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earlyMath English - Composing

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Composing Overview

The Composing test assesses the student's ability to put together quantities to demonstrate an understanding of "parts" and a "whole." There are eight items representing composing skills and they are also separated into composing five (5) and ten (10) with the use of five-frames and ten-frames. Students are presented with either frame partially filled with dots, with some open boxes. The examiner says, "How" many more to make five?" or "How" many more to make ten?"

As the student responds to each item, the examiner marks any errors on his/her score form. The resulting score is the number of items responded to correctly.

This measure is designed for screening. Progress monitoring is not available. The earlyMath English - Composing sub-assessment is available in Braille.

Test Construction

There are eight items representing the composing skill, and they are separated into two categories: composing to five and composing to ten. There are four items in each category, and all of the items are presented in either a five- or ten-frame format. However, boxes were not included to frame the dots to ensure that students are able to compose numbers rather than subitize the blank boxes. During the example item, students are presented with the target number (the “part”) verbally and visually, as represented by dots in a row. The examiner says, “How many more marbles do I need to make five?” The test items are presented in a similar format. Students are presented with dots organized in a five- or ten-frame pattern and the examiner asks, “How many more to make five?” or “How many more to make ten?” The Composing assessment is designed to measure the student’s ability to automatically compose numbers up to five and ten. Due to the focus on automaticity, students are not allowed to use any counting strategies.

 

To administer this assessment for the purpose of universal screening:

  1. Log in to the FastBridge system as a teacher.
  2. Go to the Screening tab. 
  3. Select the earlyMath English assessment.
  4. Select the CP column from the earlyMath English Screening page.

FastBridge screening results interface for earlyMath 2020. The navigation menu on the left includes assessment categories like 'FASTtrack Reading,' 'FASTtrack Math,' and 'All Assessments,' with 'earlyMath' expanded and '02-EarlyMath-2020' selected. The central table displays students' names in the first column and various skill assessments (e.g., 'Composite,' 'DC-1,' 'SP-1,' 'PV-1,' etc.) across subsequent columns. A specific column, 'CP-K,' is highlighted with a red box. Action buttons like 'Detailed Group Report,' 'Individual Skills Report,' 'Group Screening Report,' and 'Individual Benchmark Report' appear above and below the table. A help icon is present in the bottom-right corner.

 

Here is what the teacher sees when administering the earlyMath English - Composing subtest.

Screening interface for the earlyMath Composing test - Screening Form I. The top section contains expandable 'Directions' subsections, including 'Preparation,' 'Student Practice 1,' 'Student Practice 2,' 'Timing, Discontinue, and Scoring,' and 'Scoring Details.' Below this, the test consists of items listed in rows with columns for 'Questions,' 'Answer,' 'Correct,' and 'Incorrect.' The first question is labeled 'How many more to make 5?' with a sample answer of '(2).' On the right, optional 'Timing' settings are displayed, including 'Real-Time' and 'Paper-Pencil' options, a timer, and the 'Submit test' button. Additional sections for 'Strategies/Errors' and 'Notes' allow input, such as marking strategies like 'Counted on from 1' or 'Counted on by ones.

For more information about the earlyMath English - Composing subtest complete the online earlyMath English course found in the Training & Resources section of the FastBridge system.

To do so, navigate to the Training & Resources tab, and click on the earlyMath English course tile.

Selection screen for various educational assessments grouped into 'Math' and 'Behavior' categories. Under 'Math,' there are four tiles: 'FASTtrack Math,' showing mathematical equations on a screen; 'aMath,' featuring a smiling girl writing on a chalkboard; 'CBMmath,' showing a smiling girl holding a paper with numbers; and 'earlyMath,' highlighted with a red border, showing a young girl playing with a colorful abacus. Under 'Behavior,' there are four tiles: 'devMilestones,' showing a mother and daughter high-fiving; 'SAEBRS,' featuring a woman writing on a clipboard; 'mySAEBRS,' showing a girl wearing headphones smiling at a laptop; and 'DBR,' with children raising their hands in a classroom.

Then select the Composing option on the vertical menu.  Complete Lessons 1 through 8 in order to certify in the earlyMath English Composing subtest.

Training interface for the earlyMath Composing assessment in FastBridge. The left sidebar lists various assessment components, including 'Numeral Identification,' 'Subitizing,' 'Match Quantity,' and 'Composing,' which is highlighted with a red border. The right panel shows 'Lesson 1: Introduction,' explaining that the Composing subtest assesses how numbers can combine to create other numbers. It consists of eight items: four requiring answers to make a total of five and four to make ten. The lesson emphasizes that Composing is an optional screening assessment, and completion of six lessons is needed before taking a certification quiz to administer earlyMath - Composing. A 'Next' button is located at the bottom of the lesson panel.

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