Math test no longer required for Minnesota seniors

Math test no longer required for Minnesota seniors
The Associated Press • May 31, 2009

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MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota math test that many educators think is too difficult will not be required for graduating high school students.



The class of 2010 was expected to be the first required to pass a series of state graduation tests before students received their diplomas

But the Legislature decided to abandon the 11th-grade math test because of its potential to keep many students from graduating.

Juniors have already taken their graduation math test this spring and the statewide results are expected soon.

The unique solution passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty says that students either have to pass the test once — or fail it three times — to graduate.

The previous law required that students who fail a test wait at least six weeks before taking it again, to allow for additional study.

That stipulation remains. If students failed this spring’s test, they would have to wait six weeks before the first retest and again six weeks for the next retest if they continue to fail.

At that point, the students will be allowed to graduate if they’ve met all other state and school district requirements.

“It’s inherently incoherent,” said Kent Pekel, executive director of the University of Minnesota’s College Readiness Consortium “If we can’t build a high school system where a teenager — and not just a brainiac teenager — can understand, ‘This is what I have to do and this is how it will be measured,’ we have failed.”

Pekel is in charge of a group that will be looking at how to rework the high school testing system.

The group will search for alternatives for Minnesota’s tests — such as giving exams at the end of separate courses, instead of comprehensive math or reading exams.

The graduation test questions are part of the state’s broader math exam designed to determine how well schools are educating students. Although the state hasn’t said what embedded questions students must answer to graduate, the early signs aren’t promising.

Last spring, only one-third of juniors were proficient on the state test. The numbers were significantly worse for many low-income students and students of color.

Don Pascoe, director of research, assessment and accountability for the Osseo schools, said Minnesota’s math test is asking for too much. His own research estimated a student who just barely is proficient on the state math test would score in the 75th percentile on the ACT.