Helping More Students Succeed in Grade 12 Math
Grade 12 math students will get more help preparing for provincial math exams this year, Education Minister Jamie Muir said today, Oct. 19, following an analysis of Grade 12 math results of the 2003-04 school year.
"Although more than 80 per cent of students passed Grade 12 math courses last year, we're not satisfied with the results of provincial math exams," said Mr. Muir. "In addition to the many initiatives already being implemented through our Math Strategy as part of our Learning for Life plan, we're introducing additional supports for students writing the exam this year, and also to better ensure students leave the public school system with the skills they need in math."
The provincial math exams were conducted for the first time last year. The exams are based on the Math 12 and Advanced Math 12 curriculum which has four units: quadratics, exponentials, geometry and probability. Last year, teachers could omit questions based on items they were not able to cover in class. An analysis by the department shows the majority of omitted questions were in geometry and probability.
The department also worked with school boards to collect pass rates for both math courses and the January and June provincial exams. Success rates for the courses continue to be high, at 85 and 79 per cent. About 60 per cent of students passed the Advanced Math 12 exam and about 37 per cent passed the Math 12 exam.
"The analysis shows a gap between the curriculum we developed with the other Atlantic provinces and the curriculum teachers are able to deliver to their students," said Mr. Muir. "While we stand behind our curriculum and our exam, we need to learn more about why elements of the curriculum were omitted."
As an interim initiative to help students, the 2005 provincial math exams will be adjusted to reflect the content most teachers covered in class last year. Teachers will not have the option of omitting questions on topics they aren't able to cover in class.
The department will also prepare and distribute study guides to students, to help them prepare for the exams in January 2005. The packages will include examples of questions and answers and study tips.
"We're going to continue to work closely with school boards and teachers to deliver a quality math curriculum and with students to help them improve their math performance," said Mr. Muir.
The department also plans to review the Grade 12 math program to identify areas where students are struggling.
"The information we collect will give us the evidence we need to make changes that will help more students succeed in Grade 12 math," said Mr. Muir. "The review will include talking to Grade 12 students and teachers, looking at the time being spent on teaching and learning math and making sure teachers and students have the resources they need."
The department expects to complete the review early in 2005.
This year a sample of the Grade 12 provincial math exams will be marked centrally by teachers at the Department of Education. The results will be reported in the 2005-06 Minister's Report to Parents.