Dorothy Hines was ecstatic after hearing news from the principal at Lenexa Hills Elementary that her daughter Malia Datiri had received a perfect score on the math portion of the Kansas State Assessment.
Datiri was pretty thrilled, too.
“It was amazing,” the soon-to-be fourth-grader said.
But initially, they weren’t exactly sure what it meant.
As a third grader this spring, Datiri scored a 380 on the annual test, something that’s nearly unheard of.
To celebrate, they went out to see the new “Garfield” movie and got Dairy Queen afterward.
What is the significance of the test?
The Kansas Assessment Program fulfills a mandate from the Kansas Legislature, providing general education assessments in mathematics, English Language Arts and science.
Students from third to 12th grade take the tests each year and receive scores based on their performance level, ranging from 220 to 380.
Denise Kahler, director of communication and recognition programs for the Kansas Department of Education, said that last year less than 1% of students taking the state assessment scored a 380.
Datiri loves learning in and out of the classroom
Datiri has known she was smart from an early age. By 4 years old, she was already reading books to the other kids during nap time.
Datiri said she also tried not to limit her learning to the classroom.
So, at home she played math Scrabble, at Target she tried finding the sale price of certain items and on the dry erase board in her bedroom she practiced math problems with her mom.
Usually, she can do the calculations all in her head.
“A calculator is just to help you if you don’t know the answer,” Datiri said. “Well, I know the answer.”
Datiri is also very involved with extracurricular activities such as fencing, Girl Scouts, youth church choir and marbles club.
“We tell our children they can do anything,” Hines, her mother, said. “And she believes that.”
Family history feeds Datiri’s education
Hines’s own upbringing motivates her to invest so much time and energy into her daughter’s academics.
Born and raised in North Carolina, Hines grew up in a trailer park, then a low-income neighborhood.
In the past, Datiri’s forebearers were in no position to further their education, Hines says. Neither of Hines’ parents received a college degree, and her grandmother on her mother’s side did not get past sixth grade.
She said this is what inspired her to encourage Datiri to see the power in learning and to seize every opportunity that comes up.
Datiri attended a Montessori school until the first grade. Hines said each student was able to learn at their own pace and pursue subjects of interest to them in a very hands-on manner.
“They have different student-centered projects,” Hines said. “She would get these magnet tallies and just build them on the floor in a pattern, then be able to say ‘Two of these times two of these are four, but then four of these times four of these are 16.’ So she would literally be building, not even knowing it, pictures of rockets and other things.”
Datiri has big life goals
This fall, Datiri will enter fourth grade, where she will be learning at a fifth grade math level. She has hopes of pursuing a career in STEM, among other things.
“I want to be a teacher,” Datiri said. “I want to be an engineer. I want to be a doctor.”
In her free time, she also flies kites, reads graphic novels like “The Baby-Sitters Club” and plays with friends.
To Hines, she’s still retained that childlike sense of wonder that adults can only admire.
This summer, when Datiri isn’t on a family trip to Disney World or imaging times tables, she will be tackling another of her academic goals: reading 150 books.
“Or maybe just 100,” she admits.
