THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

 

 

 

TO:

EMSC-VESID Committee

 

FROM:

James A. Kadamus

SUBJECT:

Recommendations on Mathematics Graduation Requirements

 

DATE:

September 27, 2005

 

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goals 1 and 2

 

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

Summary

 

Issue for Decision

 

          Should the Regents accept Department staff’s recommendations on the development of high school mathematics examinations and revisions to the mathematics graduation requirements? 

 

Reason for Consideration

         

          Review of policy.

         

Proposed Handling

 

          This question will come before the EMSC-VESID Committee on October 6, 2005 for action.

 

Procedural History

 

The Mathematics Standards Committee issued its first report to the Board of Regents in November 2004.  The report recommended that the proposed learning standard for mathematics and its respective performance indicators be sent out to the field for public comment.  Over 2,000 comments were received.  The Committee reviewed all of the comments and revised the material where it was appropriate. 

 

In January 2005, the Regents accepted two of the three recommendations presented by the Co-Chairs of the Mathematics Standards Committee, William Brosnan and Theresa McSweeney.  The Regents approved the revised mathematics learning standard and the performance indicators for pre-kindergarten through grade 8.  The Regents also approved the continuance of the Committee's work on the high school level performance indicators.

 

In March 2005, the Regents adopted the high school performance indicators for Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry, along with the alignment modifications to pre-kindergarten through grade 8, as recommended by the Mathematics Standards Committee.  At that meeting, the Regents also agreed to consider the Committee’s remaining four high school recommendations at a later date.   Those recommendations were:

 

1.     A Regents examination be developed and administered for each of the three courses (Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry).

2.     The mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma be the passing of one Regents examination in mathematics, and the passing of three units of credit of high school mathematics.  The Committee also recommended that the credit granted for the Algebra course be limited to two units.

3.     The mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation be that students take and pass the three courses of high school mathematics, and that the first two cohorts pass two of the three Regents examinations in mathematics and that subsequent cohorts pass all three Regents examinations in mathematics.

4.     Ways of rewarding students for taking and mastering more than the graduation requirements be explored and implemented.

 

In June 2005, the Regents discussed the pros and cons of test implementation timeline issues associated with recommendation #1 and considered staff responses to the remaining recommendations of the Mathematics Standards Committee relating to graduation requirements.  Attachment A provides greater detail on the recommendations before the Regents for approval.

 

Recommendation

 

          VOTED:        That the Board of Regents approve the development of a Regents examination for each of the three approved mathematics courses (Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry) and that the first administration of these examinations will begin in 2009 (will affect students entering grade 6 in 2005-06).

 

          VOTED:        That the mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma will be the passing of one Regents examination in mathematics, and the passing of three units of credit of high school mathematics.  Credit granted for the Algebra course will be limited to two units.

 

          VOTED:        That the mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation will be the passing of three units of credit of high school mathematics, and that students will also pass the Regents examinations in Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry.

 

          VOTED:        That students who complete all coursework and testing requirements for the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation in mathematics and/or science and take and pass three Regents examinations in each academic discipline with a score of 85 or better will earn a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation, with an annotation on the diploma that denotes mastery in mathematics and/or science.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

          Upon the Board’s approval of these policy directions, proposed amendments to Commissioner’s Regulations will be developed for approval in late fall 2005.

 

 

 

Attachments

 


                                                                      Attachment A

 

Proposed Mathematics Graduation Requirements

 

 

In March 2005, the Board of Regents adopted the high school performance indicators for Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry, along with the alignment modifications to pre-kindergarten through grade 8, as recommended by the Mathematics Standards Committee.  At that meeting, the Regents also agreed to consider the Committee’s remaining four high school recommendations at a later date.  The four remaining recommendations are presented below along with SED staff recommendations:

 

(1)      The Mathematics Standards Committee recommended that a Regents examination be developed and administered for each of the three courses (Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry).

 

SED Staff Recommendation

 

We recommend approval of the recommendation to develop and administer three mathematics Regents examinations.  However, the design, development and implementation of multiple Regents examinations requires an analysis of instructional issues, students’ opportunity to learn the material, professional development of staff in school districts, and the requirements of the Regents examination development process, including item writing and field testing.  We recommend that the first new mathematics Regents examination be introduced in June 2009 in Algebra, followed by Geometry in 2010, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry in 2011.  Several options were considered and the pros and cons for first administration in June 2008 and June 2009 are presented below:

 

June 2008 First Administration (Available for Students Entering Grade 6 in 2004-2005)

 

Pros

·       Keeps momentum for new mathematics standard at high school level.

·       Completes pre-kindergarten through grade 12 mathematics transition.

 

Cons

·       Would not allow for sufficient instructional time under new standards prior to field testing and first test administration; students would have had only one year of instruction under the new standards.  To field test with students who had not had sufficient exposure to the curriculum would skew the field testing data, affecting our ability to accurately create score conversion charts for these tests.

·       Would not allow schools/districts sufficient time for professional development for mathematics staff.

·       Would not allow sufficient time for the approved Regents test development process, including item writing by New York State teachers knowledgeable about the new standards and field testing with appropriate samples of students.

·       Would not allow time to address SED’s current significant internal capacity needs, with a total of 6 professional positions to be filled (3 replacements and 3 new) before we will have the capacity to conduct the activities necessary over the next two years to produce these new examinations while continuing to produce Mathematics A and B. 

 

June 2009 First Administration (Available for Students Entering Grade 6 in 2005-2006

 

Pros

·       Allows for sufficient instructional time under new standards prior to field testing and first test administration; students would have had two years of instruction under the new standards.  To field test with students who had not had sufficient exposure to the curriculum would skew the field testing data, affecting our ability to accurately create score conversion charts for these tests.

·       Allows schools/districts sufficient time for professional development for mathematics staff.

·       Allows sufficient time for the approved Regents test development process, including item writing by New York State teachers knowledgeable about the new standard and field testing with appropriate samples of students.

·       With this implementation timeline, the Math A and Math B exams could be eliminated six months after introduction of the new exams (see Attachment B).

·       SED currently has significant internal capacity needs, with a total of 6 professional positions to be filled (3 replacements and 3 new) before we will have the capacity to conduct the activities necessary over the next two years to produce these new examinations while continuing to produce Mathematics A and B. 

 

Cons

·       Slower implementation than originally envisioned by the Mathematics Standards Committee.

·       Concern about losing momentum in implementing the new mathematics standards at the high school.

 

We believe that the advantages of a first administration in June 2009 outweigh the disadvantages of introducing examinations in June 2008.  Attachment B outlines the recommended timeline for implementation of the new assessments in June 2009 and the phase-out of Mathematics A and B. 

 

The concern has been expressed that students who first entered grade 7 in 2005-06, and who should be receiving instruction under the new mathematics standard, may be at a disadvantage under this timeline.  I can assure the Board that we will, over the next three years, develop and administer Mathematics A examinations that will in no way disadvantage a student being instructed consistent with the new core curriculum. 

 

(2)      The Mathematics Standards Committee recommends that the mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma be the passing of one Regents examination in mathematics, and the passing of three units of credit of high school mathematics.  The Committee further recommends that the credit granted for the Algebra course be limited to two units.

         

          SED Staff Recommendation

 

We recommend approval of this recommendation.  An analysis of the algebra portion of the mathematics core curriculum reveals that, due to the integrated nature of the new core curriculum, students will be exposed to an algebra course that is more rigorous because it will expose students to more advanced algebra than what is taught as part of the coursework leading to the Math A test.

 

Some of the integrated algebra content previously taught in high school, under the new standard, will be taught in grades 7 and 8.  For example, solving linear inequalities, which was once taught in high school, will now be covered in grades 7 and 8. Likewise, operations with polynomials will move from high school to grades 7 and 8.  In addition, factoring will now be covered in Grade 8.

 

Some content previously covered in the coursework leading to the Math B test (e.g., determining when a relation is a function) or not covered in the core curriculum at all (e.g., understanding the difference between correlation and causation) will now be part of the algebra course. Likewise some of the integrated geometry content previously contained in the coursework leading to the Math A test, (e.g., calculating the area of a sector of a circle) will now be covered in the middle grades.   Additional information on these content shifts can be found in the Mathematics Toolkit at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/3-8/guidance.htm

 

          For that reason, and the fact that we will continue to require three units of credit of high school mathematics, we believe that the continuation of the one-Regents examination requirement in no way signals a decrease in the mathematics content and skills needed for a Regents diploma.

 

(3)      The Mathematics Standards Committee recommends that the mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation be that students take and pass the three courses of high school mathematics, and:

·       that the first two cohorts pass two of the three Regents examinations in mathematics; and

·       that subsequent cohorts pass all three Regents examinations in mathematics.

 

SED Staff Recommendation

 

We recommend that the Board approve staff’s recommendation that the mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation be that students take and pass the three courses of high school mathematics, and that students also pass the Regents examinations in Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry.  We believe that by meeting these testing requirements, students will demonstrate a level of knowledge and skill equivalent to what is currently expected for this credential. 

 

(4)      The Mathematics Standards Committee recommends that ways of rewarding students for taking and mastering more than the graduation requirements be explored and implemented.  The Committee members offer to assist in this effort.

 

SED Staff Recommendation

 

We recommend that the Board approve staff’s recommendation that students who complete all coursework and testing requirements for the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation in mathematics and/or science and take and pass three Regents examinations in each academic discipline with a score of 85 or better, earn a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation, with an annotation on the diploma that denotes mastery in mathematics and/or science.  In addition, the Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education and the Office of Higher Education will continue to discuss ways in which advanced high school mathematics coursework might be recognized by higher education institutions. 

 

 

 


                                                                                                                                                      Attachment B 

New Mathematics Regents

Implementation / Transition Timeline

 

Math A

Math B

Algebra

Geometry

Algebra 2 and Trigonometry

2006-07

X

X

 

School curricular and instructional alignment and SED item writing and pretesting

 

 

2007-08

X

X

 

School curricular and instructional alignment and SED field testing and standard setting

 

School curricular and instructional alignment and SED item writing and pretesting

 

2008-09

X

 

X

X

First admin. in June 2009

 

School curricular and instructional alignment and SED field testing and standard setting

 

School curricular and instructional alignment and SED item writing and pretesting

2009-10

X

Last admin. in January 2010

X

 

X

 

X

First admin. in June 2010

 

School curricular and instructional alignment and SED field testing and standard setting

2010-11

 

X

Last admin. in January 2011

X

X

X
First admin. in June 2011

2011-12

 

 

X

X

X