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Re: Algebra 2/Trig
Posted:
Jun 23, 2011 10:33 AM
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Very well said!!! Let me be the first to sign up for your rebellion!
Yes, there used to be subject matter bureaus at SED. In math, seven highly competent people worked there. Each of the three Regents exams was the responsibility of two of them. (The 7th person was the bureau chief.) If there was a grading question, a phone call got me an immediate answer.
In addition to that, they traveled around the state doing staff development workshops (all grades from elem to hs) including Regents marking workshops. The UFT Math Teachers Committee in NYC was the beneficiary of many of these workshops. They also published very good booklets on various topics for K-12.
The sorry situation of the elimination of the bureaus started when the GOP took control of the governor's office about 20 years ago when the "contracting out" fervor was beginning. I recall reading something that was the handwriting on the wall. It said that to save money, the bureaus were going to be downsized. It was in one sentence hidden in the middle of a long document. I still remember reading it while stuck in traffic on my way to work. Now that really woke me up!
All those wonderful folks who worked at the math bureau were pushed to retire, one by one, until there was only one left who took a job in another state.
Now, I ask you. Did those seven salaries (including benefits, etc) cost NYS anything NEAR what all the contracting out to companies to write exams (for all levels, not just HS) has cost over the past 20 years?
Also on a soapbox,
Bobbi Eisenberg (and also retired)
Chairperson, UFT Math Teachers Comm.
On Jun 23, 2011, at 7:48 AM, Barbara Ewanciw wrote:
> As a retired Math Educator, I am insulted that this test is called Algebra2/Trig. When you have the time, download an old Math 11 regents, and an Integrated Math 3 exam and compare to this fiasco. This is progress?? The Math 11 curriculum was packed full of information, but it was Algebra 2 and Trig, and that was what was tested. Now they throw in all these other topics that teachers have little time to teach and that is what the testers focus on. Once upon a time there were Math people at State Ed who could answer questions about the test and curriculum, and now???
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> Education in New York State is in serious trouble and it does not seem to be getting any better. We are told the testing program costs too much, well why then did we go from a one page double sided answer key to 20 some pages? They tell me English and History answer keys are even more. Do the math exams have to have a full page of paper for each response question? And 27 multiple choice? WHY?
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> I hear rumblings of taxpayer rebellions, how about a math teacher rebellion? This is ridiculous, it is embarrassing and it is certainly not helping any of our students. OK, I will get off my soap box for a while, have a good day. Good luck grading geometry before graduation.
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