7th Grade - Gateway 1
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Focus & Coherence
Gateway 1 - Does Not Meet Expectations | 7% |
|---|---|
Criterion 1.1: Focus | 0 / 2 |
Criterion 1.2: Coherence | 0 / 4 |
Criterion 1.3: Coherence | 1 / 8 |
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 do not meet the expectations for Gateway 1. While there are lessons in which the supporting work enhances the understanding of the major work of Grade 7, approximately 18 percent of time is dedicated to major work for Grade 7. This number was found by dividing the number of instructional days dedicated to major work (33 days) by the total number of days to complete the entire course (180 days). Less than 50 percent (approximately 39 percent) of the resource assesses Grade 7 standards. This number was found by finding the average percent of questions on grade level within each unit assessment.
Criterion 1.1: Focus
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 do not meet the expectations for assessing materials at the Grade 7 level. Overall, there were many Grade 8 CCSSM assessed in this course. Some examples are two-variable equations in chapter 5 and various Geometry concepts in chapters 8, 9 and 10.
Indicator 1a
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 do not meet the expectations for assessing the Grade 7 Standards. Overall, there are too many items aligned to standards beyond Grade 7 that are not mathematically reasonable, and the omission or alteration of these items would significantly impact the underlying structure of the materials. A list of chapters with above, grade-level items is below along with the above grade-level standards for those items.
- In Chapter 1, there are assessment items involving scientific notation, which most closely align to 8.EE.A.
- In Chapter 5, there are assessment items that involve writing equations in 2-variables, which most closely align to 8.F.B.4.
- In Chapter 7, there are assessment items determining the type of correlation between two variables, which most closely aligns to 8.SP.A.
- In Chapter 8, there are assessment items involving Geometry concepts that most closely align to standards from 8.G.
- In Chapter 9, there are assessment items involving square roots, which most closely aligns to standards from 8.NS.A, and the Pythagorean Theorem, which aligns to 8.G.B.
- In Chapter 10, there are assessment items involving volume and surface area of cylinders and cones, which most closely align to 8.G.C.9.
*Evidence updated 10/27/15
Criterion 1.2: Coherence
Students and teachers using the materials as designed devote the large majority of class time in each grade K-8 to the major work of the grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 do not meet the expectations for spending the majority of time on the major work of Grade 7. The major work of Grade 7 is to analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems (7.RP.A); apply and extend previous understandings of operations with fractions to add, subtract, multiply and divide rational numbers (7.NS.A); and use properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions (7.EE.B). Course 2 of the Holt McDougal series has approximately 25% of its content focused on the major work.
Indicator 1b
Instructional material spends the majority of class time on the major cluster of each grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 do not meet the expectations for spending the majority of time on the major work of Grade 7.
- The major work of Grade 7 is to analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems (7.RP.A); apply and extend previous understandings of operations with fractions to add, subtract, multiply and divide rational numbers (7.NS.A); and use properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions (7.EE.B).
- Course 2 of the Holt McDougal series has approximately 25% of its content focused on the major work.
Criterion 1.3: Coherence
Coherence: Each grade's instructional materials are coherent and consistent with the Standards.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 do not meet the expectations for coherence. There were a few places where the supporting work enhances the understanding of the major work of Grade 7. Course 2 could be completed in 180 days but only about a quarter of the year would address Grade 7 standards. The mathematics progression for Course 2 is based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum Focal Points instead of the CCSSM.
Indicator 1c
Supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the expectations for supporting content enhancing the major work for Grade 7. There are a few places where the supporting work enhances the understanding of the major work of Grade 7. For example:
- There is evidence in chapter 4 that when students "draw, construct and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationships between them" (7.G.A), it supports the major work of "analyzing proportional relationships and using them to solve real-world and mathematical problems" (7.RP.A).
- There is evidence in chapter 10 that students "solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area and volume" (7.G.B) to support the major work of "solving real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations" (7.EE.B).
- In chapter 11 students "investigate chance processes and develop, use and evaluate probability models" (7.SP.C) to enhance their understanding of how to "use properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions" (7.EE.A) and to "analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems" (7.RP.A).
Indicator 1d
The amount of content designated for one grade level is viable for one school year in order to foster coherence between grades.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 do not meet the expectations for fostering coherence between grades.
- Using the 45-minute lesson planning guide, the course could be completed in 180 days.
- However, only about a quarter of the year would cover standards from the Grade 7 CCSSM.
Indicator 1e
Materials are consistent with the progressions in the Standards i. Materials develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions in the Standards. If there is content from prior or future grades, that content is clearly identified and related to grade-level work ii. Materials give all students extensive work with grade-level problems iii. Materials relate grade level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.
The instructional materials for Grade 7 do not meet expectations for being consistent with the progression in the standards.
- The mathematics progression for Course 2 is based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum Focal Points instead of the CCSSM, thus the grade-by-grade progression of the CCSSM is not reflected in these materials.
- The materials have a Reaching all Learners section at the beginning of each chapter but it does not give specific support for teachers on how to differentiate in each lesson. There are pretests for each chapter but in order to use the data to make instructional decisions a teacher would need to have the supplemental materials.
- The materials do not explicitly relate grade level material to prior knowledge from earlier grades. The same exact lesson is in each of the 6th-8th grade texts without explicitly noting this repetition.
- There is a math background section for each chapter for the teacher. It gives a general overview of connections between grade levels.
Indicator 1f
Materials foster coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the Standards i. Materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings. ii. Materials include problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain, or two or more domains in a grade, in cases where these connections are natural and important.
The instructional materials for Grade 7 do not meet expectations for fostering coherence.
- The mathematics progression is based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum Focal Points instead of the CCSSM, thus the learning objectives are not visibly shaped by the CCSSM cluster headings.
- The mathematics taught in this series is done in isolation without connections between clusters.
- There is repetitive work across the grade levels.