A Second New York Math Teacher: Regents Exam Was “One of the Best” (??)
On June 24, 2015, I posted an email that a New York State algebra teacher wrote to parents regarding the Regents algebra exam. In short, the teacher wrote that the exam “did a serious disservice to your child,” and he/she included several examples of test questions that he/she judged to be problematic.
On July 1, 2015, a reader who identified him-/herself as also being a New York State math teacher wrote a comment to the first teacher’s email on another blog where my post had been reblogged. The second teacher judged the exam to be fine and concluded that the problem was with the first teacher, not the test questions the first teacher highlighted. The second teacher concludes his/her comment with, “In summary, teachers who can’t teach should not be allowed to complain about Common Core.”
I forwarded the first teacher the comment written by the second teacher and asked the first teacher if he/she would like to respond.
The answer was yes.
In this post, I first reproduce the algebra teacher’s original email. Following that, I provide the second, dissenting teacher’s response. And, finally, I post the original teacher’s response to the second, dissenting teacher.
Also, those interested in viewing the Regents Algebra I exam are able to access the exam by clicking here.
Let’s get started.
Here is the first teacher’s original email, a communication to the parents of her/his algebra students:
Dear Algebra Parents,The results from this year’s Common Core Algebra exam are now available and have been posted on the high school gymnasium doors. They are listed by student ID number and have no names attached to them. The list includes all students who took the exam, whether they were middle school students or high school students.I’ve been teaching math for 13 years now. Every one of those years I have taught some version of Algebra, whether it was “Math A”, “Integrated Algebra”, “Common Core Algebra”, or whatever other form it has shown up in. After grading this exam, speaking to colleagues who teach math in other school districts, and reflecting upon the exam itself, I have come to the conclusion that this was the toughest Algebra exam I have ever seen.With that in mind, please know that all 31 middle school students who took the exam received a passing score. No matter what grade your son orA Second New York Math Teacher: Regents Exam Was “One of the Best” (??) | deutsch29: