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Friday, October 14, 2005
Puzzle answer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As promised, here’s the answer to the crossword puzzle I posted yesterday:
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‘Math is Killing Us’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Thursday I covered the state school board meeting and, not surprisingly, I gathered quite a bit of Get Schooled fodder. Hmmmmmm… where should I start?
Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox gave a presentation on high school test scores including the SAT, ACT, PSAT and AP exams. Her slogan is “leading the nation in improving student achievement,” and she offered the SAT scores as evidence her administration is accomplishing that.(On AP exams,improvement was evident, but not on the PSAT and the ACT)
Georgia’s average rose six points to 993, tying with South Carolina for lowest average among states. (More on that in a later post…)
Cox pointed out that Georgia’s verbal score is not last, it’s our math score that is so weak. In that regard, we are dead last. Most states have seen their math scores increase over time and their verbal scores are flat. Georgia has seen its verbal scores increase. But when it comes to math … that happy upward trend has proven elusive.
Cox used this opportunity to remind everyone that the state adopted a new math curriculum, which is supposed to require more of Georgia students and give teachers better guidance on what material to cover. Will this be enough? What’s at the root of our math weakness?
