Episode 4: A Guide for Parents and School-Age Students

Welcome to the Academic Success Strategies podcast, powered by Our Town Gwinnett Magazine. The show discusses significant educational topics pertinent to school-age students. In this enlightening episode #4 , Carol Wood, founder and owner of Total Learning Concepts...provides valuable insights about the Georgia Milestones Assessment for parents and students.

The Georgia Milestones is designed for students from 3rd to 12th grade as a comprehensive assessment program. These assessments measure what students have learned from Georgia's Department of Education standards in key subject areas such as English, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Assessment differs based on grade level and subject - presenting the EOG or the EOC for students based on their educational journey.

The aim of these spring-administered standardized assessments is to help students, parents, and teachers better gauge and understand how well students are mastering state standards in the various subject areas. Recognizing there might be concerns around students' readiness for these tests, Carol highlights the preparatory sessions offered by Total Learning Concepts. These sessions are designed to strengthen students' academic foundation, and to familiarize them with question format and testing strategies.

The episode concludes with specific insights into the study requirements for mathematics. Since math is a skill subject and sequentially learned, a different learning approach is needed. With guidance on recognizing study deficiencies and the importance of daily practice, Carol offers invaluable advice for students wanting to earn better grades and reduce their math stress.

Each episode of Academic Success Strategies provides timely academic and educational topics and recommendations pertinent to elementary, middle, high school, college, and adult students/learners. Enjoy these insights from Carol that students and parents alike can learn from. 

**Contact info for host Carol Wood: https://www.totallearningconcepts.com/  or [e-mail]

The End Resultz Radio Network presents each episode of the Academic Success Strategies show and all other shows on the network.

All shows are broadcast from the Perimeter Roofing studio. Inside the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson in beautiful Stone Mountain, GA. Email [e-mail] for more information on this or other shows OR how to have your own show.

 

 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Music.

(00:19):
Hello everyone and welcome to
another Academic Success Strategies podcast powered by Our Town Magazine.
We are broadcasting live on the InResults radio network inside the Perimeter
Roofing Studio from the Country Inn and Suites by Radisson Hotel in beautiful
Stone Mountain, Georgia.
I'm Carol Wood, the founder and owner of Total Learning Concepts,
a private tutorial and test prep center and accredited non-traditional private

(00:42):
school which is located in Gwinnett County in Georgia.
This school year is my 44th working with students. Today, I'll share information
which pertains to school-age students.
Today's topic is Georgia Milestones Assessment and is for parents to inform
them of the upcoming standardized assessments that are being administered during
the spring of 2024 to Gwinnett County Public School students.

(01:07):
Did you know that Georgia Milestones are a comprehensive assessment program
for students in 3rd through 12th grade, which are administered in the public schools.
Georgia Milestones measure what students have learned from Georgia's Department
of Education standards in English, language arts, mathematics,
science, and social studies.
Pertaining to the content areas and grade levels tested, 3rd through 8th grade

(01:32):
students take an end-of-grade assessment, referred to as an EOG,
but they take this end-of-grade assessment in English, language arts, and mathematics.
And then 5th through 8th grade students are also assessed in not just English,
language, arts, and mathematics, but they're also assessed in science and social studies.

(01:53):
High school students take an end-of-course assessment, known as the EOC,
for specified completed courses, which are designated by the State Board of Education.
Those courses are American Literature and Composition, Algebra I,
Coordinate Algebra, Biology, and U.S. History.
The end-of-course measures are administered at the completion of the course,

(02:17):
regardless of the grade level of the student.
These assessments serve as the final exam for the course, and they constitute
a percentage of the student's final course average. average.
Middle school students who are enrolled in one or more of the high school courses
noted on the list I just mentioned are required to take the associated end-of-course assessment,

(02:39):
and are not required to take the corresponding content area end-of-grade or EOG test.
The purpose of the Georgia Milestones is to provide information about how well
students are mastering the state standards in the areas mentioned.
It's important to note that Georgia Milestones are designed to provide students,

(03:01):
their parents, and teachers with vital information about their achievement and
their preparedness for the next level of learning.
If you have concerns that your student is not yet ready to take these spring-administered
standardized assessments, there is still time to prepare him or her.
Total Learning Concepts offers Georgia Milestones preparation sessions to strengthen

(03:22):
students' academic foundation and to familiarize them with the various types
of questions on the test.
You can also contact your student's school to see what resources for support they have available.
Gwinnett County Public Schools' upcoming Georgia Milestone testing window for
its 3rd through 12th grade students is April 22, 2024 through May 3, 2024. 24.

(03:49):
If you would like a detailed list of specific courses and the associated test
dates, you can email me at carol at totallearningconcepts.com,
and I can provide those details,
or you can check with your child's school for the school-specific schedule.
In closing, thank you for tuning in to another Academic Success Podcast inside

(04:12):
the Perimeter Roofing Studio and from Country Inn and Sweets by Radisson.
Please stay tuned for upcoming shows or listen to past shows by visiting www.endresults.com,
and that's a Z on the end of results,
and simply click on the current shows button to hear this and many other shows
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(04:36):
I'm back. This is Carol again. I wanted to add just something that feels very
important regarding students and mathematics.
As a prior math teacher myself, I can tell you that learning math's different
and how a student approaches mathematics needs to be different to be as successful
there as they may be in other subjects.
So this is just something about the special study requirements for mathematics.

(05:00):
Math's a school subject that must be studied differently from other subjects.
That's something very important to recognize. There are two characteristics
that separate math from all other courses.
It's first, it's sequentially learned.
Every topic has a prerequisite topic that must be mastered. And it's a skill subject.

(05:21):
For a student to have a more successful school year in math,
he or she first must understand these two distinct differences from math courses
and all other courses that they take in school.
And once they've done that, then they also need to be willing to act to correct
their study deficiencies.
Math is sequentially learned, meaning that each math topic is built upon the

(05:45):
previously taught topics.
To perform current math correctly, all previously taught topics must be mastered.
Initially, the student must identify topics previously taught at school that
they've not yet mastered.
And once they've identified these areas, the student must be retaught the missing
concepts and then practice problems until mastered so the foundation's solidified.

(06:09):
When all previously taught topics are mastered, a student can then expect to
better handle the current math being taught in the classroom.
Also, with math being a skill subject, basically we're referring to the fact
that math must be practiced and drilled daily for mastery.
Similar to playing a sport or a musical instrument, students must listen and

(06:31):
heed their teacher or coach's instruction, attempt the skill,
monitor themselves for inaccurate technique,
correct their inaccuracies, try again, and then practice for precision.
For the greatest math success, students are to practice each day the math concepts
presented in class on that day.

(06:54):
If a classroom teacher does not assign math homework on a given day,
the student is to look at his or her class notes from that day and rework every
problem that was given in the classroom by the teacher as examples until they
can solve each of those questions correctly without looking at their notes.
So literally, when a student comes home from school and they look at their math

(07:17):
notes, I'm advising them to take a clean sheet of paper, write the problem out
without looking at the answer that was provided during the classroom instruction,
and work the problem completely out, then compare their answer to what the teacher
derived as the correct answer in the classroom.
And if they have answered it correctly on their own without peeking at their

(07:38):
notes, then they can feel confident they are ready for the next type of question.
But if they had to look at their notes as a reference, then they know they have
not yet mastered that type of problem, so they need to practice some more.
By acknowledging these two different study characteristics for math,
being sequentially learned in a skill subject, and then acting upon them,
students can expect to not only earn better grades in the classroom,

(08:01):
but they will resolve their math difficulties,
become more successful in their school math coursework, they'll reduce their
stress, and might even find themselves enjoying math and certainly can expect better grades.
Thank you. And I hope you can apply all these tips and see how it works for you.