\doc\web\99\01\ohtest.txt DESIGN OF MATH TEST ISN'T ADDING UP by Betty Raskoff Kazmin (Forum/Opinion piece) The Columbus Dispatch, Jan 23,'99 How reasonable is it for Ohio legislators to subject schoolchildren to the law of unintended consequences? Senate Bill 55 decrees that fourth graders must pass a state reading test to advance to fifth grade, beginning in 2001. More than half of Ohio's fourth graders failed the reading test given last spring. Arthur's concern seems to be in regard to a national problem. From a friend in Ohio: Wayne. ------------------------------------------------------- DESIGN OF MATH TEST ISN'T ADDING UP by Betty Raskoff Kazmin (Forum/Opinion piece) The Columbus Dispatch, Jan 23,'99 How reasonable is it for Ohio legislators to subject schoolchildren to the law of unintended consequences? Senate Bill 55 decrees that fourth graders must pass a state reading test to advance to fifth grade, beginning in 2001. More than half of Ohio's fourth graders failed the reading test given last spring. Many average ability, hard working high school students are not college bound but do reach tenth grade on schedule. Under this same Senate Bill 55, beginning in 2003, all Ohio students must take and pass exit exams in reading, writing, math, science and citizenship. Failure to pass ALL parts by their senior year will prevent their receiving a high school diploma. As a veteran math teacher, I am deeply concerned by the math portion of the new exit exam. It was created by a committee of 25 Ohio math educators who met six times last year to draft a series of concepts, like students shall understand the properties of geometric figures, shall use proportions, shall apply probability. Each concept was accompanied by a sample problem, such as "find the increase in the length of the label for a soup can if the diameter of the can is increased by one inch." Or "find the height of an amusement park ride when given the angle of elevation from a specified location." In the fall, 150,000 sample exit exams were mailed to various civic, business, and educational groups statewide, with requests for written responses. Only 9000 such responses were returned and tabulated--a mere six percent. The math exam committee then held a final meeting in Columbus on December 2 to consider the public response. I was permitted to attend as an observer only, unable to speak or see key documents. I did see the enormous collection of written public comments on the math exam; they were overwhelmingly negative, and included: "I am horrified by what this committee has deemed critical to survival and productivity. I doubt the members of the State Board of Education even comprehend what these concepts are." And "Not all students are capable of grasping the concepts the state has decided the masses should grasp. There are too many variables not being considered and too many hard working students are being set up for failure." And "Those who legislate it should have to pass it. "Those who legislated mandatory exit exams for Ohio students want educational accountability. But children are not widgits, schools are not factories, teachers are not magicians. I wonder how many Ohio legislators understand the current controversy raging over what constitutes proper math curriculum or that the approach embodied in Ohio's Model is now being disavowed nationwide and that students preparing for college take different coursework from those who are not. Do legislators know the difference between criterion referenced tests and norm referenced tests? Or how diverse the backgrounds and abilities can be within a school district's fourth graders or high school students? Or how many bright, capable students never do well on standardized tests? Is it fair that a test required for high school graduation be based on coursework required for college? And on highly controversial math curriculum? I submit it is unfair. The math exam committee considered the public concerns, then chose to delete all the actual problems from the sample exam. Thus the State Board of Education received only 16 bare concepts for approval, without any worrisome problems. Eventually those concepts will go to professional test developers, who will restore math problems in all their grand complexity. This will be done far from the light of public scrutiny. Even legislators and board members will not see what they have created. Here are the unintended consequences I predict Ohioans will see: At the elementary school level, extreme frustration among students, parents, teachers and administrators together with a curriculum focused solely on passing the reading test. Those children who would pass easily will be ignored as all energy focuses on unready-readers. At the high school level, most bright students taking rigorous college- preparatory courses will pass the exam and graduate. Most of the terrific young people choosing different career paths and coursework will fail to receive high school diplomas and be set adrift. Because there will be a disproportionate impact on certain population groups, and because similarly situated students in neighboring states would receive diplomas, I predict massive lawsuits and eventual reversal of course. But how many young Ohioans will be irreparably harmed, and how many millions of dollars and precious resources wasted, and to what extent will our educational system be damaged, before these secretive exams are brought forth into the sunlight? ===================================================================== EDUCATION CONSUMERS CLEARINGHOUSE networking and information for parents and taxpayers on the internet Subscriptions & Archives: http://education-consumers.com or You are currently subscribed to education-consumers as: arthurhu@halcyon.com TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a blank email to leave-education-consumers-989462S@lists.dundee.net ===================================================================== For less mail, click on the following link and choose 1) a daily digest, 2) a daily list of subjects, or 3) no mail (read postings on Web) http://lists.dundee.net/scripts/lyris.pl?enter=education-consumers For more help & info: http://www.lyris.com/help or