Note: email addresses have been removed and quoted text was clipped by gmail. From: George Schiro Date: Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 7:03 AM To: Debra Pace Cc: Jay Wheeler, Michael Grego Ms. Pace, Attached are the following files: "2010 ALG 2 Honors Sem 1 REVIEW (with answers).pdf" "2010 ALG 2 Honors Sem 1 EXAM.tif" "2010 ALG 2 Honors Sem 1 EXAM answers.tif" Please note that the printed materials that you provided have been returned by Robin to Ms. Dupree. I made an electronic copy of the exam for the purposes of this analysis. You have my assurance that I will not disseminate the exam to other parents or students. The attached files demonstrate that Robin's IB Honors Algebra II class was given a review study guide (with answers) that is effectively identical to the corresponding 2010 midterm exam. As can be seen from comparing the exam to the review, the only differences are trivial changes to constant numbers and names. In fact, the exam is so similar to the review that it is clear that a mechanical procedure was likely run to transform the review into the exam. The exam is identical to the review in verbiage, knowledge content, structure, number of problems and sequence of problems. There is no challenge whatever to a math capable student. Thus abstract mathematics has been reduced from an exercise in critical thinking to essentially a slog of rote memorization. 10 examples from the exam / review appear after this message. The other 40 problems show the same pattern. Please explain how such midterm examinations are sufficiently challenging to Honors Algebra II students in general and IB Honors Algebra II students in particular. Please explain how such examinations will prepare my son for the ivy league education that he aspires to. Even if the order of the problems is changed and the verbiage altered, the level of the problems looks more suitable to an Algebra I course than IB Honors Algebra II. This begs a few questions. Is there any difference between IB Honors Algebra II and Honors Algebra II? If not, why not? Is this good for our kids? Or does it merely look good for those who need to show adequate student performance? Does this approach save money on exam development costs since only half the effort is required if only a single review / exam needs to be developed? Is this how we have managed to keep our educational system financially afloat over the past few years? One wonders if this problem permeates all high school level testing in Osceola County. I never saw such a thing when I was in school 30 years ago. Is this testing approach common in Florida public schools now or just in Osceola County? Why does it seem like our children are somehow devolving? Or is it just our educational standards? Sincerely, George Schiro 1. Use the distributive property to simplify: ? (ax + by) REV: a=3, b=9 EXAM: a=-2, b=-5 4. Write the equation of the line, in slope-intercept form, that passes through the point (a, b) and has slope ?2 . REV: a=-5, b=-2 EXAM: a=2, b=-5 5. Solve the linear system: ax + by = c1 x + y = c2 REV: a=1, b=-4, c1=15, c2=-5 EXAM: a=3, b=4, c1=-23, c2=-7 8. Plot the number in a complex plane. a + bi REV: a=9, b=7 EXAM: a=4, b=-4 10. Graph the quadratic function. Label the vertex and axis of symmetry. y = ax^2 + bx + c REV: a=1, b=-3, c=-2 EXAM: a=-1, b=-3, c=1 14. The literature club is printing a storybook to raise money. The print shop charges $3 for each book, and $a to create the film. How many books can the club print if their budget is $b? REV: a=35, b=740 EXAM: a=90, b=585 17. The length and width of the floor of a room are each A meters. The height is 4 meters. A ANIMAL, on SURFACE1 in a corner, sees a FOOD on SURFACE2 in the corner diagonally opposite. If the FOOD does not move, what is the shortest distance the ANIMAL can travel to reach the FOOD, to the nearest tenth of a meter? REV: A=11, ANIMAL=spider, FOOD=fly, SURFACE1=the floor, SURFACE2=the ceiling EXAM: A=10, ANIMAL=fly, FOOD=crumb, SURFACE1=the ceiling, SURFACE2=the floor Note: Robin says that ANIMAL, FOOD and SURFACEs where changed becuase confusion resulted during class discussions of the review. His teacher asked the the district to change the verbiage on the exam. This shows in full relief how mechanically the changes were made from review to exam. Notice how the phrase "does not move" was left in even after FOOD was changed from an animate object to an inanimate object. 19. On a road in the city of Troutdale, the maximum speed is A miles per hour and the minimum speed is B miles per hour. If x represents speed, which sentence best expresses this condition? REV: A=55, B=30 EXAM: A=45, B=10 24. Find the slope of the line passing through the points (a1, b1) and (a2, b2). REV: a1=3, b1=2; a2=5, b2=7 EXAM: a1=5, b1=-3; a2=-4, b2=-6 26. In YEAR1 the pollution in a local lake was rated at 1.4 parts per million. By YEAR2 it had risen to A parts per million. Which of the following expresses the rate of change in parts per million from YEAR1 to YEAR2? REV: YEAR1=1982, YEAR2=1988, A=4.4 EXAM: YEAR1=1983, YEAR2=1989, A=2 ---------- From: Debra Pace Date: Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 12:53 PM To: George Schiro Cc: Jay Wheeler, Michael Grego Thank you for handling the exams securely and for your time and analysis. The purpose of an exam review is to provide practice with the types of problems that will be assessed on the exam. I understand your concern, but I believe the exam and the exam review should contain the same knowledge content, as exams are not intended to hold surprises for students who have studied and prepared. While Robin will likely not have the additional practice of an exam review at the collegiate level, at the high school level, we provide them until students have experience with cumulative exams. (Obviously the AP and IB exams do not have a "study guide," but many students find the published materials with practice questions and sample essays very helpful, at least my son and daughter did.) Algebra II Honors is Algebra II Honors; you may access a course description at fldoe.org. At Gateway, they have elected to schedule their 9th and 10th grade IB students (actually "pre-IB", as the official IB courses are generally junior/senior level classes) into specific sections of World History Honors, Algebra II Honors, etc. Teachers of those courses teach the standard curriculum for their assigned classes but also introduce additional topics, require additional projects or research, and generally work to stretch their students a little further to prepare them for what is to come. This is Osceola County's first year to prepare and administer end of course exams at the high school level. Experienced teachers from across the county worked with the content-area specialists this summer to develop pacing guides, formative assessments, exams, and exam reviews. They used a combination of the course standards, textbooks, past exams, and accompanying text resources (such as test generators) in their work, just as individual teachers have done in the past for their individual classes. Our Research and Evaluation Department is collecting data from each school for test analysis purposes, so that when we have teacher groups meet again this spring to review and revise the documents, we have that information. In addition, Angela Marino, our Research and Evaluation Director, is researching test companies and published products to help us further refine the process. However, as you have indicated, budget funds are very tight, and it can be a very expensive effort. However, I will be certain that our Secondary Curriculum Department is aware of your valid concerns regarding the similarity between the exam review and the exam, and we will work to make corrections. The Florida Department of Education is already working on end of course exams for Algebra, Geometry, and Biology; American History is scheduled for "next on the horizon," and there is speculation and movement in the legislature to develop exams for Chemistry and Algebra II. If the state is awarded Race to the Top grant funds, Commissioner Smith and Chancellor Haithcock have indicated that some of those funds will be directed to that project. Thank you again for sharing your concerns. If I can be of further assistance, please contact me. Debra P. Pace Deputy Superintendent for Secondary Administration Osceola District Schools 407-343-8729 (office) 407-343-8731 (fax) ---------- From: George Schiro Date: Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 6:31 PM To: Debra Pace Cc: Jay Wheeler, Michael Grego Ms. Pace, I am sorry, but your response is not very clear to me. Do you agree that the midterm exam that my son was given was a trivially altered version of the review that was handed-out? If not, please explain. Assuming that you do agree with my assessment of the midterm exam, will my son be seeing the same thing again in the future? To clarify, "same thing" means the same questions on the exam as on the corresponding review (ie. the same verbiage with or without changed constants) in any order. Naturally, the preceding question is not limited to just current or future math classes. Thanks, Geo ---------- From: Debra Pace Date: Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 11:52 AM To: George Schiro Mr. Schiro, The semester exams and study guides are being reviewed by curriculum teams with representatives from every school to ensure that we improve in our move toward consistency. Your concerns are valid, as I indicated in my previous e-mail, and I have addressed those, as well as other feedback from students, parents, teachers, and principals, with the secondary curriculum department. Robin's experience with future exams and study guides will be different. Thanks, as always, for your participation in the educational process. Let me know if I can assist further. Debra ---------- From: George Schiro Date: Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 11:59 AM To: Debra Pace Cc: Jay Wheeler, Michael Grego Very good. I accept your response as the school district's assurance that exams that are essentially the same as their corresponding reviews / study guides will no longer be permitted. Thank you! ---------- From: George Schiro Date: Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 12:08 PM To: Beverly Carbaugh Cc: Debra Pace, Michael Grego, Jay Wheeler Dr. Carbaugh, Thank you for your time on the phone this morning. As we discussed, please reply with the electronic versions of the study guides used as final exam reviews for each class listed below as well as an electronic copy of Robin's actual final exams for these classes that he completed in his own hand. If digital images of Robin's exams are a difficulty, please use my fax number to transmit this information: [removed]. The bottom of this email includes an analysis of my son's Pre-IB Algebra II mid-term exam (with supporting documents). As we discussed, Robin has informed me that the situation with semester exams seems not to have improved much since February. Here is what I was told: Pre-IB Algebra II: 50 questions on the review, 50 questions on the final, 80% of the review questions (with changed constants and a different order) were on the final. Pre-IB Biology I: 53 questions on the review, 60 questions on the final, every question on the final was very similar to the 53 on the review. AP World History: 33 questions on the review, 25 questions on the final, 100% exactly the same as the review. Review answers provided by teacher. This email would have been addressed to Ms. Pace since she is most familiar with this situation, but she is currently unavailable. Ms. Pace previously assured me this way (see below): "Your concerns are valid, as I indicated in my previous e-mail, and I have addressed those .... Robin's experience with future exams and study guides will be different." I am not satisfied. This ongoing situation is unacceptable. I was hoping that I would not have to bring this matter before the entire school board. But I will do whatever is necessary to address this serious problem. This is not how excellence in the Osceola School District will be achieved. This inappropriate testing methodology can only serve to give false metrics about student achievement here. Thank you again for your assistance with this matter. Sincerely, George Schiro ---------- From: Beverly Carbaugh Date: Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 3:15 PM To: George Schiro Cc: Debra Pace, Michael Grego Mr. Schiro, as a follow up to our conversation yesterday, I asked Scott Fritz, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, to call you to discuss exam review guides and final exams. I also contacted the principal of Gateway High School, Dr. John Harris, and requested he call you to discuss a concern regarding your son's drama grade. I was notified by Mr. Fritz and Dr. Harris that they had spoken with you. Dr. Harris says the grade has been corrected. You requested from me and Mr. Fritz electronic copies of our final exams so you could compare them with the study guides. I will not release the exams as it is not our practice to make them available via electronic copies. If you wish to review the exams, we would be happy for you to review paper copies at the district office. I will forward all of our correspondence to Mrs. Pace for her information and review. Beverly Carbaugh, Ed.D. Deputy Superintendent for Elementary Administration The School District of Osceola County 817 Bill Beck Blvd. Kissimmee, Florida 34744 407-870-4069 (office) 407-343-8732 (fax) ---------- From: George Schiro Date: Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 3:51 PM To: Beverly Carbaugh Cc: Debra Pace, Michael Grego, Jay Wheeler Dr. Carbaugh, Thank you for speaking with Dr. Harris. The erroneous grade has indeed been corrected. If you read the entire email exchange with Ms. Pace on this topic you will see that she previously authorized me to make an electronic copy of my son's exam. She also provided me with an electronic version of the corresponding study guide. I understand that it is not standard practice to release this information, but this is not a standard situation. I would really appreciate your continued cooperation with this, but I can wait until Ms. Pace returns. Are you willing to respond to my findings so far regarding Robin's 3 classes or should this wait for Ms. Pace as well? 'Geo ---------- From: Debra Pace Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 12:58 PM To: George Schiro Cc: Michael Grego, Scott Fritz, Beverly Carbaugh Good afternoon, Mr. Schiro. I have talked with Dr. Grego, and we stand firm that it is not wise to release all our semester exams to the public. We made an exception for you with Algebra II, based on our past relationship, but we will not be able to do with the other exams you have requested. As we have discussed, we initiated the practice of common District exams for some of our core classes this year, and we will be refining those exams and review materials for continued use, so test security is a concern. I personally reviewed the Algebra II Honors and Algebra II exams and review materials to ensure that they were of differing levels of complexity and that the exam reviews did not mirror the exams but did provide adequate review and practice of the essential standards. Scott Fritz and Dr. Grego reviewed all of the other District semester exams and review materials to check for coverage of the standards, levels of complexity, and appropriate review materials before the exams were released. I stand by my earlier assurance that second semester exams and reviews were of higher quality than first semester, and we will continue to improve our processes and our test documents as move forward from here, in preparation for the implementation of state exams over the next 3 years I will communicate with you in August regarding making transportation arrangements for Robin to participate in extracurricular activities this next year, once we have a firm fall schedule for the Harmony Robotics Team. I hope that you and your family enjoy the summer. Debra ... [Message clipped] ---------- From: George Schiro Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 3:29 PM To: Debra Pace Cc: Michael Grego, Scott Fritz, Beverly Carbaugh I am sure that you will understand if I don't agree. But thank you anyway. ... [Message clipped] ---------- From: George Schiro Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 3:34 PM To: Jay Wheeler Jay, I have taken this as far as I can through the usual channels. When you have the time, please review the details below. My son and his classmates in the pre-IB program were essentially given the questions for 3 of their 9th grade finals at Gateway. This is much the same as I previously reported months ago about my son's math mid-term. Debra Pace promised that she would fix this. Apparently she didn't. What can be done about this unacceptable situation? What's the point of testing like this? What is the value of rote memorization in math and science? How will this "non-thinking" approach to problem solving help our children get into Ivy League universities? ... [Message clipped] ---------- From: Jay Wheeler Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 6:48 PM To: George Schiro Have you met with dr grego about this yet? Sent from my iPhone ... [Message clipped] ---------- From: George Schiro Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 8:23 PM To: Jay Wheeler Not yet. According to Ms. Pace she and Dr. Grego have already made their decision. ... [Message clipped]