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Local students still struggle with new high school math

Posted by

Mike Buffington

in Education Archives

Friday, March 18. 2011

Comments (7)

Like many of their peers across the state, students in Barrow County have been struggling with Georgia’s new math curriculum. Both Apalachee High School and Winder Barrow High School had high failure rates on the End of Course Tests in math for last fall and last spring.

The failure rates ranged from between 34 percent and 63 percent on Math 1 and Math 2 testing.

Overall, Barrow’s two high schools fell toward the lower-middle rankings of area high schools across the eight EOCT tests given.

Comparing hard numbers, however is difficult since they can involve multiple testings. For example, students who fail a spring test may make it up in the fall testing, thus skewing the fall data.

In addition, some high schools only offer classes once per year while larger schools may offer the class both semesters. In the latter case, top-tier students may take the class one semester while lower-achieving students take it a different semester, thus not showing the overall status of a school.

So unlike some standardized test score results, looking at the results requires comparing multiple numbers for each school to see the range of failures, not just one number compared to the state.

The EOCT is important because the score accounts for 15 percent of a student’s overall grade. Next year, it will count even more as the current High School Graduation Test is phased out.

For the full story, see the March 16 issue of the Barrow Journal.

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#1 Bison Bimford on 03/22/11 at 03:35 PM [Reply]

More horse pucky from the goverment school system.
"New math",, what a crock.
I have been told "you cannot help your child with this homework".
The teachers can't teach it.
The parents can't help.
The students can't learn it.

Just more dumbing down of the American student.

The "old math" works now, has worked for thousands of years.
just ask Pythagoras.

This is why I pulled my children out of these institutes for learning dysfuction.
They now are top students, and continue to excel.

-Bison

#1.1 Karen on 03/25/11 at 08:14 AM [Reply]

I agree this math is stupid and your are right teachers themselves had to go back and learn how to teach it. My husband is a machinist and deals with math everyday"trig,geom" but when our highschool student ask for help it looked like a foreign language too him. She has to stay after school almost everyday for help. I thank god she found one teacher who understands it. Also my husband agrees with you about the old math the way we were taught. If it isn't broke don't fix it!~!!!!

#2 Brandy on 03/28/11 at 12:26 PM [Reply]

I agree. My daughter is in 5th grade and the way they teach math is hard for even me to grasp. I have a degree in Accounting but cannot show her how to do a simple problem, I never used blocks to multiply. I memorized my times tables.....

#3 Bobbie on 04/12/11 at 06:44 AM [Reply]

I am outraged about this new math curriculum. My children, a junior and a sophomore, are struggling. Both are in the top ten percent of their classes and in the running to be a honor graduate. We are concerned this math may be a downfall for them! This is not fair. If we are to do this math, we need teachers in the classroom who are able to teach it! I hope the State Board of Education is happy because they have set our students up for failure.

#4 Debbie Nuclo on 04/16/11 at 05:49 PM [Reply]

My child is proof that this is a failure. My child has always gotten straight A's in all her advanced math classes. She is now a junior and part of the "guinea pig" class. She scored a 510 on her SAT math. I blame the new math for this. Her 1st year was a waste of time. Her teacher did not know how to teach this new math correctly, so she let them talk every class period. They did about 15 min of work. How can she score so high in class each year, and score so poorly on the math SAT? Very disappointed in GA schools in general. No wonder they are in the bottom for the U.S.

#5 Sick of the new MATH on 04/19/11 at 02:35 AM [Reply]

The State implemented this math 4 years ago not Barrow County Schools they did what they were told to do,but none the less I hate the crap!So darn worried about us keeping up with China and Japan I could care less about keeping up with these country's.So yes bring back the old math and make everyone happy. Oh and the State needs to leave things that work ALONE. Yes it is the States fault because of the last four years of hell the students,teachers have gone thru,not to mention the extra money it has cost for tutoring, summer school (4 years ago).and summer school (3 years ago). They are only changing it back because it has made them look so bad. Idiots run this state!

#5.1 Karen on 04/19/11 at 05:06 PM [Reply]

I agree! Thank God my freshman coming up will have the old math. He struggles already. The old saying is if it isn't broke don't fix it!

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