Due to need, I am assisting with 11th and 12th graders who need to pass the California Exit Exam.  I taught English for eight years, and the CAHSEE if you haven’t ever seen it, is a rudimentary English and math test.  We use a software program that responds to the students’ mistakes by offering additional questions to help them reach the answer.  On some of the questions, the responses are quite intelligent, giving the students some tricks for arriving at the right answer, that I would never have ever thought to offer in assistance.

I was working with a student today, who after working through a few questions in math, I discovered didn’t know basic math skills, including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  I was partly taken aback, since I have worked before with students who can’t read.  But her skills were the equivalent of not reading, but in math.  She couldn’t multiple by 10s, and as an English teacher, I didn’t really know where to begin.  I encouraged her to find a tutor or a friend she really trusted who could work with her on multiplication and division.

I can’t see how anyone could answer many of the CAHSEE math questions and pass without knowing basic math.  I’ve heard that the only way to make a real difference in raising test scores is to help the “low hanging fruit,” but some students seem so far behind they need help with basic math, not passing the CAHSEE.  The software, though user friendly and helpful in preparing for the CAHSEE, was too advanced for this student.

On a side note:  I sadly also found that I was having a hard time performing a simple subtraction problem.  You know like 21 – 18.  You have to borrow, and for the life of me, I couldn’t remember the old procedure of teaching subtraction.  I perform simple calculations like this in my head and naturally, that putting into simple terms was beyond me.  I think from now on I plan to stick to English, and stop trying my hand in those complicated mathematical procedures.