Math at Earl of March Parent Consultation Meeting April 23, 2012.

Math at Earl of March

Parent Consultation Meeting

April 23, 2012

23 April 2012

• Deb Gray – Chair

• Guy Somers – Vice-Chair

• Susan Kruse – Secretary

• Det Kruse – Parent Representative

• Melody Hickie – Parent Representative

• Catherine Roberts – Chair, School Council

• Jon Harris – Vice Principal

• Shannon Hendrycks – Head, Guidance

• Juliette Ma – Student Representative

• Math Department Representative

Members

2

23 April 2012

Agenda

• Math Committee presentation• Principal’s presentation• Student presentation• Questions and comments

– Please be respectful

– No personal comments about staff

3

History

• Parental concerns over assessment of math• November 2011 - School Council sub-committee formed• December 2011 - Terms of Reference approved

23 April 2012 4

23 April 2012

Terms of Reference• Improve student achievement in mathematics at EOM and

to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents

• Consult with EOM parents on math program

• Access OCDSB staff and resources for information about the EOM math program, as well as other schools in the district to assess the application and appropriateness of the current program

5

23 April 2012

Concerns from Parent Community• Current assessment practices more difficult at EOM than

other schools• Level 3 and 4 academic math students most negatively

affected• Students marks dropped approx. 5% to 10% in Grade 10 and

11• University acceptances and scholarships being negatively

affected• Students reporting significant stress over math (time, tests,

marks)

6

23 April 2012

Concerns from Parent community (cont’d)

• Assessment of math not being evenly applied across the Board and province, to the disadvantage of EOM students

• Disproportionate amount of time required for math

• Tutors required for math

• Not teaching Level 4 skills

• Assessment practices do not fall within the Ministry guidelines

• 3 Before Me

7

23 April 2012

Progress• Several meetings with Mr. Massey• Met with Board superintendents• Correspondence with Director, Education at Board• Questionnaire drafted (not approved)• Review of math tests by Carleton professor of

Mathematics and Statistics• Many information requests still outstanding

8

23 April 2012

Test Review• Sample math tests collected from EOM and other schools

• Other schools – two Grade 11 Academic functions, one Grade 11 Gifted functions and one Grade 12 Gifted functions

• Requested review of tests with:– School Administration: Steve Massey, Math Department

– School Board Officials: Jennifer Adams, Jill Bennett, Pino Buffone

– Carleton University

9

23 April 2012

Carleton University Math Professor • Test questions do not objectively evaluate student ability

• EOM questions appear to lack sufficient direction

• More specific question structure required

• Quadratics questions somewhat vague

• EOM Level 4 questions more difficult than the hardest questions from other schools

• Tests should not allow students to select the difficulty of the question they will attempt

• Too many challenging questions may restrict students to a lower grade range than their counterparts at other schools, thus affecting their ability to earn scholarships and awards

10

23 April 2012

Next Steps• Parent feedback• Outstanding items from School and Board• Final report to School Council on findings and

recommendations• School Council votes on endorsement of

recommendations for principal• Principal determines whether to accept

recommendations

11

23 April 2012

Contact Us

• Website: http://earlmath.wordpress.com

• Email: [email protected]

12