Budget cuts put program behind
In 2006, the General Assembly passed a bill requiring that students who take algebra I, algebra II and geometry be tested after they complete the courses. It was developed as a pilot program with about 75 schools this school year and was to be expanded in 2008-2009 to include all students at a cost of $3.2 million.
The purpose of the legislation was to ensure Kentucky's public-school students are being taught math at the same level, no matter where they live, and that schools are providing a sufficiently rigorous curriculum.
Draud told members of the Kentucky Board of Education yesterday that some additional schools still will be able to join the pilot program next year, and he hopes money will be found to implement it statewide in 2010, a year behind schedule.
"I am really disappointed that we will have to do this," said Draud, who was one of the bill's supporters in 2006 when he was a state legislator. "I am disappointed with a lot of things in the budget ... you can't say we aren't taking a step backwards, because we are."
Bob Sexton, executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, said yesterday that postponing the statewide implementation of the end-of-course math assessments is a "clear example of how this inadequate education budget sets Kentucky students back."
"End-of-course exams are the wave of the future -- the next and better stage of testing -- and Kentucky's schools are going to miss out," he said. Those assessments "will help teachers diagnose problems in advance, hold students accountable and help ensure the course content is uniform at all schools." ......That effort is a partnership between the states and the American Diploma Project Network...
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