Posted on 05/17/2007 7:13:29 AM PDT by devane617
FORT WORTH -- Three of every five eighth-graders in the Fort Worth school district failed the science portion of last month's Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, down from last year's 53 percent passing rate and well behind the state average of 70 percent, according to preliminary scores released Wednesday.
Tenth-graders did not fare much better: Only 41 percent passed the science exam. And 617 seniors in the district -- 16 percent, up from 10 percent last year -- won't graduate on time because they haven't passed all portions of the exit-level TAKS exam.
However, in a bit of good news for the district, students in almost all grades did well on the reading portion of the exam and made some gains in math. In particular, reading scores for fifth-graders increased from 72 percent passing to 82 percent.
Superintendent Melody Johnson said that school officials expected some scores to be lower as the district retools its philosophy from one focused on drilling and practicing for the TAKS to a push for academic rigor.
Meanwhile, the state's accountability standards are rising, meaning the passing standard is higher this year, Johnson said Wednesday.
"I feel very confident that we are doing all the right things," she said.
Still, district officials were surprised by the eighth- and 10th-grade science scores, which Johnson described as an "anomaly."
In a meeting with the Star-Telegram Editorial Board, Johnson said the scores are troubling and could reflect a mismatch between what is being taught in Fort Worth schools and what is on the state exams.
The results could also indicate that students lack the mastery of processes or theories needed to answer science questions.
Students often develop these skills from rigorous lab work instead of memorization, officials said.
"It's not that teachers across the board stopped teaching," Johnson said of the science scores.
This is the second year that eighth-graders take the science test.
The scores won't count toward this year's accountability rating, which the state will announce later in summer, said Sara Arispe, director of assessment and accountability for the Fort Worth school district.
The eighth-grade science test will start counting toward the ratings next year.
Despite the challenges in science and math, Johnson said, the district made significant gains in reading in almost all grades. Johnson said she credits some of these gains to the district's literacy efforts.
Math scores for grades 7, 8, 9 and 11 went up. Tenth-grade math scores went down slightly, from 51 percent passing to 48 percent.
Johnson said the state's increased standards are also why more seniors -- 16 percent -- won't graduate on time this year.
Fort Worth's numbers mirror a state trend: The number of seniors who won't graduate this year because they failed at least one exit-level TAKS exam has reached an all-time high -- more than 40,000 students, or about 16 percent of those who took the tests as juniors last year.
Students can retake the TAKS in upcoming weeks.
Fort Worth seniors who pass by the end of summer can take part in an August graduation ceremony.
My son is gifted at math. I was good at math. My husband was good at math. We both have degrees in computer science.
However, my son is great at math. He really is gifted at it. He struggled at first with Algebra I, and got a D on his first test. He realized he was actually going to have to study for the class. After that, he started getting As. The light bulb went on, and he just got the whole class.
The example TAKS test that is online, my son could do without a graphing calculator. He rarely ever uses a calculator for anything. He’s been taught most of the things on the test. He might miss a few things that he hasn’t been taught, but he would pass the test.
“Happens when all that’s taught is junk science. There are no absolutes in junk science and that makes it difficult for children to grasp.”
The concept of “infinity” is junk science? Went to school in Ft Worthless, did we... :)
Huh?
We had the same problem with our oldest three children. They were being taught three different ways to divide. They had to master every one. If they didn’t use the correct way on command, then they would get graded down. The next year when they had more division problems to solve, they could not remember how to solve the problems ANY way. I argued with one of our daughters the other day over whether or not she could divide. She’s in geometry now. She said she did not have any trouble dividing, so I gave her a problem, and she got it wrong. :) I tried to teach each of the oldest children how to divide the old-fashioned way, and they got all upset because they had to do it the way the teacher said. Bad, bad, bad mistake by the teachers. Who is going to help those children with their homework in the years after the children move on?
How do you handle the kids that just don’t get math????
I have a special needs daughter, and I am thankful that she is gifted at math. She has issues with reading/writing, and I can handle those issues. I think that math difficulties are much harder to address than the reading/writing issues.
I can’t imagine a kid who has a hard enough time with easy multiplication/division/adding/subtracting handling pre-calc or calc.
I feel sorry for the kids that struggle with math.
I also really do feel that there needs to be separate tracks for kids to graduate: maybe even different high school degrees. I’m a big fan of vocational training for kids that struggle with school.
60% flunked science?
I’ll bet 90% of them would flunk American History. How many would flunk sex ed?
I do it without a calculator. But schools have to have Calculators for math and science.
At about the same time, Fundamentals of Math and Consumer Math were eliminated. There were too many students who were taking the 'easy' math classes to get higher grades, or to maintain eligibility for sports.
They obviously weren't doing a very good job of it.
No way. Computers can be used once you've mastered the basics, but there is no substitute for developing brain power. And that comes from doing things the old fashioned way.
Still basic math?
I needed that laugh....
Did milk come out your nose? And not just any old milk but milk from those little cartons we used to get at school for a nickel.
Yes it is but only if you wear a tweed jacket with elbow patches to work everyday.
awwww, what a blast from the past. I always got chocolate milk.
I use algebra practically every single day. Trigonometry very occasionally. I’ve never had a call in day to day life to use calculus of any sort, differential equations, linear algebra, etc. Intro to statistics should be a required high school course. We are all bombarded with a slew of statistics every day, and many of us have no real understanding of what they really mean.
That’s not necessarily a problem. For example, if you’re asked to factor a quadratic equation by substitution, and you come with the same answer, but using a different method, then you haven’t demonstrated mastery of what’s been taught. Part of education in math is to learn specific methods for solving certain types of problems. Sometimes getting the right answer is not as important as how you reach it. In the lower grades I had a real knack for math and couldn’t understand the need to show how I reached an answer that I could compute in my head.
What does that have to do with weather it's basic math or not?
The world (and this thread) is full of ilnumerate morons.
Maybe the kids are just stupid.
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