District Compromises on Math Curriculum

Students in Three Village will have more choices starting this fall when it comes to learning math, after the district decided to offer multiple sequences at the secondary level following recent debates over its curriculum.

Students will have the option to take geometry before they take a second-level algebra course with trigonometry included. Widely regarded as the hardest of the three Regents math courses, the algebra II/trigonometry class culminates in a Regents exam which local educators have described as difficult and unpredictable – one which only 73 percent of students passed when they first took the test in June.

The move represents a compromise between the current math sequence, which puts the geometry course after the algebra II/trigonometry course, and , which would have taught geometry first.

"We're trying to create a system that's instructionally beneficial for all students," said Dr. Kenneth Bossert, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. "It is an attempt to meet the needs of all students."

The new choices were implemented on the recommendation of interim superintendent Neil Lederer just as the class scheduling process for the 2011-2012 school year began, and came just on the heels of the January 2011 test. That exam was taken by 103 students making their third attempt at the test, along with 41 taking it for the first time after a year-and-a-half long version of the class. Of those 144 students, 20 passed. Lederer said the state also raised the passing score by one point on this test.

"We knew that our results would not be glowing, but we were hoping for better results," he said. "But the combination of a difficult test, the hardest so far, and the raising of the passing level made it very difficult."

The majority of school districts in New York State teach geometry before the higher-level algebra and trigonometry course.

"That's the sequence that New York State recommends," said Paul Strader, math curriculum chairperson for the neighboring Smithtown Central School District.

Strader said 94 percent of students in Smithtown – which follows the state-recommended sequence of algebra, then geometry, then algebra II/trigonometry – passed the June 2010 administration of the algebra II/trigonometry Regents exam. He corroborated the opinions of many Three Village educators who say that course, and its corresponding exam, is the hardest of the secondary Regents courses.

"The pacing of the course without a doubt is definitely intense," Strader said. "I would say it’s the most intense of the three years offered and there are some districts that look at alternatives."

The math topic turned up at last week's school board meeting in Three Village, during which one mother – whose daughter failed the algebra II/trigonometry Regents exam three times, despite receiving extra help classes from the district – demanded answers from the board.

"Your program didn’t work and I’d like to know what the plan is now," she said.

School board president John Diviney assured her the district would continue to support the students who wanted to pass the exam and earn advanced Regents diplomas.

"I can assure you that the district and the staff are doing all that they can … and will continue to help them as best as they can," Diviney said.

Smithtown Patch editor Peter Verry contributed to this story.