Once again, Mr. AP is telling us our regents grades must be in line with our class grades and that kids who don't pass the regents should not pass the class. He just sent out a memo berating teachers who passed geometry students that failed the regents. I know I am at the top of his hit list.
Here are my thoughts about having the correlation he would like.
The regents is an easy exam. The kids that don't pass it, for the most part, are the kids who don't belong in a regents math class, the kids who years ago would have taken all the pre-algebra and non regents classes. They just don't have the ability to learn higher level math. But, by sitting in our classes and passing the exams we give, they are learning something, more than what they would be learning if they were in some other class. Although I haven't checked all the data, I believe that kids that repeat because of the regents end up in a cycle of constant repetition and never get to move ahead. I see no benefit in making the kids I taught last year repeat geometry. By moving into trig or into some other math class, they are being exposed to other math that might help them in college. If they fail an easy exam like that one, they probably are not headed towards an advanced diploma and will probably need remedial math in college anyway.
Here are my thoughts about having the correlation he would like.
The regents is an easy exam. The kids that don't pass it, for the most part, are the kids who don't belong in a regents math class, the kids who years ago would have taken all the pre-algebra and non regents classes. They just don't have the ability to learn higher level math. But, by sitting in our classes and passing the exams we give, they are learning something, more than what they would be learning if they were in some other class. Although I haven't checked all the data, I believe that kids that repeat because of the regents end up in a cycle of constant repetition and never get to move ahead. I see no benefit in making the kids I taught last year repeat geometry. By moving into trig or into some other math class, they are being exposed to other math that might help them in college. If they fail an easy exam like that one, they probably are not headed towards an advanced diploma and will probably need remedial math in college anyway.
Then again, there are kids that cannot master geometry but will do very well in intermediate algebra and trigonometry. I've spoken to quite a few from last year and the ones I pushed ahead seem to be doing fine. There really is no crystal ball to predict success or failure.
We've been told to assess our students on a daily basis and that is what we do every day with exams, with homework and with classroom observations. I believe I've done that and that I've done a good job of it. By making the regents omnipotent, we are being told that our assessments are valueless.
The regents is one exam. It is an exam some students find extremely stressful. Some are studying for four exams at the same time. Most high schools do not hold to these standards and it is not right to treat our students differently. The regents standards are so low anyway, what difference can a couple of points possibly make?
(Picture in honor those colleagues too chicken say anything that might be deemed controversial. A "friend" told me today that I can say whatever is on my mind because of my proximity to retirement. A real "friend" would know that my mouth never stayed closed, even when I was many years from retirement.)
