Teachers, principals: New math too much

Are Nevada's high school seniors receiving a lesson in injustice?

Many teachers and principals think so.

To graduate this year, seniors are expected to pass a math test with a score of 61 or better that covers material they weren't required to study when they entered high school four years ago.

Next year the minimum proficiency score increases to 64 and will include more rigorous material some educators say is more appropriate for college-bound students, not the general student population.

"When this senior class began as freshmen, they were only required to take two years of math," Silverado High School math teacher Cheryl Barnson said.

Las Vegas High School Principal Barry Gunderson said this year's testing was not properly done and is an injustice to the seniors.

"The kids had no idea what the new standards were," he said.

The new standards were created after the 1997 Legislature decided to make the tests more rigorous.

Gunderson said there was no requirement for this year's seniors to take geometry or algebra to graduate, but the math test includes questions on those two subjects.

According to figures from the Department of Education, about 1,800 seniors statewide have not passed the math test this year.

Tom McIntosh, team leader for Standards, Curriculums and Assessments for the department, said that between 400 and 500 of those students also failed a reading test.

He said the 1,800 figure will be lowered when the results of a test given in May are released.

McIntosh noted the Legislature is considering a bill offering a remediation class for those who have not passed.

He said students will be given another opportunity to take the test in the summer. Student also could return next year as a part-time high school student or as an adult to help them pass.

"There is no cut-off time," McIntosh said. "Presumably, you can come back as an adult, forever, till you pass the test."

The Clark County Association of School Administrators sent a letter expressing concerns about the test to Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Concerns included in the letter were:

* There is no evidence that the new exam has met the criteria for reliability and validity.

* The test questions were created in haste based on newly developed standards.

* The test has not been administered often enough to a large enough sample of students.

* Test questions change, again without reliability or validity verification, every time the test is given.

The letter was signed by Gunderson, president of the group, and co-signed by 26 Southern Nevada principals and other administrators.

A spokesman for Guinn said the governor received the letter and talked to Gunderson about the math exam problem.

Guinn's press secretary, Jack Finn, said the governor favors repeated tries at the test and the remedial courses the legislative bill would pay for.

"The governor doesn't want a firm cutoff date," for the student to pass the examination by, Finn said.

The math problem has created some division within the ranks of administrators.

Bill Hanlon, head of the Clark County Math Science Institution and vice president of the State Board of Education, disagrees with critics that this year's tests are too hard and have not been tested for validity.

"The test is reasonable. We don't just pick questions out of the sky," he said.

Hanlon, however, said he believes the standards that will be implemented next year are too tough and go beyond what is fair and reasonable.

Hanlon says the new tests may have been implemented too quickly and may cover material students weren't exposed too.

archive