This is what I hate about New York...

[HikingBoots]

http://www.syracuse.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1056184505191720.xml?syrneocit

Not even a quarter of the state passed the Math A exam.

I got an 86.


If a simple math test determines wether or not I graduate... I'm not sure if I'm going to like it here.

[dhama]

In this world today, everything must have a label. If it doesn't have a label, then it doesn't exist.
If it has an inferior label it's very quickly discarded, and once that label becomes etched, it's very hard to remove it.
If it's a professional label then it's warmly taken into the heart of commerce and industry.

If you wish for a fulfilling professional life, then choose your label well; it's not impossible to write your own label. :)

[Lil Lara]

uh oh, that can't be good! well, you passed, right? :) i know, it sucks about having your high school career depend on one test, but there's not much we the students can do about it. or is there...?

[Tha_Bouncer]

Honey, you watch the news tomorrow! My best friend, Shad will be on the news about the SAME thing. He failed the math A............ (He's being interviewed by the news people and I wanna be on TV too! :D) only 2 people in upstate NY passed! I finally passed last semester with a 65, after I took it 6 times!!! Igot the highest grade in Lake Placid this year!! Shad failed with a 61. I have even had the liberty to call wot's her face, senate of state and the NY department of regents and the NY board of education

I told them that NY State does NOT know the students like the teachers do and that it should NOT be mandatory but still have it there for whoever wants to take it. And that it's bull because 8 people this year have quit school at Lake Placid because they couldn't pass the Math A! I almost quit myself! The dropout rate, as you can see, has risen tremendously in the past 3 years......since it became mandatory to take it

So watch the news tomorrow night HikingBoots :)

[Exitium]

Mandatory tests are created for a reason. The reason is to increase the computing power of the mind to an acceptable level, or review it to see if they are up to par. I do not blame the test for being flawed alone, but the pupils taking it must also take some of the blame as well. You may take a test a thousand times, but you may only get an acceptable score if you have thoroughly studied and tested yourself in practice scenarios before. Although studying is not neccasarily the primary problem here, it may also be the fact that many students do not care about their future these days. For instance, when I was younger and lived in Illinois, I was easily able to get an above par score on every are of the test, but the average barely passed. Knowing the students there, they were lacking in their own foresight of their consequences, and this was the largest reason why many of them failed. It really didn't matter how intelligent they were (As some of the poor children who lacked interest did fail), but how confident they were in the ability to past the test. Despite what I say, I blame none of you for that, however. Although, unless you can admit to it. . .

The other reason few people pass this test is most likely (And the primary one) terribly flawed. Obviously, the people hired to create these tests are disgruntled, lazy, and un-communitive with their pupils. My last few teachers were absolutely terrible in their communication with others, and did not like the boring schedules that they were given before. I say they should take the awnsers that are most commonly awnsered correctly, and the ones that are un-commonly (But still awnsered correctly most of the time), and put them on a new test that is still challenging but simple enough for the majority of students to understand.

[Aquarius]

I'm just glad I only had to take the ACTs, MEAP, and AP Spanish Exam this year. I think I did fairly well. Well, I know how I did on the ACTs, and have yet to find out about the MEAP and AP Spanish exam.

I think our MEAP might be the equivalent to whatever the standardized tests you have to take in NY right now. (Well, you took the MEAP right HB, so you know what it's about) Except instead of the MEAP being about graduating, it's about whether or not you'll qualify to receive a college scholarship (which was cut from $2,500 to $500 this year >:()

[HikingBoots]

Exitium, while you do have a vaild point, I strongly disagree with you in that "you may only get an acceptable score if you have thoroughly studied and tested yourself in practice scenarios before". The Regents are taught as cirriculum (sp?) here. A student spends the entire school year LEARNING the test, as opposed to other states, where a subject is taught not just to pass one test. That ONE test can determine whether or not you graduate from high school. If the state of New York decides to throw a curveball into the final test, then we're all screwed.
This is why we disagree with the system so much. In other states, like Michigan, you graduate based on many different tests, not just one.

This particular test apparently had subjects on it that very few, if not any, of the teachers here in New York went over. And it's not like students don't care. They do, especially here in Cazenovia. A standardized test shouldn't determine whether or not a student graduates. It's not fair.

Trust me, I'm not just saying this. I just moved here from Michigan. It was a lot different there.
I'm completely and 100% with Tha_Bouncer on this one.

Aquarius - I did take the MEAPS this year. I dont' remember how I did. I think I got 1's and 2's, maybe. Mostly 2's, but that's because I'm a sophomore.
Anyway, they're similar to the Regents, except a lot harder. The MEAPS are basically a well rounded test - the Regents are more specific. You take one for every class. I also took the ACTs ( in like, 8th grade. I ended up getting a 22, which could have gotten me in to Lake Superior State University. Don't go there. Ever. Or I'll kill you.), and they weren't even as challenging as the Regents.
It's not fair, dammit.

[Exitium]

Oh, I must've not used the proper terms. I meant in different but similar situations. Flexability is key, although I guess it does not really apply to this little test, does it? It is unlikely an entity, however, already getting acceptable grades in school would fail a well made standardized test. If they have problems taking tests, than they obviously need to fix the test, not the person.

[HikingBoots]

That's pretty much what we're all saying.
Most of the students here in Cazenovia have A averages. If they fail this one test - they're screwed.
That's pretty much what happened. They had good grades, they failed the final test. They can't graduate. We blame the state.
Also - it wasn't the people having problems taking tests. It was the test that was unfairly made.

[Exitium]

Don't blame the State, really. Instead, blame the disgruntled teachers and members of the State who hired them. Or blame the other people too lazy to fix the problems wrong with the State. Do remember that since the United States is a republic, the majority of citizens who are too lazy to fix anything will cause problems within the system that was erected to be controlled by the majority of citizens living within the country. While you and others may be trying to fix this problem, the people voting for the current members of State must've chosen incorrectly. Tsk, tsk, tsk, not enough people vote anymore.

[HikingBoots]

You forget (or don't realise) that the State is what decided to make the Regents in the first place.
Damn them. And their Daily Doubles.

[Aquarius]

A 22? I think that would've been enough to get you into MSU. :p lol

I might actually be able to go to college in Chicago now, so going to Lake Superior State University won't be a problem. ;)

How is it that the (Regents?) determine whether you graduate or not?

[HikingBoots]

It's New York's new-fangled way of raising the bar on education.
You take a "standardized" test for every subject in school. You have to earn a certain number of credits per subject before you can graduate. Passing the test earns you the credit, no matter how well you did in the actual class. If you don't pass the test, you don't earn the credit, and you don't graduate. Simple as that.

[JunoJIm]

Hang in there - Dammit - !!! Remember - it's only a game... :D

[Saba]

Was it hard?