Someone needs to investigate the validity of the NYS regents exams and exactly what it doesn't mean if a kid passes. All the kids in our school were called and told to come in to take the test. It didn't matter if they were truants or cutters and had not been in class since the first week of school. If they were tenth grade or higher, they were told to sit for the exam. I heard a rumor that they were told they would be given a credit if they passed.
Now, in the old days, passing the regents meant that the course was mastered. I remember marking the exams and taking pride in my student's accomplishment. The exam was a measure of the year's work. It was comprehensive and challenging. It was possible to review for the exam and to teach test taking strategies. This new Math A exam did none of these things. It did not test topics crucial to algebra. There was no graphing, factoring or parabolas on this exam. I'm sure other important topics were missing also. There was a construction on this exam--a topic so unimportant that most of us do not even bother to teach it.
I stayed late today to help get the exams marked. I wanted to see who was going to pass. I have some nice kids, with not much on the mathematical ball and I'm hoping they pass the regents so I can pass them in the class. We managed to get about half the papers scanned before I left. I would guess that about 97% of the kids passed on the multiple choice alone and we still have to mark the long questions. Kids who have not sat in class at all passed. What does this say about the quality of this exam?
The Board of Regents, the Mayor and the Chancellor will all take credit for these wonderful passing grades. The Principals and the Assistant Principals will once again collect their big performance bonuses for the results. What a crock! The kids still know no math. And, we have now taught them that it is okay to cut and be truant. All you have to do is sit two hours for an easy exam and all will be forgiven.
9 comments:
Wait the teachers mark the exam. In Texas, we have to send them back to Austin to be marked. Which is why they are given in February, April, and May.
We aren't even allowed to see the exam, or read it - unless we are giving oral administration for Math or Science.
Every other year the test is released and we can look it over. A few years ago, when the test were released every year, the high school teachers found a problem that had been marked incorrectly on the key. The state was able to correct the student scores, before the end of school. If that happened now, the mistake wouldn't be found until after school started the next fall and only if that was a year the test was released.
Same happens here in Nevada, students take the test in March (March 3-5 this year) so we can get them sent to Carson City to get scored by the all powerful education police. We don't even get students scores back until August, but we are told percentages (% of whites who passed, % of IEP's etc) in May. The best part, teachers are not even supposed to look at the tests, so if I student has a clarifing question we can't even help them! Same goes in WA state, apparently a few years back there was a math question with a graph on percipitation, the 6th graders didn't know what percipitation meant, and none of the teachers could clarify it for them! I wish I could see who passed earlier, then we could work more with them.
Next year won't be worse, and maybe a bit better. I am guessing that the new Algebra exam will still be easy to pass, but perhaps not quite as easy as Math A has been (since the 2003 hiccup)
I was just about to write about the validity of the regents on my blog as I wake my Junior up to take the second day of his English Regent. I used to stress the regents they were a big scary test, meant everything to us the whole years curriculum and more packed into one itty bitty test.
He could care less, just complains that it starts at 8:30.
Which also makes me wonder if they are calling in every student to take the regents are they going to say that scores are up? What is the passing grade this year?
I proctored the Math A Regents for our accelerated 8th graders- they were done (and appeared to have done quite well) in about an hour. The only question that tripped them up a bit was the 2 cubes and how far from the top would the water level be- and a few of them even got that one. The problem is, success on Math A doesn't guarantee that they will have the same experience with Math B- and that's what makes it such a farce.
Success on the Math A exam guarantees nothing. I know. I have kids in my M&D class that have already passed the exam 2 or 3 times and are still getting 20's and 30's on every exam I give in class and I do not give particularly hard exams. The exam is a farce. It is set up to make the state look good.
Jonathan--I don't share your hope for the new exam on integrated algebra. I am afraid it will be as big a farce as the Math A exam. After all, since it is being changed, the state cannot allow percentages to be lowered. From what I have heard, we won't even know how that regents will be scored until months after it is given. That way the state can make anything they want passing.
My hope? Yeeks. I just said it won't be worse than what we have now.
You are right about the "post-equating" (setting passing scores after the exams are marked). But to the good, the exam will cover (allegedly) one year of material instead of a year and a half, allowing a bit more focus.
Are you on the AMTNYS listserve? If you are not, you should. Tonight I read emails about wolves (B) and wierd scales (A)
What do you mean by passing? 55 or 65? Are any parents focused on this years tenth graders need 2 scores at or above 65 to receive even a local diploma? Are grades being pushed above 75 to avoid remedial math in CUNY?
In my school papers between 52 and 54 were pushed to 55, 62 - 64 pushed to 65 and 82 - 83 were pushed to 85. the 85 means the kids have mastered the subject and it looks good for the school. Nothing was done to push to 75. The sad thing is that kids get 80's and know no math. They need remedial. I teach at a community college and I see how little they know and how they suffer in all their math classes.
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