Do our students not know the math, or do they just not know how to communicate it? Learning to explain your math thinking is not an overnight process. It takes a series of purposeful steps to help students learn how to effectively communicate on paper (or computer) the how and why of the math they are using. In the "Writing in Math" series, we will focus on the expectations at each grade level. The goals for this PD are (1) to understand the expectations of students to defend their thinking on the ACT Aspire (using DOK and JE Levels); (2) to provide strategies to help students develop their math communication skills; and (3) to collaborate to develop tools needed to help students improve their math communication skills.