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Chapter 6: Teaching Mathematics Equitably to All Children
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
1) The NCTM position statement on Access and Equity in Mathematics states that we should
hold true which statement below?
A) Students’ backgrounds are not as important as the type of learners they are.
B) All students should have varied levels of performance assigned to them based on their race,
ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status and linguistic background.
C) All students should be held to high levels of performance regardless of race, ethnicity, gender
and socioeconomic status and linguistic background.
D) Students need to have the belief that they are capable of learning mathematics at a high level.
2) Teachers may be guilty of setting lower expectations for students when they suggest that the
group is too unruly to work together or they don’t have the reading skills to do problem solving.
What “gap” does this represent?
A) Achievement gap.
B) Expectation gap.
C) Behavior gap.
D) Instructional gap.
3) The goal of equity is to offer all students access to important mathematics during the regular
mathematics instruction in the classroom. Which group listed below would need a modification
versus an accommodation?
A) Students who identified from different backgrounds.
B) Students who are mathematically gifted.
C) Students who are unmotivated.
D) Students who are English language learners.
4) What statement below is an example of an accommodation?
A) Break task into smaller components.
B) Write directions in larger font.
C) Scaffold task for accessibility.
D) Utilize another task that addresses the same content.
5) What statement below is the best description of what is meant by the term RTI ?
A) A model that meets the needs of struggling students by referring them into the special
education system as soon as they begin to fail.
B) A multi-tiered student support model that focuses on prevention, providing students with
support before they begin to fail.
C) A system of maintaining order and discipline within the classroom to ensure better chances of
success for all.
D) A support system of instructional strategies that is effective only for the students who struggle
the most.
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6) Common features across RTI tiers include all of the following. Identify the statement that is
related to instructions.
A) Prompts, cues and environmental arrangements.
B) Research-based practices.
C) Strategies and measures that are specific to the context of the school, classroom, and student
needs.
D) Decisions that are based on data.
7) There are research proven strategies that can support students in tier 2. Identify the targeted
instruction below that models the strategy, uses self-instructive prompts for student to use
through the model.
A) Concrete, Semi-Concrete, Abstract.
B) Think-Alouds.
C) Peer-Assisted Learning.
D) Explicit Instruction.
8) There are stumbling blocks for some students as they are developing conceptual and
procedural mathematical knowledge and practices. Identify the statement below that might be a
student that is struggling with organizational skills and the ability to self-regulate.
A) Loses count of objects.
B) Not sure of the meaning of the equal sign.
C) Writes computations in a random way and hard to follow.
D) Mechanically applies algorithms.
9) Students with identified learning disabilities have specific challenges with perceptual and
cognitive processing. Three of the statements below relate to the support needed related to the
environment. Identify the one that is about clarity, not environment.
A) Adapt delivery mode materials, images and examples.
B) Centralize attention face student.
C) Avoid confusion word directions carefully and specifically.
D) Create smooth transitions.
10) Teachers must provide a successful mathematics instruction for all students and address the
needs of students’ learning disabilities. All but one of the statements below is appropriate
strategy for students with identified learning disabilities.
A) Emphasize practice and summary.
B) Provide clarity.
C) Make content relevant.
D) Identify and remove potential barriers.
11) Complete this statement, “To make mathematics instruction more culturally relevant,
teachers should…”
A) Simplify the mathematics into isolated sets of skills.
B) Incorporate students’ identities.
C) Ignore students’ background knowledge, as it’s frequently irrelevant to the math.
D) Assign leadership positions only to those students they believe to be the most capable.
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12) How we do mathematics is culturally determined. For example in the United States recording
each step is valued. Three of the questions below address culturally relevant instruction
EXCEPT:
A) Will you use progress monitoring to inform the level of student needs?
B) Will you require students to show steps disregarding the way they learned?
C) Will you ask students to elaborate on how they did it?
D) Will you have students show other students their way?
13) The teacher plays an important role in establishing a positive classroom environment. A
major role is establishing and distributing power. Three of the statements below demonstrate
teacher power; identify the one that is about student power.
A) Telling whether answers are right or wrong.
B) Demonstrating processes for solving problems.
C) Determining who will solve which problems.
D) Justifying the correctness of solutions.
14) Three of the reflective questions focus on content relevant culturally responsive mathematics
instruction. Which one is about valuing students’ identities?
A) Are connections made between mathematics topics?
B) Does the content include a balance of procedures and concepts?
C) Are individual student approaches presented and showcased?
D) In what way is prior knowledge elicited/reviewed so that all students can participate?
15) When facilitating engagement for English language learners (ELLs) in mathematics activities
and discussion teachers should include what method?
A) Build background on prior knowledge.
B) Include family connections to create supportive partnerships for student learning.
C) Discourage the use of native languages during instruction.
D) Avoid references to the students’ native language and culture.
16) Identify the statement below that best represents students who are mathematically gifted.
A) A student with a need for praise and approval to learn mathematics.
B) A student with interest in mathematics but not motivated to learn.
C) A student with a passion for mathematics even though they have to work hard to learn.
D) A student with strong literacy skills.
17) There are four basic categories for adapting mathematics content for gifted students. Identify
the category that a greater depth is pursued through connecting mathematics to other subject
areas.
A) Novelty.
B) Enrichment.
C) Acceleration.
D) Sophistication.
18) One of the statements below is strategy that should be employed with gifted students to
accelerate mathematics content.
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A) Curriculum compacting.
B) Independent Computer enrichment.
C) Providing more of the same content.
D) Partnering with struggling students.
19) There are a number of ineffective approaches for gifted students. Three of the statements
below are ineffective which one is effective?
A) Provide pull-out opportunities.
B) Offer independent enrichment on the computer.
C) Raise the level of complexity or greater rigor of content.
D) Assign gifted students to work with struggling learners.
20) What does the term “curriculum compacting” represent?
A) Content is not part of the grade-level curriculum.
B) Plan that can be used to integrate core content.
C) Collaborative experiences from varied grade levels.
D) Short overview and assess students’ ability.
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
21) Describe four specific ways you might address the needs of a student with low motivation.
22) Culturally responsive mathematics instruction is for all students. Describe two strategies that
support the specific needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students.
