The state’s integrated math curriculum continued to be the big stumbling block for Georgia high school students who took End-of-Course Tests in 2011, data released late Wednesday show.
Passing rates were up slightly on seven of the eight End-of-Course Tests given in the spring -- including the one evaluating what students learned in Math II, a course combining algebra, geometry and statistics.
Still, 45 percent who took the Math II test failed.
The End-of-Course Test for Math I, a prerequisite to Math II that covers algebra, geometry and statistics, proved even more challenging for this year’s students. Thirty-nine percent failed that test, compared with 36 percent last year.
State School Superintendent John Barge said the math results underscore the need for schools to have the option of returning to a more traditional way of teaching math disciplines one at a time, rather than integrating three into one class.
The state Board of Education, acting on a recommendation from Barge, voted in March to grant school systems the leeway to have both integrated and traditional math classes.
The move came after years of complaints from parents, who said their children were struggling to grasp the tougher integrated math curriculum, some even with the help of private tutors. Lawmakers also were threatening to intervene.
"The math End-of-Course Test results cause concern," Matt Cardoza, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, said Wednesday afternoon. "Typically, you would see an increase the second year a test was given, but that didn't happen with Math I this year. So we will be looking at the data to see see if this was a statewide problem or if a pocket of districts saw sharp decreases, causing the state average to go down."
On the six other tests, the passing rates improved to:
- 88 percent on American literature, up 2 percentage points;
- 82 percent on ninth-grade literature, up 3 percentage points;
- 76 percent on physical science, up 4 percentage points;
- 72 percent on economics, up 2 percentage points;
- 70 percent on biology, up 4 percentage points;
- 66 percent on U.S. history, up 4 percentage points.
“I have always believed the EOCT is a better indicator of a student’s grasp of the content, and this year-to-year improvement is encouraging,” Barge said.
End-of-Course Tests are taking on increasing significance as they become a critical component in the state’s plan to phase out the graduation test, which students currently have to pass to receive their diploma.
End-of-Course Tests currently count for 15 percent of a student’s class grade. But starting with the freshman class of 2011-12, they’ll count as 20 percent of the grade in all eight courses.
Graduation starting in 2015 will be contingent, in part, on students passing all eight classes with the higher weighted tests.
In the interim, to obtain their diploma, students can pass one End-of-Course Test in each of the four subject areas -- math, science, English/language arts and social studies -- or the corresponding portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Test. Other requirements still apply.
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