Math A & Physics Regents Exams Roundly Criticized: Most MHS
Students Pass
by Judy Silberstein
(June 21, 2003) Most of the Mamaroneck students taking
the Math A and Physics Regents exams this week passed the
test.
Nevertheless,
the heads of the Math and Science departments
found much to criticize, as did educators from across New York State.
Mamaroneck teachers were still regrading the Math A exams
on Friday, June 20, after the NY State Department of Education
issued an alert that one item was found to have two correct
answers. Department Chairperson Gerry Brause released preliminary
results indicating that 390 students took the test and 82.8%
passed. This included students from a self-contained special
education class who are not required to pass this exam to
graduate, and another small group of seniors who must pass
the exam to earn a diploma.
[Updated October 2003: final
data show fewer students passed with the original criteria,
but
many
more
passed under
revised scores.]
“The passing rate is pretty high, said Brause, “The
problem is some kids won’t graduate and the test did
not represent the curriculum. The way they’ve changed
the grading and the test doesn’t allow the kids to
show what they know.”
Only 91% of the seniors who took
the test passed, which means a handful may not be able
to receive a diploma at graduation. It will be up to Mamaroneck
school officials whether these seniors can participate in
graduation ceremonies. The State
Department of Education made clear in a statement issued
June 20 that, “In order to receive a diploma a student
must meet
State-established graduation requirements.”
Science Department Chair Dr. Fred Levine was also analyzing
test results on Friday. He estimated that 95% of the students
had passed the Physics Regents. That will come as a relief
to the students who had been hearing and circulating rumors
that 30% or 40% of the students had failed.
However, for
most of Levine’s twenty-five years teaching Physics
at Mamaroneck High School, almost every student passed the
Regents exam. Last year, the Regents launched a new test
with a new grading system and only 80% of the Mamaroneck
students
passed. (See Larchmont Gazette, June 25, 2002: Unprecedented
Failure Rate May Not Reflect What Students Know) “It’s a concern,” said Levine. “The
science department has done a terrific job of getting almost
100% of the students to take science for three or four years."
“Kids who had been afraid of physics, say
they had a wonderful experience, after
experiencing teachers like Allie Brown and Jerry Schmidt,” said
Levine. “We
are getting larger numbers of students who have taken regents
physics enrolling in the next level – Advanced Placement
Physics B. We’ve gone to 4 sections, instead of the
2 or 3 in the past.”
“I hope that these higher level exams that have yet
to reach a reasonable equilibrium do not discourage
students from pursuing the science curriculum,” he
said.
“A hard test is OK, but it should be reasonable,” Levine
concluded.
In other parts of the state, failure rates were much higher
and teachers were even more critical.
In Rochester, all 300 students taking the Math A test at
the Wilson Magnet high school flunked, according to Channel
R News. For physics, Channel R was reporting unusually
low passage rates, as low as 40% for an elective course that
draws stronger students, particularly in high schools that
do not offer Advanced Placement alternatives.
Veteran math teacher Alice Golar from Rockland
County told the Gazette, that this year's Math A test "was
the most poorly designed exam I have ever seen in my 45 years
of experience
in public
and private school.”
“Increasing the challenge does have a salutary effect,” she
conceded, “but at some level you reach the tipping
point and you totally frustrate the kids and turn them off.” Like
Mamaroneck’s Gerry Brause, she felt this exam had reached
the tipping point. Neither teacher was for “cookie
cutter questions,” but they both noted that average
students could not begin to unravel many of the problems.
"A good exam should help you see the big picture,” explained
Brause. “You have all the pieces and you put them together;
you use all the math you’ve learned.” Even students
who passed were not happy with the test or their scores in
many cases, she reported.
“With this test, everyone is left with a bad feeling,” she
said.
Reached at home in New Rochelle, NY Regent Saul Cohen expressed
his dismay with another year of upset over the Regents exams.
He had received numerous phone calls and letters from agitated
parents and school personnel about the physics and math tests.
“I had hoped based on last years criticisms that whatever
problems existed had since been resolved,” he said. “Clearly
this does not appear to be the case.”
“I’m working with my fellow regents to see how
the situation can be remedied as quickly as possible,” he
reported. “It really is unfair to the youngsters of
this state if indeed there are flaws in our tests.”
The New York State Department of Education in Albany was
also besieged with calls from upset parents and educators.
SED was focusing first on the Math A tests needed for graduation,
and leaving the physics tests for later. By Friday
afternoon, they had written the schools asking for immediate
relay of
Math
A
answer sheets
so the
department
could conduct a series of analyses. The will be focusing
on the difficulty of individual items, the cumulative
difficulty
of the items
and a comparison of student performance across exam administrations.
SED will have to act fast. Mamaroneck High School
graduation ceremonies are on Thursday, June 26 and school
ends the next
day. Unless
new
test results
come to the rescue quickly, there will be a number of disappointed
students, parents, and teachers in Mamaroneck and across
the state.
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