Our real-world tasks provide both teachers and administrators with a way of assessing students' problem-solving and communication skills. Authentic material engages students and promotes reasoning and communication.
Exemplars Number and Operations Workshop.
Implementing Exemplars problem solving.
Fourth grade students discuss Exemplars problem solving.
Fifth grade reflections on Exemplars rubric and problem solving.
Fourth graders offer advice on problem solving.
News From Exemplars
A Common Core "Must Read" Paper
Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins have written a "must read" paper – "From Common Core Standards to Curriculum: Five Big Ideas," in which they offer key ideas to guide the work of transforming the Common Core Standards to a functioning curriculum in a school or district.
Using Exemplars for School Improvement
That first year we implemented the program, our math scores increased by over 30 points to well above passing while decreasing the disparity gap to within 10 points. That was five years ago, and Exemplars is still thriving.
What People Are Saying
If you walk into a Tacoma classroom during math instruction, you will see kids huddled around an Exemplars task, cooperatively selecting their problem-solving strategy. Rich conversations will follow, in which students will not only defend their solutions, but also get a chance to study alternative strategies unveiled by other groups assigned to solve that very same problem ...
Gaye Lantz
Curriculum Coordinator
Tacoma School District
Using the Exemplars has added strength and depth to our mathematics program. Our primary math curriculum is Investigations in Number, Data, and Space a standards-based program. The two fit nicely together because both require students to explain their reasoning and show their work using numbers, pictures and words...
Vickie Brown
Elementary School Teacher
Socorro Independent School District