Mathematics Assessment & Instruction

I witness mathematics assessment and instruction every day in the current field placement in a fourth grade classroom.  On a typical day, the students rotate from three different classes and only get 90 minutes in a classroom.  During this time, the students start out with a catch-up question… “What do I need to do or finish getting myself caught up?”  Then the teacher will start her lesson and implement it with enough time at the end to review and assess the students on the information covered.  There is really no "formal referral" for a suspected disability for any of the students, so my Mentor Teacher is able to go about her lesson plan.  If students need to review over a specific mathematics skill or strategy, then the teacher either addressed the concern or made a note to combine the next day’s schedule to incorporate the skill/strategy.  Worksheets that build off of the lesson of the day also give the teacher a better understanding of what the students need to review and refresh.  I was informed that when grading the teacher will then decide whether or not the worksheet will be taken for a grade or will be a good review strategy for the students in the classroom.  This is an interesting way to keep the students interested in their results of their academic performance and acts as a motivator so they can not only get good grades, but move onto the next mathematics lesson.