Discussion of Algebra 2 End of Course Exam from ADP/Achieve/Pearson - Continued...

Unfortunately, I did not receive permission from Pearson Educational Measurement to reproduce any of the released items from the Achieve website. I will respect their wishes. However, they understand that I plan to discuss some of the items indirectly without specifics. For this to make sense to my readers, you will need to download the pdf document as suggested in an earlier post and have that in front of you as I refer to individual items. Here is the link to the Achieve website that contains the released items (in the sidebar).

For this post, however, I plan to discuss the implications of this exam and related issues.

I would like to invite comments about the issues raised by a common exam that will be administered to students in 14 states (up from the original 9). I consider this to be a highly significant development in the movement toward more standardization for all students. Up to this point, the only similar kind of interstate standardized test covering Algebra 2 topics has been the SAT Subject Test - Math I. Several states now give their own end of course exams in Algebra I and Algebra 2, but the Algebra 2/ADP exam from Pearson is impacting on students from many states and this is just the beginning of this trend. For example, a similar exam for Algebra I is already under development (if not already completed) and, here in New Jersey, it will become operational shortly.

Furthermore, textbook publishers such as Pearson have already begun to publish texts (e.g., Pearson, Algebra I, 2007) that correlate with the American Diploma Project's Algebra standards (download this). Imagine that! Instead of inserts in the text that correlate to fifty different sets of state standards, we are now going to see some consistency. Glory Hallelujah!

Here are just a few of the issues that each state will have to confront as these exams proliferate:
1) How will a student's grade be determined in the course? Will the exam be worth a percentage of the final grade? What if the results do not come back in a timely fashion?
2) If a student falls below the minimum level of proficiency on the exam (great euphemism/edu-jargon for 'failing'!), how will this be recorded on their transcript?
3) Will the exam be required for graduation just as current graduation tests do in some states?
4) Can a student re-take the exam if they don't make it the first time?
5) Should the Algebra I exam have been developed and implemented before this exam?
6) Will different groups and consortia now compete to develop curricula and assessments independently as a result of the recommendations from Achieve/ADP, the National Math Panel and NCTM's Curriculum Focal Points? More splintering?
7) Will there be more than one administration of these exams each year? For the Algebra 2 Exam, the answer is found on the Achieve website:

The exam will be administered at the end of fall—December and January and at the end of spring—May and June beginning with the 2008-2009 school year.

Ironically, while this exam improves consistency of curriculum, there might not be as much consistency about how these issues will be addressed. Of course, one can hope...

Are these exams intended to impact on instructional methods, emphases, strategies, techniques just as currently occurs on the AP Calculus Exam? If you read through the pdf document and examine the Released Items document (p.4), the answer is clear for the Algebra 2 Exam (the following is an image which will appear blurry);













Your thoughts...

Released Items for Upcoming End-of-Course Exam for Algebra 2- Achieve/ADP

With the first operational test running from May 1-June 13, 2008, I'm sure that the participating districts are being given regular updates and materials to help their students prepare for the exam. Just in case you haven't checked the exam website recently (the released items appeared in March I believe) or you are curious about seeing some sample items, just click here.

You will need to click on Released Items in the right sidebar and a pdf document will be downloaded to your desktop. This is a well-designed 45-page document providing a wealth of useful information for teachers, administrators and students. It is far more than a collection of sample exercises. In particular, page 45 provides an actual breakdown of the exam in matrix form, showing how many of each of the 3 types of questions (Multiple-Choice, Short Answer and Extended Response) there are for each module tested. A total of 76 raw score points are possible broken down as follows:

Multiple Choice: 46 questions - 1 pt. ea.
Short Answer: 7 questions - 2 pts. ea.
Extended Response: 4 questions - 4 pts. ea.

Further, the questions are broken into 3 cognitive levels with the majority of questions at Level 2 which "requires students to make some decisions as to how to approaqch the problem or activity."

Here's a quick overview of the content covered in both the core exam and the optional modules:

The Algebra II end-of-course exam will consist of a common core, which will be taken by students across all participating states. This core will cover a range of algebraic topics that are typically taught in an Algebra II course, and fall into five content standards: 1) Operations and Expressions 2) Equations and Inequalities 3) Polynomial and Rational Functions 4) Exponential Functions and 5) Function Operations and Inverses.

In addition, seven optional modules will be available to states to enrich the core with content that is important to colleges and employers alike. These include: 1) Data and Statistics 2) Probability 3) Trigonometric Functions 4) Logarithmic Functions 5) Matrices 6) Conic Sections 7) Sequences and Series.

Initial Reaction from MathNotations

Since I've always been a firm believer that required exams have a major impact on what is covered and how a course will be taught (e.g., the AP Calculus Exam), the released items in this document will be scrutinized by instructors, supervisors, etc. From my experience with many other standardized tests (e.g., state tests), released questions tend to reflect the more challenging aspects of the test.

That being said, my immediate feeling was that the questions reflected considerable traditional content.

However, the impact of reform was felt strongly in the extensive discussion following each item. In addition to traditional approaches, solutions were provided that demonstrated the use of multiple representations, solutions by graphs and tables (using a graphing calculator). The discussion following each item is the most important part of this document, IMO.

NOTE: In its stated calculator policy, Achieve recommends the use of a graphing calculator. They were discreet in not requiring it, however, as that would get into equity issues. Advanced QWERTY-type calculators (such as the TI-89) are not permitted.

The released questions included many that I would rate of average to above-average difficulty.
They also include some challenging items along the lines of Math I from the SAT Subject Tests. I've contacted Pearson, asking for permission to reprint some of these items for discussion purposes. I'm awaiting their response...

I urge my readers to download the document and share their reactions. Again, specific items should not be stated verbatim in your comments as I do not yet have permission for this.