Almost 75% of Aspiring Teachers Fail Math Test in Licensing Exam
I have to admit, math was never my strong subject. I waited to take my required math and statistics classes until the VERY END of my college career, before receiving my bachelor's degree in psychology. I let the bad high school math memories deter me and maybe secretly thought they would let me sneak by without the math credits in college. Luckily, our children seemed to have received Steve's "math genes" and don't follow in their mom's footsteps in the numbers department. Brynn, who is a freshman in high school this year, has received A's each quarter in her honors class; and Shea, who is currently in 6th grade, tested at a 10th grade math level at the beginning of the year and has received specially accelerated lessons since then.
Today, www.Boston.com reported that "nearly three-quarters of the aspiring elementary school teachers who took the Massachusetts state's licensing exam this year failed the new math section." Apparently, the high failure rate is being blamed on a weak background in math preparedness for elementary and special education teachers; which in turn, of course, results in poor achievement for the students that they teach.
Elementary teachers in Massachusetts had previously been allowed to receive a state license without answering even one math question on the general curriculum exam, as math was just one of many subjects all grouped together (history, language arts, social science, and child development) and their pass/fail was based on an overall score. Now, however, math is a separate part of the test and unfortunately, only 27% of prospective teachers who took this new test section passed.
In the Boston.com article, Mitchell Chester, the state's commissioner of elementary and secondary education said, "While we have a lot to be proud of in Massachusetts about student math achievement, not all our students are receiving a strong math education, particularly in elementary school grades and particularly among students with disabilities...this test is designed to ensure our workforce, our teachers, have a strong understanding of math if they are going to teach math."
This chart from '07 shows the math skills of students in eleven U.S. cities as compared to their peers in other countries. Since we live in California, the Los Angeles results shown were particularly troubling, with only 14% of students considered "proficient" in math. Eek!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 10:30AM
Reader Comments (20)
For some reason, math is a really hard subject. That being said, I can tell you of one very good reason that teachers fail that test since I myself have taken teacher licensing tests in 3 states-yes each state has their own which is kind of stupid, being as math is the same in any state you go to! The stuff on those tests, even for elementary teachers, is stuff I didn't even learn until high school, and children in grades K-5 are not even learning. So why is it on a test for an elementary/ or special education teacher? (each level has their own testing-elementary, jr. high/ sr. high). Beats the heck out of me! We should be tested on how to teach adding or subtracting, or fractions, or multiplication and division, not how to perform and algebraic equation or find what 3x X Y -7 equals! Colleges should be training teachers in HOW to teach a specific skill, yes we need to review how to do it as it's usually at least a couple years since doing it, the tests should be aimed at this. And those tests are kind of stupid anyway, it's all situational stuff and every child and every situation is different. If I have 2 students who are struggling with word problems, chances are, I'm not going to teach both of the same strategies to solve the problem as both students probably respond/ learn differently. So how am I supposed to know what answer to pick on a multiple choice test? It's the opinion of the person who wrote the test!
Tests do not tell you a heck of a lot anyway, IMHO (being a teacher and having gone through many of them myself). We had a teacher at our school who aced herself through the book work in college and scored extremely high on the test-all sections. However, when it came to actually teaching the material, she had a hard time even following the teachers' manual. However, I scored a score on my college entrance tests that put me on academic probation my first year, but while in college, I was named to the Dean's List several times (for those who might not know, you must be taking a full academic credit load and maintain a minimum of a B average while employed or involved in other activities). I had 18-19 credits each semester and was working full time. And when I was teaching, all of my students were successful, with the exception of the 2 or 3 who were just physically not able to do the work. So did my test scores tell you my abilitites? NO.
To sum up my case, teacher testing is similar to student testing, like I wrote about in a different blog. If they want teachers to be successful in the classroom, they need better preparations, better testing that shows what the teacher is capable of, and testing that actually lines up with the state standards/ why should teachers be tested on something that has absolutely nothing to do with what they are going to be teaching? For example, the math testing! Like I said, it's all stuff I didnt' learn until high school. I should have been tested on stuff I would be teaching the kids!
For some reason math is really easy. All you have to remember is a few basic principles and the rest is just the logical application of those rules. And, if you can do basic algebra, you shouldn't be teaching math and may God have mercy on your sole.
@ Dixon...
where in elementary school do you use algebra? I have been subbing this year, all the way up to grade 5, and have not used it once! Are you a teacher? Have you ever seen a teaching test? The stuff on them has absolutely nothing to do with what you teach/ do in the classroom. All it is is one more way for the state to suck a lot of money out of upcoming teachers. Yes, teachers need to be competant, but the way they go about determining this in ridiculous. Did you even read my post? I know of many, many people who have done exceedingly well on tests but can't teach to save their lives, and it shows in their students. I myself, and others I know of, suffer from something called Test Anxiety, which results in lower scores, yet excel at teaching and whose students excel as well. Unless you have personally taken a teaching test or taught elementary math, don't even criticize a comment from someone who has been there.
one more thing....when I said math is a really hard subject, I meant for kids. I know of so many children who struggle with math, and that makes it that much harder to teach, because chances are, half the kids are confused about something different, so you have to figure out how to teach it 50 different ways. Logical reasoning does NOT come easy for MANY people, including many teachers, but that does not mean they should not be teaching. Just because you can't read music or understand music, does that mean you should not participate in anything musical? Absolutely not! The same with math; just because you don't understand how to do advanced algebra or trigonometry, does not mean you should not be teaching. I probably wouldn't pick a career teaching jr or sr high math, but for elementary math this is a VERY, VERY minor problem. Elementary math consists of adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, figuring out area/ perimeter, basic fractions work, measurement, etc. It does NOT include algebra, trigonometry, most of the stuff on elementary teacher math tests.
What about those kids who are LD or SLD (for those who dont' know, Learning Disability or Severe Learning Disability)? That means even MORE ways to have to figure out how to teach them. THAT is what makes math so difficult, and THAT is most likely WHY students fail at math. Every child is unique and there are so many different ways of learning, and although all children eventually hit the same milestones, they all do it at different paces, and that also complicates things when teaching something as complex as math. Again, when I say complex, it is because it IS complex. Kids have to remember what + means, what - means, what = means. They have to remember which words mean what operation, they have to remember that 9 X 6 is 54 and they have to understand WHY 2 + 2 = 4. Try convince a child who believes that 2 + 2 =5 otherwise; it's difficult sometimes. Not to mention all the different terminology; if you think math is easy for kids, you are so wrong. Yes, it comes easy for some, but most kids I've encountered do not get it right away. And it's not because their teacher is not competent. It's because math is very complex.
I will say one more time, if you are not a teacher, you have no business criticizing teachers for ANY reason. There are some really bad teachers, but they are very few and far in between.
I have to laugh at this because my head is so sore from banging it on the desk after reading it. Is there anything that America is number one in?
(being a militaristic imperial state does not count)
Math, or lack of math knowledge is the main reason why people in America keep getting screwed over by those in charge. If you understand math, it helps you understand life, not just school. Math is life. for example, when a person is crossing the street and they see a car coming, they perform a complex set of calculation that allow them to understand if they can cross or if the car is moving too fast and they get hit. Granted this is all done behind the scenes but its still happening. Life in America is ALL about math and those of us who are fortunate enough to "get it" and were also fortunate enough to have parents who "got it" are now living comfortably. My sister is a lawyer, my brother an engineer, another brother in computer science and I'm in finance. We were all taught math at an early age and now even though we may not use triple integral calculus in our daily jobs, we can still tell when a person is trying to pull a fast one becasue if you listen and read you can tell "it don't add up" but if you can't add then how can you tell if someone is pulling a fast one on you. The biggest probelm with the US education system is that the math teachers don't really know how to teach, or more likely have "certifications in teaching", whatever the hell that means. Does that mean you went to university to learn how to teach people. Math is one of those subjects that you either get or you don't. You can BS a paper about a book you didn't read, but you can't BS adding fractions. We need better math teachers who actually had to learn calculus, not some big tit twit, or beard wearing hipstoner that can't add their way out of a wet paper bag, with a teacher edition and little else.
@ Steve....
you are correct that America is not number 1 in too heck of a lot......that is why I am in total support for longer school years (we had year round in Arizona and it worked well) and longer school days-granted too much longer and the kids check out and its' a wash, but like 7 1/2 hours would be ideal. Approximately one hour for each subject, plus lunch and recess.
@ Sam from Bam....
before you criticize teachers, you better read my post in the blog about the kilt+ crossdressing. Unless you have personally walked in a teacher's shoes, you have absolutely no business criticizing them. In fact, I will cut and paste it here to save you the time and energy of going back and looking for it. Here it is...
I take much offense at your comment "what passes for professionals in education." I am a teacher, and much of the negativity/ flack we get is from people who are completely ignorant to the actual needs and desires of the students, and instead force all kinds of insanely impossible rules and regulations upon us, then punish us when we fail to meet the impossible goals. Yes, I agree that the prinicipal was wrong, but I am so tired of hearing about how teachers are failing and I am going to speak my piece right now.
The people who set these goals and the so-called "No Child Left Behind" policies have never been in the classroom. If they had, they would know better than to set standards that will never be met. Teachers work extremely hard, but class sizes are pushed beyond the max (for example, last year I had 33 kids in my KINDERGARTEN class); kids do not behave these days as they did in decades past (so I dont' want to hear about how teachers back in the 50s and 60s had class sizes that big and managed--yes they did. But guess what. parents were parents and stepped up to the plate and disciplined their children). Standardized tests have absolutely nothing to do with the curriculum chosen by most districts--and sometimes even chosen by the state. If they want students to pass the tests they better pop into classrooms so they know what teachers are being required to teach even though it has nothing to do with what's on the test. If they want students to pass the tests, they need to make a law that states that no child may enter the public school system until they have had AT LEAST one full year of English immersion; even my kindergarteners struggled with learning the language, at the age when it is learned quite rapidly, and by the time they have learned enough to function in school, they are at least half a year behind, and will never catch up as everything in school is undone at home where they speak only their native language. Now I would like to say that I have no problem with people migrating here--provided they do it LEGALLY-but for crying out loud, if you are going to come here, learn the language! Every other country I have been to, do you think they cater to me and my lack of their language? Heck no! If I dont' know their language, I guess I'm out of luck. And when these kids who don't know the language fail the tests, guess who gets blamed? The teachers, even though it's not their fault the kid didn't know English. Our job is to teach the content, not the language.
People making these laws don't understand that before we can even reach the child academically, we have to get past the empty tummies, the abuse/ nelgect that a child is facing, the absent parents, the fighting/ divorced parents, the shuffling back and forth to each parents' house, the parents who are in jail, the homelessness that many students today face. We only have the kids for 7 hours a day, there is only so much that can be done. Heaven forbid I discipline a child for cussing at me, or threatening to kill another student.
And I go through all of this for a small enough paycheck that when the bills are paid, there is absolutely nothing left over for even a small treat for myself-and I don't want to hear a single comment about how teachers only work 9 months out of the year. We go in during our summers-for free-to work in our classrooms preparing for the next year. We go in on weekends when necessary-for free-to prepare for the following week as our planning/ prep times during the school day are often taken up with meetings or tutoring students who need it. We stay late for conferences-for free. I have been and have noticed many other teachers who work 12 hour days during conference weeks-for free. We are required to go in for special events and PTO meetings-without any extra pay. If we want to purchase anything for our classrooms to help our students, it comes out of our pockets as budgets are getting cut so much that there is no extra money. I went out and bought crayons, glue, scissors, pencils, notebooks, erasers, pencil boxes for all 33 of my kids last year because the school district couldnt' afford it-and neither could most of the parents as they lived in poverty. It was a couple hundred dollars out of my pocket. We are required to complete a minimum of 12 semester credits every 5 years to keep our licenses current. Guess who pays? You got it. We do. Therefore, many teachers NEVER get their student loans paid off as they are constantly paying for more classes! Do you know how much college costs these days? And to go as a grad student is 3 times the amount of an undergrad! I'm not kidding. I teach because I love children and I want them to know that there are people who do care about them. I absolutely love to plan my lessons and teach them and I don't even mind the grading that comes with it. I love seeing a child's eyes light up when he finally learns a new skill. I love to get to know each student for who they are and showing them that I truly love and care about them. If all the other political crap was not there, I would love my job so much better, but I stick with it because of the kids.
So I don't want to hear a single critical remark about teachers-or any other educational professional-unless you yourself have personally walked in the shoes of a teacher for at least a week so you understand what we go through. A week is a bare minimal to get it. And that doesn't even do it sometimes. How would you like it if I criticized your job and said oh you get paid way too much for what you do! It's not hard!
And I'm not the only one who feels this way....if you do take the time to go back and read it in the original blog, you will find someone who agrees with me, who is not even a teacher.
@ Steve
we may be number one in how many people believe in fake shit, er gods...but I guess that could be a sub category of a militaristic imperial state, muahahahaha. But seriously, ya know? ooh, I got another one....number one in hypocrisy?? shit that's another sub category, I give up. lol.
kjgkgj
@ Lisa
i have a good idea, don't be a teacher. I mean, damn! I think He has you on the wrong path. Not trying to be rude, just going by your post. I know you love teaching kids and that's great. But the pain that you seem to be in from being a teacher sounds horrible.
There are many reasons why this is a problem and how to solve the problem. It could be:
-The teachers
-The textbooks
-The teaching
-The people giving the tests and writing the questions
We are blaming many things on this, but how do we fix it?
There are many options:
-For the teachers - More required classes on math skills. Math is a lot harder at 10 years old than it was when I was young. My son is bringing home Algebra! I didn't do that until high school!
-For the textbooks - not sure if this is a right place to focus. Textbooks are hardly used anymore, because schools do not have the funding to get one for each child.
-For the teaching - A critical factor! You can have the brightest teacher and the best textbooks, but if the teacher does not know how to engage a student than you are at a lost! Many people go into teaching and do not have the best personalities. To teach and engage an elementary student you have to have personality and draw out the kids to make learning fun. There is a seminar that teaches teachers how to teach math and engage the kids. It is with SKILLPATH Seminars and you can find out more info by calling 1-800-767-7545. Share this with your school districts or if you are a school district call and nip part of the equation in the you know what right now!
-The people whom write the questions to the tests - Not sure if this is a good place to focus either. This and the textbooks are not going to change overnight. What will change overnight is doing a seminar to see improvement and adding required math classes to match what elementary students are learning in the classroom and required to know.
Personally I feel like we require too much at such a young age. Their brains are not developed to think in this capacity and kids are struggling to make it regularly. We still can not change the minds of people in charge with a one track mind of being the all powerful nation. So, we need to embrace it and find out how to make it work.
Mds3567.....
You are correct....we are pushing WAY TOO MUCH at a young age! Children do not develop the ability to think abstractly (which is required for most math-don't argue this point-it was taught in most of my education classes) until AFTER the age of 7-8. Before this, they have the concrete level of thinking--they must have the evidence in order to process the information. And play, which seems to have disappeared completely in elementary school-is a highly important piece of education that is being left out. This is where children develop creatively and role play and experiment.
@ Tiger....
how many times have you thought your job was stressful? Does that mean you should not be doing your job? If everyone who went through what I go through--and 90% of teachers these days do--threw in the towel and quit, we would have absolutely nothing worthwhile in the classrooms. It's the teachers who have the passion and will stick with it no matter what kind of political and testing garbage is thrown into the mix that will make the difference, and the other 10% really should not be in teaching because they are in it for the wrong reasons if they think its' all fun and games. Teaching is the most difficult, yet most important, profession that I know of. Think about it: Who taught you what you know to make your decisions where you wanted to go in life? Who taught you that speciality in college? Without teachers, nobody would amount to much of anything. Did I say it was painful? NO-I said there is too much political crap involved and if the government stepped out and the teachers were allowed to create the tests and curriculum, our students would be performing a lot higher than they are now.
Tiger...
one more thing. I do all those things, like buying supplies for my kids and everything else, because I care about them and love them and want them to know someone feels that they are important enough. Its' part of my job as a teacher, since the government doesn't seem to think children are important enough to give more money to schools, and instead keep taking it away with budget cuts, SOMEONE has to step in and do this. Like I said above, THESE are the teachers with the passion who WILL make a difference in the lives of the students they teach.
Lisa,
I hear you. I don't want to come down on teachers, but you know what the only thing I really learned from my teachers in school? That Tiger isn't a real name. Everything else I learned from reading, research, and studying on my own. I did not go to college, so maybe I shouldn't be participating in this discussion. Sorry for saying to quit teaching.
@ Tiger...
That's very humble of you. Apology accepted. It was not my intent to offend, if I did, then I apologize. However, I am sick to death of people criticizing teachers without knowing exactly what teachers actually do. I even bring stuff home on the weekends and at night to work on. I don't regret it; I am not married nor do I have children [yet I am VERY happy as a single person] so it's okay to bring my work home. However, I have friends who are married and have children and their job greatly affects their relationships with their families because sometimes it IS necessary to bring the work home. Teachers sacrifice a lot, and the much envied Teacher Of The Year award is greatly deserved by the teacher's who earn it each year. As to the low pay, it would be much better to earn a big enough paycheck to go out and do something fun now and then without sacrificing the grocery budget, but if I was after the money, I would not be in teaching.
Is Tiger your real name? Not making fun, but just curious as to how you got the name; I thought it was a nickname.
yeah, when my mom was about to have me, one of her very best friends was nicknamed Tiger and he died of cancer about two or three days before I was born. My teachers in grade school would not call me Tiger because "it caused too much commotion in class". But, yeah, it's on my birth certificate. When I got close to 30 years old, people would always hound me about changing my name to a more 'normal', 'older' name. Sorry, but I'm not changing who I am. freethinkers love it, others, hate it. When I was about 14, a lady my mom WAS friends with asked my mom if she was drunk when she named me, i heard her and came back with "you smell like alcohol right now bitch". Mayne the reason I have "Rude Bwoy" tattooed on my knuckles.
Sorry for getting off subject everyone. :)
and no, I did not proof read that last post, oops! lol.
@ Tiger...
that's a really neat way to carry on a memory of a good friend. I don't get why your teachers wouldn't call you that. I had a little girl who went by Sunshine one year, and the very next year a little girl who went by Peaches. I called both of them those names because that is what they preferred. I personally don't see what business it is of anyone what parents choose to name their kids, provided I as a teacher am able to pronounce the names!! :)
Thanks, I just remember from grade K thru 6, 4 of my teachers were against calling me Tiger. We had to have a meeting with a couple teachers and the principal over my name!!! Ha, they said it caused 'commotion' in class. Ha! Like 'Tiger' was the secret word on Pee Wee's playhouse. My teacher calls on me and the class screams?!?! Nah, never happened. And I was at a public school too.
I am currently a high school student, and I tend to do very well in math- It comes naturally to me. However, I have seen, and had, MANY teachers who can't explain the subject. They don't understand it themselves. As I said before, I am lucky- I am good at math, however, many of my friends who aren't as fortunate have the most difficult time understanding simple concepts, simply because the teachers can't teach them correctly. I find it very sad that I am better at teaching math to my friends then the people whose occupation is to teach...
Don't get me wrong, I have seen fantastic teachers as well, but more and more often, I am seeing terrible ones.