Information For Educators
The Quantile Framework for Mathematics is a tool that a growing number of educators are using to take the guesswork out of mathematics instruction. States across the nation are reporting Quantile measures for their students because the Quantile measure empowers educators to utilize the best practices in mathematics and meet the needs of all learners. The Virginia Department of Education encourages teachers to use Quantile measures as a resource to improve early mathematics skills and promote growth in mathematical abilities.
Overview Video of the Quantile Framework for Mathematics (Flash)
Quantile measures will be included in the SOL score reports that are sent to parents or guardians by school divisions. See a sample of the SOL Student Report (PDF)
What should you know about Quantile measures?
The Quantile Framework is a developmental scale that empowers educators to:
- target instruction
- forecast student understanding
- improve mathematics instruction and achievement
- identify appropriate resources to differentiate instruction
A student's Quantile measure demonstrates which mathematics skills a learner is likely ready for and which ones will potentially require further instruction. Teachers can use Quantile measures to determine a student’s readiness to learn more advanced skills. They can also determine how likely a student is to successfully solve more complex problems if provided with targeted instruction.
The Quantile Framework uses a common, developmental scale to describe a student’s mathematical achievement and the difficulty of specific mathematical skills and concepts from kindergarten through precalculus.
Now the mathematics curriculum, the materials to teach mathematics, and the students themselves can all be described with the same metric.
How can instruction be targeted to meet a student's needs?
Educators can access an array of educational resources and tools that support differentiated instruction. Built upon the same psychometric principles as The Lexile Framework for Reading, the Quantile Framework allows educators to place a learner’s mathematical knowledge and mathematical content on the same developmental scale so a match can be affected.
More than 580 textbooks, 64,000 lessons and 3,100 downloadable resources that have been calibrated to the Quantile scale are available. Teachers can utilize the following free tools:
- Math Skills Database – Math Skill Database (QTaxon Search) enables educators to search QTaxons by Quantile measure, keywords, mathematics strand, or state curricular alignments. QTaxons are mathematical skills and concepts typically taught between kindergarten and precalculus. The knowledge cluster for a QTaxon provides the prerequisite and supplemental QTaxons.
- Quantile Teacher Assistant – Quantile Teacher Assistant supports differentiated instruction by providing access to resources on specific mathematical skills and concepts that are aligned with state and the Common Core standards.
- Textbook Search Engine – Textbook Search includes more than 500 textbooks, searchable by publisher, ISBN, author, title, or keyword. Textbook calibrations are at the lesson level, enabling educators to match students with targeted mathematics activities.
- Lesson Planner – This tool helps with planning a differentiated mathematics lesson with targeted resources. Educators can build the lesson and bundle a suite of resources for access through easy download.
- Quantile Map – The Virginia Quantile Map provides a graphic representation of the mathematical skills and concepts aligned with content domains and Quantile measures.
- Free Quantile Webinars – These free Quantile webinars are offered on a monthly basis.
For more information, visit Quantiles.com.
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