WEST-E Middle Level Mathematics (NES 203) case studies
WEST-E Middle Level Mathematics (NES 203) · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The WEST-E Middle Level Mathematics assessment is one of the Washington Educator Skills Tests–Endorsements (WEST-E) suite, listed by the test vendor as test code 203, "Middle Grades Mathematics." It is designed for candidates who are adding a middle grades mathematics endorsement to a Washington residency teaching certificate, and it is one of the NES/WEST-E options the state lists for endorsement purposes. Because it targets the middle grades, the content spans the mathematics a middle school teacher actually teaches rather than the full depth of a secondary mathematics degree: number sense and mathematical processes, patterns and algebraic reasoning, measurement and geometry, and statistics, probability, and discrete mathematics. The WEST-E Middle Level Mathematics (NES 203) case studies are 5 cases and about 2,398 words.
1The Discount That Doubled Back
A student in a middle-level math class computes the price of a 60 jacket marked down 25%, then marked down an additional 20% on the clearance rack. The student writes: "25% + 20% = 45% off, so 60 × 0.55 = 33." The teacher's answer key says 36.
473 words, about 2 min2The Variable That Wasn't
An eighth-grade class is working on linear functions. One student writes C = 20t + 0.10 and argues, "t is the number of texts, and you pay 20 for each one plus ten cents." When the teacher says "the 20 is a one-time monthly fee," the student replies, "But it's still a number, so it's a variable too." The teacher wants to address the underlying confusion about what a variable represents and how the constant and coefficient differ in meaning, without simply giving the correct equation.
507 words, about 3 min3Area Doubles, Perimeter Doesn't
Students are investigating how changing the dimensions of a rectangle affects its area and perimeter. The teacher gives a 4 cm by 6 cm rectangle (area 24 cm², perimeter 20 cm) and asks students to double both dimensions.
472 words, about 2 min4The Survey With a Missing Group
A class surveys 200 students about favorite after-school activity: Sports, Arts, or Clubs. The results: Sports 90, Arts 70, Clubs 30, and 10 students did not respond.
446 words, about 2 min5When the Shortest Path Isn't Obvious
Students are solving a discrete-math routing problem: a delivery driver must visit four locations A, B, C, D starting and ending at the depot, and the class is comparing routes. Distances (in minutes): Depot–A 4, Depot–B 7, Depot–C 6, Depot–D 5, A–B 3, A–C 8, A–D 6, B–C 2, B–D 9, C–D 4.
500 words, about 3 min