Few Seen Prepared for College Algebra
The first results of an Algebra II test given to 100,000 students in 15 states show that just 15 percent are prepared for their first college course, according to the Baltimore Sun.
While the results could be seen as discouraging, the test was hard to pass, according to Sandy Boyd, a vice president at Achieve, a national organization that created the test. The test was developed as part of the Diploma Project, a collaborative effort to create end-of-course exams in Algebra I and Algebra II.
While the results could be seen as discouraging, the test was hard to pass, according to Sandy Boyd, a vice president at Achieve, a national organization that created the Diploma Project and aims to raise standards at the nation’s high schools.
The Algebra II test was not expected to be used as an end-of-course test that would be required for graduation – as the Algebra I test is – so the states could make it as rigorous as experts in the field thought it should be. Boyd said that after writing the test, they brought in math professors and teachers to advise them on what students would need to know to enter college and be able to move directly into credit-bearing math courses.
Filed under: K-12 Education News
