClassTools with his students during the school year, and to share these resources with parents, since they're easy to use and parents are always asking how they can help students at home. Daling will use Math ClassTools with both his support and Algebra 2 classes.

"I didn't use ClassTools a lot last year. I thought: I've got to get into the book and get going. Then after spending two or three days with it this summer, it was so easy I wish I had used it," Hobaugh says. "I thought ClassTools was a lot better than some of the books that we use. It uses everyday language so the explanations are really clear."

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