Math Ability of Competitors

[drcubbin]

Forget calculus, forget trig. We just came back from the SciOly Summer Institute, where it was pointed out that the lowest score area of questioning on Road Scholar was the questions asking for basic math computations. I'm sure this was certainly eye-opening for many coaches given that ALL the other areas of testing not requiring basic math scored much higher. Just one more reason to practice, practice, practice... and be prepared.

[TheCrazyChemist]

Forget calculus, forget trig. We just came back from the SciOly Summer Institute, where it was pointed out that the lowest score area of questioning on Road Scholar was the questions asking for basic math computations. I'm sure this was certainly eye-opening for many coaches given that ALL the other areas of testing not requiring basic math scored much higher. Just one more reason to practice, practice, practice... and be prepared.

.... Well Scioly.org Citizens, we need to brush up on our basic math....

[drcubbin]

Forget calculus, forget trig. We just came back from the SciOly Summer Institute, where it was pointed out that the lowest score area of questioning on Road Scholar was the questions asking for basic math computations. I'm sure this was certainly eye-opening for many coaches given that ALL the other areas of testing not requiring basic math scored much higher. Just one more reason to practice, practice, practice... and be prepared.

.... Well Scioly.org Citizens, we need to brush up on our basic math....

The surprising part was that the the presenters had asked the audience of coaches what area/skills set scored lowest. Nobody guess basic math computations.

[EastStroudsburg13]

Forget calculus, forget trig. We just came back from the SciOly Summer Institute, where it was pointed out that the lowest score area of questioning on Road Scholar was the questions asking for basic math computations. I'm sure this was certainly eye-opening for many coaches given that ALL the other areas of testing not requiring basic math scored much higher. Just one more reason to practice, practice, practice... and be prepared.

Was a level of competition given? It would surprise me more if this was true for nationals, than if it was for SO at large. The teams that qualify for a competitive state tournament like California, Ohio, etc. represent the highest 15% of all teams, so it wouldn't surprise me if a majority of teams struggle with math computations, as a majority of teams are simply not prepared for more than information regurgitation.

[drcubbin]

Forget calculus, forget trig. We just came back from the SciOly Summer Institute, where it was pointed out that the lowest score area of questioning on Road Scholar was the questions asking for basic math computations. I'm sure this was certainly eye-opening for many coaches given that ALL the other areas of testing not requiring basic math scored much higher. Just one more reason to practice, practice, practice... and be prepared.

Was a level of competition given? It would surprise me more if this was true for nationals, than if it was for SO at large. The teams that qualify for a competitive state tournament like California, Ohio, etc. represent the highest 15% of all teams, so it wouldn't surprise me if a majority of teams struggle with math computations, as a majority of teams are simply not prepared for more than information regurgitation.

I do not remember the particular division, but since both B/C were in for that event, I would not be surprised if it was for both. And you are correct regarding just coughing back up of info. But I do believe it applied to competitions across the board. I'll clarify once we receive final presentations.

[anandymous]

I disagree, waves are an important concept in oceanography, so students would be encouraged to maybe go ahead in their math studies and learn about sinusoidal functions for the event. It will help them in the long run too, so no harm done.

Expecting students as young as 6th grade to learn sinusoidal functions (normally covered in alg 2 in 10th grade for us, and generally considered one of the hardest alg 2 units) is a bit extreme. I'd say depends on what level of compitition your writing for. If it's regionals probably not. If it's like Nationals sure.

I did DP for both years in middle school. The only real math questions were buoyancy based. There was very little, if any, trig. That being said, in Michigan, trig is taught in 9th grade, so it isn’t too advanced for a middle schooler. What kind of questions are you thinking about? I can’t think of what you would ask about waves & trig....unless it was really basic

I was thinking about putting a graph of a sinusoidal function on the test and then asking them to write the equation in standard form, this would be one of the harder questions.

[pb5754]

Expecting students as young as 6th grade to learn sinusoidal functions (normally covered in alg 2 in 10th grade for us, and generally considered one of the hardest alg 2 units) is a bit extreme. I'd say depends on what level of compitition your writing for. If it's regionals probably not. If it's like Nationals sure.

I did DP for both years in middle school. The only real math questions were buoyancy based. There was very little, if any, trig. That being said, in Michigan, trig is taught in 9th grade, so it isn’t too advanced for a middle schooler. What kind of questions are you thinking about? I can’t think of what you would ask about waves & trig....unless it was really basic

I was thinking about putting a graph of a sinusoidal function on the test and then asking them to write the equation in standard form, this would be one of the harder questions.

I don't really know why you would put a question like that on an oceanography test... (although I think the level of difficulty is fine for a harder invite/states/nats test)

[AlfWeg]

Expecting students as young as 6th grade to learn sinusoidal functions (normally covered in alg 2 in 10th grade for us, and generally considered one of the hardest alg 2 units) is a bit extreme. I'd say depends on what level of compitition your writing for. If it's regionals probably not. If it's like Nationals sure.

I did DP for both years in middle school. The only real math questions were buoyancy based. There was very little, if any, trig. That being said, in Michigan, trig is taught in 9th grade, so it isn’t too advanced for a middle schooler. What kind of questions are you thinking about? I can’t think of what you would ask about waves & trig....unless it was really basic

I was thinking about putting a graph of a sinusoidal function on the test and then asking them to write the equation in standard form, this would be one of the harder questions.

Ok, that’s what I thought you had in mind. That’s fairly basic, so I think that would be fine for a div B test. On a side note. At least for my middle school, the people that do scioly are also the people that are the most advanced. So ig trig in general works for higher level comps. I’m not sure why you would ask that specific trig question, it kinda seems like you’re putting math, just to put math, on the test. But It’s your test, and you know who you are writing the test for.

[anandymous]

I did DP for both years in middle school. The only real math questions were buoyancy based. There was very little, if any, trig. That being said, in Michigan, trig is taught in 9th grade, so it isn’t too advanced for a middle schooler. What kind of questions are you thinking about? I can’t think of what you would ask about waves & trig....unless it was really basic

I was thinking about putting a graph of a sinusoidal function on the test and then asking them to write the equation in standard form, this would be one of the harder questions.

Ok, that’s what I thought you had in mind. That’s fairly basic, so I think that would be fine for a div B test. On a side note. At least for my middle school, the people that do scioly are also the people that are the most advanced. So ig trig in general works for higher level comps. I’m not sure why you would ask that specific trig question, it kinda seems like you’re putting math, just to put math, on the test. But It’s your test, and you know who you are writing the test for.

I am trying to include waves in the test but I feel the easiest way to do that (for me) is through sinusoidal functions as I do not know much about actual waves to make a good question

[Things2do]

Forget calculus, forget trig. We just came back from the SciOly Summer Institute, where it was pointed out that the lowest score area of questioning on Road Scholar was the questions asking for basic math computations. I'm sure this was certainly eye-opening for many coaches given that ALL the other areas of testing not requiring basic math scored much higher. Just one more reason to practice, practice, practice... and be prepared.

.... Well Scioly.org Citizens, we need to brush up on our basic math....

When I was under a umbrella school, they required one of those standardized tests... I was pretty high on the decimals and fractions, but I consistently tested below grade level by 1 or more grades on whole number computation... We're still making jokes about that...