In Montgomery County schools, no answers yet for failed math exams

In today's Washington Post, by reporter Donna St. George.  Read the entire article here.

Montgomery County schools officials plan to survey students taking high school final exams in math next week about how they prepare for the biggest test of the semester, as school leaders explore the causes of steep failure rates on the countywide tests.

Schools officials say they still have no clear answers for why a majority of 30,000 high school students in the high-performing district failed their finals in key math courses last year. The low grades came to public attention as data about the tests circulated last spring, underscoring a problem that had gone on for years.

A work group studying the issue will make recommendations by March, said Erick J. Lang, associate superintendent for curriculum and instructional programs. A report was expected in November, but the issue has not been easy to unravel, he said.

PISA: How did our 15-year-olds do?

Here is the report for the United States on the 2012 international exams sponsored by the Programme for International Student Assessment.
Some highlights:

While the U.S. spends more per student than most countries, this does not translate into better performance. For example, the Slovak Republic, which spends around USD 53 000 per student, performs at the same level as the United States, which spends over USD 115 000 per student.

Strengths

• Reading data directly from tables and diagrams – requiring students only to understand a short text and read single values directly from a representation provided such as a table or a bar diagram

• Simple handling of data from tables and diagrams – requiring students to understand a short text, read two values from a given representation, and then perform some straightforward operation such as adding or comparing the values

• Handling directly manageable formulae – requiring students to use a formula provided, e.g. inserting numbers for variables, and do some easy calculation. The formulae can be used directly, without any re-structuring.

Weaknesses

• Use of the number π (pi) – requiring students to make explicit use of the number π (pi) in a calculation

• Substantial mathematization of a real-world situation – requiring students to establish a mathematical model of a given real-world situation in the form of a term or an equation with variables for geometric or physical quantities, before further actions (especially calculations) can take place. Students have to understand the situation and activate and apply the appropriate mathematical content

• Genuine interpretation of real-world aspects – requiring students to take a given real-world situation seriously and properly interpret aspects of it

• Reasoning in a geometric context – requiring authentic reasoning in a planar or spatial geometric context by using geometric concepts and facts

• U.S. students have particular problems with mathematical literacy tasks where the students have to use the mathematics they have learned in a well-founded manner. Given that even in more demanding tasks some basic skills are nevertheless needed, an implication of the findings is that much more focus is needed on higher-order activities, such as those involving mathematical modeling (understanding real world situations, translating them into mathematical models, and interpreting mathematical results), without neglecting the basic skills needed for these activities

PISA 2012 Results US(1) by freestategal

PISA 2012: Compare Your Country

Want to compare the U.S. PISA results with results from other countries?  Here you go.

TunedIn and Cross your Legs

Here is some additional advice to folks attending the April 28 TunedIn BBYO concert at Wootton High School in Rockville.

Don't drink a lot of fluids before you enter the stadium.  Alcohol is not permitted for those under the age of 21, and as a civic engagement activity, we expect the students to obey the law. 

But - we caution you not to drink soda, juices or even water before you go.

For a crowd of 3000, estimates on various calculators indicate that an event should have approximately 20 portapotties. 

Wootton's concession stand has some facilities - we estimate that they have about six.

Wootton's budget for the event allows for $500 for portapotties.

According to costowl.com, an event should have one portapotty for every 50 people, and portapotties cost $75 to $150 for a one time event.

Wootton parents and guests - do the math.  Will an additional six portapotties be enough for the crowd?  What about the politicians and the BBYO VIPs from Northern Virginia?

Nice try, Mr. Doran and Ms. Taylor.

You should let your guests know that in addition to not parking in the neighborhoods, they need to cut down on their liquids too.

How to Fix Our Math Education

From The New York Times.

How to Fix Our Math Education
By SOL GARFUNKEL and DAVID MUMFORD
Published: August 24, 2011

THERE is widespread alarm in the United States about the state of our math education. The anxiety can be traced to the poor performance of American students on various international tests, and it is now embodied in George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law, which requires public school students to pass standardized math tests by the year 2014 and punishes their schools or their teachers if they do not.

All this worry, however, is based on the assumption that there is a single established body of mathematical skills that everyone needs to know to be prepared for 21st-century careers. This assumption is wrong. The truth is that different sets of math skills are useful for different careers, and our math education should be changed to reflect this fact.

Today, American high schools offer a sequence of algebra, geometry, more algebra, pre-calculus and calculus (or a “reform” version in which these topics are interwoven). This has been codified by the Common Core State Standards, recently adopted by more than 40 states. This highly abstract curriculum is simply not the best way to prepare a vast majority of high school students for life.

and:

Imagine replacing the sequence of algebra, geometry and calculus with a sequence of finance, data and basic engineering. In the finance course, students would learn the exponential function, use formulas in spreadsheets and study the budgets of people, companies and governments. In the data course, students would gather their own data sets and learn how, in fields as diverse as sports and medicine, larger samples give better estimates of averages. In the basic engineering course, students would learn the workings of engines, sound waves, TV signals and computers. Science and math were originally discovered together, and they are best learned together now.

To read more go here.