Wednesday, April 11, 2007

MARYLAND JOINS IN NATIONAL ALGEBRA II EFFORT

NINE STATES INVOLVED IN PROJECT TO DESIGN NEW COLLEGE PLACEMENT TEST

BALTIMORE, MD (April 10, 2007)

Maryland has joined with eight other states in a program to develop a new national assessment for Algebra II. It is envisioned that many colleges and universities will use the assessment for placement decisions in freshman math courses.

The test is being produced by the American Diploma Project (ADP) Secondary Math Partnership, under the auspices of Achieve, a nonprofit education policy organization. Joining Maryland in the effort are Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

The test will be a voluntary assessment of the content typically covered in a high school Algebra II course and the math content generally considered by colleges and universities for placement decisions. It will not be tied to high school graduation in Maryland.

"College and university leaders tell us that Algebra II is a stepping stone to college success," said State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick. "By mastering Algebra II, students are prepared to enter credit-bearing college mathematics courses and by being clearer on those expectations for both teachers and students, we will help improve the success students will have at the postsecondary level."

Algebra II skills are assessed by many postsecondary schools throughout the nation. However, some of the tests used by colleges do not match up with high school Algebra II standards in many states, putting students at a disadvantage. Maryland's involvement in the development of the new assessment will help assure that the test is aligned with the state's Algebra II content standards, and could reduce the amount of mathematics remediation necessary on college campuses.

The ADP Secondary Math Partnership will develop the voluntary assessment over the next year and will make it available to states in May 2008. The test could be ready for Maryland implementation in 2009.

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