News in the past few days:
- Retests begin for those "failing" students still in school; bilingual students who've opted out of bilingual classes face particular hurdles;
-  MCAS appeals squeeze another 201 out 12,000 failing seniors into diploma status; school officials describe time-consuming paperwork involved - up to 4 hours to compile papers for one student;
- Teachers in Lynn complain that another math problem has no correct answer;
- Other students learn they've passed MCAS thanks to Whitman-Hanson senior Jennifer Mueller's insistence on an "alternative" answer to a 10th grade math problem; 
- Chicopee schools continue to work on improving scores through curriculum coordination
- The Boston Globe reports that North Middlesex schools have adopted the Singapore math approach; what's not reported is that according to data collected for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), only Singpore eighth graders scored higher than eighth graders in Massachusetts.

Boston Globe West Weekly, 12/12: Chasing math's magic number: 220; bilingual students face MCAS deadline
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/346/north/Chasing_math_s_magic_number_220+.shtml
        Eat breakfast. Relax. Take your time.
        Pearls of wisdom from a teacher who has done all she can to prepare bilingual students at Everett High School for the MCAS exam. Her students have another strategy.
         ''Pray,'' said Maria Casas, deadpan. ....
....               Today, Casas and several thousand students across the Commonwealth will try once again to pass the math portion of the MCAS test. Many will pray. Pray for a 220, the passing score on the 10th-grade Massachusetts  Comprehensive Assessment System exam.
        Statewide, roughly 12,000 students in the class of 2003 -  the first facing the MCAS graduation requirement - have yet  to pass both the English and math portions of the test, as  mandated by state educators. About 60 percent of those who failed came within a few points of a passing score. Casas was among them.
        Three times, she has taken the math portion of the MCAS  exam. Three times, she has scored 218. Five questions stand  between her and a diploma, five questions that could shape  her future. Casas wants to be a dentist.
             ''I haven't applied to college yet,'' Casas said. ''I'm waiting to see what happens, you know, see how I do on the MCAS this time.''
        Casas, like roughly 200 of the 1,568 students at Everett  High School, is an immigrant. She moved with her mother  from Colombia to this working-class enclave about four years ago. During her first year here, she was taught all of her core subjects in Spanish, her native language. After that, she chose to transition into classes taught in English. 
        ''I'm worried for kids like Maria,'' said Barbara Sargent, a  bilingual Spanish teacher at Everett High. ''She could have continued to take her classes in her native language, but she opted out of the bilingual program so she could learn English faster. English immersion - that was very important to her. But in her struggle to acquire English, her math skills  may have suffered.''
         Jorge Pineda, 18, another senior at the school, can relate to Casas's plight. He, too, is an immigrant. He, too, opted out of the bilingual program after one year. And, he, too, has yet to pass the math portion of the MCAS exam. Both Casas  and Pineda have passed the English portion of the test -               perhaps as a result of the difficult decision they made to leave the bilingual program.....
..... For Casas, the debate on Beacon Hill is like white noise. It's something she's aware of, but it hasn't captured her  attention. She's been focusing her efforts on circles, squares, and triangles. Although she's only required to attend MCAS  remediation classes two or three times a week, she's getting help every day. She failed geometry last year, and although she improved her grades this year - last quarter she got a ''C'' in math - she knows she needs extra help when it comes to calculating the angles of a right triangle.
             In all, there are 37 seniors at Everett High who have yet to  pass either the math or English portion of the MCAS, or  both. Of those students, six are enrolled in special needs  classes. For 17 of the remaining 31 students, English is a second language, according to Thomas Stella, assistant principal of the school. ....
.... Statewide, about 44.8 percent of those students in the class of 2003 who have yet to pass the MCAS are minorities;  13.2 percent speak limited English; and more than 30 percent are students in special-needs programs.....
.... Casas is not among the student plaintiffs, but said she  understands their frustration with the MCAS exam. For her, nothing less than a diploma will do. She rejects the notion pushed by Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll that a state-endorsed ''certificate of achievement'' would acknowledge her accomplishments.
        Said Casas with a sigh: ''I don't want to take this test again, but I will if I have to. I'm praying it won't come to that.''
              This story ran on page 1 of the Globe North section on 12/12/2002.
        

Boston Globe, 12/12:  Teachers see MCAS error; say question has no right answer
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/346/metro/Teachers_see_MCAS_math_error-.shtml
        A week after the state Department of Education acknowledged that the 10th-grade math MCAS test contained a question with two possible answers, a group of Lynn teachers has pointed out another misleading word problem, this time on the sixth-grade math MCAS exam.
        Teachers from the Robert L. Ford School filed a complaint yesterday with the department, suggesting that none of the four choices on a multiple-choice question provides a right answer. State officials said they received the teachers' letter yesterday and will investigate.
        The question reads: ''Dolores bought a package of corn seeds. She wanted to use all the seeds in the package to plant two or more rows of corn with the same number of seeds in each row, but she found that this was not possible. Which of the following could have been the number of seeds in the package?''
        The possible answers are: 32, 33, 35, and 37.
        According to the state, the correct answer is 37 because it is impossible to divide the number evenly to create two or more rows, each with the same number of seeds. (The other numbers can be divided in such a way.)
        But the Ford teachers - who say a seventh-grader in an MCAS preparation class first raised the discrepancy - say the question has no right answer. The teachers want the DOE to throw out the question, said Laurie Sinodinos, one of the three who wrote to the state.
        The issue, Sinodinos said, is that sixth-grade students are taught that a row can consist of only one. So when this student looked at the problem, none of the answers seemed possible. For each option, from the number 32 to 37, a student could figure that there were as many rows - consisting of one seed apiece - as the number itself. In other words, a person could plant 32 rows of one seed in each.
        ''It's not worded correctly,'' Sinodinos said. ''There's no possible answer to it.''
        Sinodinos consulted the sixth-grade math textbook and found that it teaches students that rows can consist of only one, Sinodinos said.....
.... But Wilfried Schmid, a Harvard University mathematics professor, said 37 rows of one seed could also be seen as one row of 37 seeds - meaning that the state's choice is correct....
.... ''We're going to run it by mathematicians and experts in the field, and we will make a decision on whether or not a change needs to be made,'' DOE spokeswoman Heidi B. Perlman said yesterday.
                This story ran on page B3 of the Boston Globe on 12/12/2002.


Lynn Daily Item, 12/11:  Lynn teachers discover error on MCAS exam
http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/news/all_news/lynn_mcas12112002.htm
        A group of Lynn schoolteachers may have uncovered a second error on the MCAS exam, meaning more students may have passed the test than the Department of Education originally believed.
        Three teachers from the Ford Elementary School claim all four choices on a sixth-grade mathematics question might be correct, depending on the DOE's interpretation. The teachers helped draft a letter on Tuesday notifying the DOE of their possible discovery.....
.... The disputed question was a word problem that asked students to perform data analysis on a scenario involving rows of corn seeds.
        Students had to choose one of four amounts of seeds - 32, 33, 35 and 37 - that would fail to form two or more rows with the same amount of seeds in each row. While '37' was considered the correct answer, the Lynn teachers say all the numbers would be correct if the seeds are planted in rows of one.
        A row of one is an accepted mathematical principle, according to the letter the teachers sent to the DOE.
        Dr. Terri Beckett, a professor of statistics at Endicott College, agreed that a row of one is accepted in mathematics.
        "There is a branch of mathematics that allows rows to have only one element in them," she said. "It is true that in algebra, you can have something with one element and it is a row." ...
.... Beckett said that the 'row of one' principle does not make all four answers correct, but makes them all incorrect, since two or more rows can be planted with all four choices and the question wants one number that can't be planted in equal rows.
        DOE spokeswoman Judi Reardon said no one has inquired about the question.
        "I consulted with our assessment office and they have not received any questions regarding question number 21," she said Tuesday afternoon.
        Last week, an additional 449 juniors and seniors statewide passed the MCAS after a Whitman-Hanson Regional High School student found a second answer to one of the 10th-grade math questions.
        As a result, 14 students in Lynn had their status on the MCAS change, 10 of those were removed from the failing category.....
 

Springfield Union News, 12/12:  500 seniors set for MCAS retest
http://www.masslive.com/springfield/unionnews/index.ssf?/base/news-2/103959545473181.xml
        SPRINGFIELD - For 500 city seniors, it's a make or break week as they labor over the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System retests.
        But for Christopher T.D. Greenwood, a senior at Central High School, there is - finally - cause for celebration.
        The 17-year-old is one of 21 seniors across the city who learned on Monday that a mistake in the mathematics test identified by a Whitman student has resulted in a higher score, enough to elevate him into the passing zone and qualify for graduation. ....
...... Nine of the city students who no longer have to take the math test over were at Central, giving the whole school pause for glee. Like the others, Greenwood has spent a good part of the week accepting congratulations from his classmates.
        Besides the 21 at high schools across the city, the discovered mistake brought three into the advanced level, and another three into the proficient level.....


AP wire/Boston.com: 12/10: 200 students win appeals, meet MCAS requirements
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/344/region/200_seniors_win_appeals_meet_gP.shtml
See also: Daily Hampshire Gazette, 12/11:  State gives 201 MCAS exemptions
http://www.gazettenet.com/12112002/schools/2639.htm
        BOSTON (AP) Good grades, attendance and effort helped 201 high school seniors successfully win exemptions from the MCAS graduation requirement, according to the Department of Education.
        These students were among 392 appealing their failure of the MCAS. To earn a waiver, they had to have come within four points of passing the test and were required to demonstrate that they had worked diligently to meet the requirement....
.... When first planned, Driscoll predicted that 200 to 300 seniors would qualify for appeals. Based on the first round, he said Tuesday, he would increase that estimate to about 500.
        In Boston, all 10 of the appeals filed by Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant were granted. In Brockton, four of 23 appeals were granted....


Boston Globe, 12/11: MCAS waivers give hope to others
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/345/metro/MCAS_waivers_give_hope_to_others-.shtml
        It was only a handful of English High School students who celebrated amid television cameras and dignitaries yesterday at the State House. But to Headmaster Jose Duarte, the news that seven of his seniors won waivers to the MCAS graduation requirement should breed hope for many more.
        ''I can go back to school now and say, `See Mercy, see KayAnn. They were able to do it. They came to school every day and they were able to do it,'' Duarte said.
        The two girls Duarte referred to - and about 20 other students from around the state - were held up as models at a press conference yesterday where state education officials formally announced they had granted the appeals of roughly 200 students, who despite failing at least one section of the MCAS had demonstrated through their school work and effort that they knew enough to graduate.
        They're the first group to win the waivers, out of roughly 400 requested by their superintendents....
.... Only students who had taken the test three times and scored within four points of the 220 passing rate were eligible. In addition, superintendents had to file detailed appeals that showed that the student's grades compared to classmates who had passed the test, that they had near-perfect attendance and had taken part in MCAS tutoring. They also had to submit a teacher recommendation.
        Driscoll, calling the appeals process ''a national model,'' said he hopes the results will quell critics who said the MCAS graduation requirement was a one-size-fits-all mandate. ''There do seem to be some instances where kids are thrown off by a test,'' Driscoll said.
        The Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School won 39 waivers - the largest number given to any district. The school had applied for 48 waivers. Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical School, got the next largest number, with 37.
        For the most part, other districts were granted a few waivers apiece. Notable exceptions: Brockton, which received 21 waivers, and Chelmsford which got 11.
        Many large urban districts, citing a cumbersome process in applying for the waivers, decided to wait until the results from this week's retest in hopes of narrowing down the group of students who might need appeals. Boston, for instance, filed only 10, eight of them from English High.....
                This story ran on page B3 of the Boston Globe on 12/11/2002.


Boston Herald, 12/11: Students savour early gifts for holidays: MCAS waivers
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/mcas12112002.htm
..... Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School accounted for the most waiver approvals, receiving 39 waivers out of the 48 submitted by principal Mike Shea. Teachers there began preparing appeals paperwork in September.
        ``The teachers realized that for some kids, test-taking is not one of their strengths,'' Patricia Thibeault, a health and physical education teacher at the vocational school, said. ``This was a way for some kids who had given the extra effort to prove they had earned a high school diploma.''
        Greater New Bedford senior Josh Barbosa, 17, said receiving a waiver on the math section lets him enter an apprenticeship after graduation in June with a vocational concentration in plumbing.
        ``I want to go into the union, so I need a diploma to make that happen,'' said Barbosa. ``There was a lot of stress. If you don't pass, you don't get that diploma.''
        Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said he had to revise his estimate on the number of students who may ultimately receive waivers in the Class of 2003. Originally, he predicted 200 to 300 waivers would be granted. He said 500 may be granted by June.


Metrowest Daily News, 12/11:  Area students win MCAS appeals
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/mcas12112002.htm
        BOSTON -- More than a dozen seniors from MetroWest high schools have successfully appealed their failing MCAS scores and are eligible to graduate this year, the state Department of Education announced yesterday.....
.... Fourteen of the students who successfully appealed hail from the western suburbs, with three from Marlborough, three from Natick, two from the Northborough-Southborough school district and two from Northbridge, and one each from Medfield, Medway, Millis and the Minuteman regional school district.....
.... "When the MCAS was first introduced, honestly I was scared," said Mercy Diaz, a 17-year-old senior at Boston English High School. "The hardest part was understanding what the teachers were teaching us and what the MCAS was testing for."...
.... The department didn't disclose the hometowns of students whose appeals were rejected.
        "We're in the process of collecting it, but we don't have it compiled yet," said department spokeswoman Judy Reardon.....
.... The next round of appeals is expected to be heard this spring after the results of this week's retests are released.


Cape Cod Times, 12/12, 2 Barnstable students granted MCAS waiver
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/twobarnstable12.htm
.... The Barnstable High School seniors were two out of 201 in the state who won an appeal with the state, freeing them from having to pass the standardized exam to get a diploma. No other students on the Cape received the waivers.....
.... School officials devote hours of work to help the students apply for the waivers, said principal Pat Graves. She explained that the school had to look not just at the students seeking the waiver, but the grades and MCAS scores of all of their fellow students, even those who passed the MCAS.
        The administrators had to compare grades of all the students who took the same math or English classes in order to prove that the students seeking waivers got classroom grades similar to others taking the same course.
        "You have to go through hundreds of students' schedules and grades," Graves said. "It's time consuming and you have no extra staff to do it."
        That's why many school administrators are waiting until the results of the retest, going on this week, before applying for appeals.
        Barnstable, the largest high school on the Cape with about 2,000 students, will wait until after the retests before submitting any other requests. There are 28 seniors at Barnstable High who still need to pass one or both of the exams before graduating.
With limited time, Graves said the school's priority right now is getting students through the retest.  When those results come back in February, Graves may put in more waivers for those still not passing. She said the requirements are tough, but more students may meet them.
        Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Bourne has five of about 25 students who haven't yet passed the MCAS exam and who could receive waivers, said Supt. Barry Motta. He's waiting until the retests to submit the requests.....
..... Ellen Barol, who headed the appeals process at Falmouth High School, said it has taken her about four hours to put together part of an appeal for one student. She said that doesn't include the time it will take teachers to write the letters of recommendation.
        She thinks one boy, out of 14 seniors who have yet to pass an MCAS exam at her school, can receive a waiver. But she decided not to put in the request until she sees how well he did on the latest English exam retest.....


New Bedford Standard-Times, 12/11:  MCAS appeals granted
http://www.s-t.com/daily/12-02/12-11-02/a01lo004.htm
         BOSTON -- When Michael Shea, the principal of Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School, called a group of 39 seniors together last Thursday afternoon, he knew they were an anxious bunch.
        They all had failed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam, in most cases the math portion, despite coming close and trying repeatedly. Worst of all, they were excellent students, with strong grades and exemplary attendance records.
                Mr. Shea had good news: They had all been granted appeals by a state panel that studied their academic records. That means they will graduate this spring, even though they had failed the high-stakes test. ......
....  New Bedford High School, where almost half of the class of 2003 still has  not passed the MCAS test, did not apply for any waivers in this round. New  Bedford School Superintendent Michael E. Longo said the school's headmaster, Joseph S. Oliver, decided to keep the students focused on the fifth MCAS retest scheduled for this week, and on tutoring classes.  "We will aggressively pursue waivers for all the students who qualify, after they take the fifth test," Mr. Longo said. "We thought it would mean a lot more to the kids if they could pass that test."


Quincy Patriot Ledger, 12/11:  Students given MCAS relief: 201 students' appeals approved
http://ledger.southofboston.com/display/inn_news/news18.txt
        BOSTON - One Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School senior was so happy and relieved that he told his math teacher, ‘‘I love you.''
        Other students at the Easton school rushed to the phones to call home with the news. A few were in tears.
        ‘‘It was like the weight of the world was lifted from their shoulders,'' said James Hagar, superintendent of Southeastern Regional, which serves nine towns including Stoughton and Sharon.....
.... With 37 of its appeals granted, Southeastern Regional had the second most in the state, after 39 at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High Schooll. Locally, Canton and Milton each had two appeals granted and Brockton had 21. Boston had 10.
        ‘‘We have been living with MCAS for four years, and yesterday the joy came back, ‘‘ Hagar said. ‘‘It was wonderful for the teachers who worked so hard gathering all the information for the appeals to be rewarded.''....
..... To be eligible to appeal, a student must have taken the grade 10 MCAS test in English or math at least three times and earned a score of 216 or higher at least once, maintained an attendance record of at least 95 percent and participated in tutoring and academic support programs in school.
        The appeal includes teacher recommendations, the student's grades in courses in the subject area, and work samples. The appeal also must contain grades and MCAS scores of other students in the school who took the same courses.....
.... Nadine Cohen, an attorney with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, which has filed suit to abolish the MCAS graduation requirement, said the appeal process does not excuse the tests' basic unfairness.


Springfield Union-News, 12/11:  14 from Western Mass. pass MCAS retest
http://www.masslive.com/springfield/unionnews/index.ssf?/base/news-2/103959540673180.xml
        BOSTON - Fourteen high school seniors from Western Massachusetts won appeals that will allow them to graduate with diplomas without passing the MCAS exams.
        The 14 students from schools in Deerfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Northfield, Southwick, Westfield and Wilbraham, as well as a 15th student from a regional school in Worcester County's Barre, were among 201 seniors in the state who were granted appeals of the MCAS graduation mandate. ....
.... James E. Vincent, principal of Southwick-Tolland Regional High School, said 23 students filed appeals and only three were granted. Vincent said he was disappointed, especially with the high attendance requirement. He said 90 percent attendance might be more reasonable.
        "We wouldn't have made the major leagues - 3 for 23," Vincent said. "I think we did as well as most schools."
        At Quabbin Regional High School in Barre, two applied and one was granted; Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield, one applied, one granted; Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham, four applied, three granted; Holyoke High School, five applied, three granted; Northampton High School, seven applied, two granted; Frontier Regional School in Deerfield, two applied, one granted, Westfield High School, four applied, one granted.
 

        No appeals were granted for students from East Longmeadow High School, Granby High School and the Smith Vocational Agricultural High School in Northampton.

.... Some local school officials said it was too arduous.
        "I feel lousy about it," said Thomas W. Daley, principal of Westfield High School. "We wouldn't have appealed if we didn't feel the kids had a legit reason for not passing the MCAS."
        Paul C. Gagliarducci, superintendent of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, said he was pleased that appeals were granted to three out of the four students who applied from Minnechaug.


North Adams Transcript, 12/11: 201 win MCAS appeals
http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103%257E9054%257E1046088,00.html
..... The Department of Education granted appeals to a handful of students from the Berkshires, including three students in the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, and one student at Northern
Berkshire.....
.... Many school districts, including Pittsfield and North Adams, have not yet submitted appeals on behalf of their eligible students. Some are waiting until this week's MCAS re-test is complete before doing so. There is no deadline to file an appeal.....
..... Pittsfield Superintendent William Travis said Tuesday that because only two students in the district would have been eligible for an appeal, officials decided to wait until after those students took the re-test this week.....


Brockton Enterprise, 12/10: MCAS crunch time for some
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/display/inn_news/News/news03.txt
        BROCKTON — Nearly 600 students will sit for the math MCAS test on Thursday at Brockton High School, but Kaitlyn Marshalsea will not be among them.
        The senior found out Sunday she will not have to take the test for a fifth time and will be able to graduate in the spring. Upon hearing the news, she burst into tears....
        Marshalsea is among 449 students statewide who do not have to take the test again this week thanks to a Whitman-Hanson Regional High School student....
.... Last week, Jennifer Mueller learned the state Department of Education will accept as correct an alternate answer to a Grade 10 MCAS math question, based on her explanation.
        As a result of counting that alternate answer, 95 students in the Class of 2003 and 354 in the Class of 2004 earned a point, pushing them to a passing grade of 220, which will allow them to earn their diplomas....
.... Marshalsea was one of 18 Brockton High students whose score was affected by the accepted alternate answer to the math question.
        Of those 18, 11 went from "failing" grades into the passing "needs improvement" category, said Associate Principal Susan Szachowicz.
        In Stoughton, four students do not have to take the test again because they received that extra point....
.... On Sunday, Brockton school officials called students who do not have to take the math test again.....
....  "They don't believe it," Szachowicz said. "They want to write a letter to (Mueller) and thank her."
        She said taking the MCAS and passing it can be a "huge obstacle" for some students. Some go into the test dejected and believing they can't pass based on their past performance....
.... Some parents have called for advice on whether their child should apply to colleges because they have not yet passed the MCAS.
        "We've been advising people to proceed with their plans. They should apply for colleges," she said. "I hope that not a lot of kids have put things on hold."....
.... Susan Marshalsea, mother of Kaitlyn Marshalsea, said she was grateful her daughter will not have to take the exam again. Her daughter had become so demoralized that she did not want to attend school, she said.
        "I was getting her up every day and trying to talk her into going to school. She was crying and depressed all the time. How do you try and tell her not to give up?" she said. "Now she can enjoy the last few months of her senior year."


Springfield Union News, 12/8:  MCAS: Test success a boost; For some 12,000 high school seniors in Massachusetts this is the week for an MCAS showdown
http://www.masslive.com/news/unionnews/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1039336207160600.xml
        Jessica Rivera has big dreams for the future.
        The senior at Central High School in Springfield aims to graduate in June and head to college to prepare for a prosperous life.
        But for now, the 17-year-old can only think about the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System retest in mathematics she will take his week. And her thoughts are filled with fear.
        "I don't feel like I'm ready at all. I really want to pass, but I'm very nervous," admitted Rivera.
Like some 12,000 seniors across the state, Rivera will spend part of the week answering questions that will make or break her future plans. Without a passing score, a full diploma will remain out of her reach.
        Testing runs tomorrow through Wednesday in English language arts and Thursday and Friday in mathematics. Make-ups will be Dec. 16.
        Heidi B. Perlman, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said there is no way of knowing how many students will take the retests. But 12,000 seniors and another 20,000 juniors still need to pass one or both subjects to graduate with full diplomas.
        "It's not a mandatory test. Obviously, it's strongly encouraged. We won't know how many actually take it until it's over," Perlman said.....
..... This series of retests marks the final chance seniors have to pass and still make graduation.
        Results will be available in late February, and the next retest will be in May, with results coming in during the summer, well after graduation ceremonies. Another test will be given in August for members of the class of 2002 only.
        At Chicopee High School, 45 seniors and 85 juniors are lined up to take one or both of the retests, Principal Roland R. Joyal Jr. said.....
.... At Greenfield High School, Principal Nancy L. Athas has seven seniors and 23 juniors ready for the test. They, too, have worked intensely with teachers to prepare.....
.... Three Greenfield seniors had good news last week with the announcement that one math question had two right answers on the test given last spring. One jumped from "failing" to "needs improvement," qualifying him for a full diploma, and two others moved into the "advanced" range.
        Springfield has 522 of 1,153 seniors still needing to pass MCAS, according to Assistant Superintendent Mario F. Cirillo....
.... At Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical High School in Springfield, there are 134 seniors and another 266 juniors lined up for the retest. Principal William B. Goodwin said every eligible junior and senior will give it a try, following three months of intensive effort.
        "Every senior who hadn't passed is in a class geared exactly to what they need," Goodwin said....
.... Back at Central, Jessica waits nervously for Thursday, when the math test begins. She has faithfully attended the after-school tutoring programs and is enrolled in MCAS remedial classes tailored to her specific weaknesses.
        Though she was just four points away from passing her last test, she can't help but worry.
        "It's very important to me. I want to go to college and make something of myself," she said.
        At Westfield High School, 49 seniors will take the retest in English, math or both. A similar number of juniors will take one or both exams.....
.... Last week, Westfield Vocational-Technical High School Director Steven E. Pippin said 29 seniors are scheduled for retesting.
        In Agawam, 83 students will take the math retest and 54 students will take the English/language arts retest, according to William P. Sapelli, the school district's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction....
.... Administrators at West Springfield High School said 141 juniors and seniors would be retaking the math test, and 112 the English language arts retest. Many students are taking both.
        At Gateway Regional High School seven seniors will retest in English and 19 in math. Four juniors will retake the English portion of the exam while 14 must retake the math test.....
.... Twenty-four seniors at Southwick-Tolland Regional High School also will test either in English, math or both next week, and 39 juniors are scheduled for retesting, Principal James E. Vincent said.


Middlesex News, 12/9:
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/mcas12092002.htm
.....  Passing the test is still a must for students wanting to move directly to the University of Massachusetts, state colleges or community colleges.
        But those who don't pas will not be hung out to dry.  Community colleges, which are state-run two-year colleges, will open their doors to those students.
        Public two-year colleges will still require a high school diploma or the equivalent, such as a GED,
for students seeking an associate's degree, said Aundrea Kelley, director of academic policy for the Board of Higher Education.
        Those who fail the MCAS will have other chances to prove they can do the work at community colleges by getting their GED or passing a national exam called the Ability to Benefit Test or ABT....
        

Springfield Union-News, 12/9: Curriculum coordination blamed for low test scores;
A state evaluation report said 8 of Chicopee's 16 schools failed to meet MCAS improvement goals.
http://www.masslive.com/holyoke/unionnews/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1039422608140252.xml
        The state last week released the results of its two-year evaluation of school performance. In Chicopee, most of the scores were described as low or very low, and four schools saw a drop in scores from the previous year.
        "It is the lack of coordination of the curriculum," said Farideh Seihoun, assistant for curriculum. "Each school has had their own curriculum."
        As is common statewide, the biggest problems are in math. In Chicopee, the overall math scores for fourth-, eighth- and 10th-graders were considered very low and the fourth-graders' scores declined. There was no change in the eighth grades, and high schools were above the state-set target....
.... There is now a team of principals analyzing scores to figure out where the curriculum flaws are and trying to fix them, said Norman A. Burgess, principal of Herbert V. Bowie School and a member of the math group.
        The group is also trying to create one coordinated curriculum.
        The educators examined scores by sub group and also analyzed every question to find out where students had failed.....
..... Places like Mass. Bay Community College carry a heavy load of graduating seniors, said Pam Eddinger, interim vice president for academic affairs. Between 25 and 30 percent of students from public high schools go to community colleges, she said.
        At most MetroWest high schools just a small percentage of seniors have yet to pass the MCAS.
In Framingham, 68 students have not passed one or both sections of the test - math and language arts (English) - according to Department of Education figures. This number includes students at the district's alternative high school, known as the Thayer Campus, Principal Ralph Olsen said. Of the 380 students at the main campus, 12 students must take at least one part again.
        In Natick, 23 students must take at least one test this week. Twenty-six Marlborough High School seniors didn't pass the last retest, and 37 Milford High School students still must pass at least one part.....
.... State colleges will not likely see applications from students who have not passed the MCAS, said Phil Dooher, Framingham State College's dean of admissions...
.... Students need at least a 3.0 grade point average to qualify for state colleges, Dooher said. Students can also be admitted if they have high SAT scores to offset a GPA under 3.0.
Though most students applying to Framingham State have passed the MCAS, finding out whether they completed the requirement will be a bit of a chore. High schools are not required to indicate on transcripts whether a student has passed the MCAS.
Students do not have to present a diploma when applying to colleges, and Dooher said the state has not designed a way for college admissions offices to find out whether the MCAS requirement has been met.
        Dooher said Framingham State will send a form to applicants and their schools.
        "They will just have to indicate 'yes' or 'no.' They do not have to have the score," said Dooher.
Students graduating from private high schools or those from out of state do not have to pass the MCAS.....


Boston Globe, 12/8:  State tries new techniques to improve math education
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/342/metro/State_tries_new_techniques_to_improve_math_education-.shtml
        For the past few years, Massachusetts educators have worried as students' MCAS math scores have lagged stubbornly behind gains in English....
.... Most educators agree any efforts must go beyond fine-tuning teaching methods or making more time for tutoring, to a radical alteration of the way schools and society approach a subject that has tripped up students for years. Many Massachusetts school districts are grappling with how to launch that effort as students who have repeatedly failed the MCAS, many of them just the math portion, prepare to take a retest this week.....
.... [S]tate officials are drumming up support for pilot projects using ''Singapore math,'' a curriculum they say could be the answer for some districts.....
        Piloted locally in North Middlesex Regional Schools, the program was developed in Singapore, where in 1999, eighth-graders earned first place in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, while US students' scores put them far down in the pack. Singapore math relies heavily on visuals and employs increasingly complex word problems to teach skills. It focuses on finding different ways to solve and express problems, not simply formulas taught by a teacher. ....
.... Some argue the Bay State is not even so bad off. On tests such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation's Report Card, Massachusetts students outperform most of their counterparts in other states.....
        [But] in Massachusetts, the MCAS is king. Students must pass the 10th-grade MCAS in both math and English to graduate (25 percent of 10th-graders in 2002 failed the math test, compared with 14 percent who failed the English). The state's test is also the gauge used by the federal government under the new ''No Child Left Behind Act'' to measure whether Massachusetts schools are making the progress they should.
        State education officials are bothered by more than the simple fact that large numbers of students in some grades are still failing MCAS math - including one-third of eighth-graders last spring, for example. The number of students scoring in the advanced and proficient levels - the top two tiers of a four-tier scoring system - has hardly changed in five years in some grades.
.......Two years ago, North Middlesex schools teamed up with Fitchburg State College to begin training teachers in Singapore math. Now found in 80 schools nationwide, the program expects students to master skills early and continue to use them as courses grow more advanced. ''It created a belief system among us that kids can learn more math,'' said Mary Waight, associate superintendent for curriculum. ''We're no longer marching through the math textbook.''
        All eighth-graders in the district are now enrolled in algebra - up from only 25 percent a few years ago, Waight said.
        On a recent morning at Varnum Brook Elementary School in Pepperell, students pored over a series of math word problems, using fractions, multiplication, division and the use of visual ''bars,'' boxes drawn to represent parts of a problem. One exercise asked the fourth-graders to find the total number of beads in a bottle. The bottle contains 1,875 white beads and there are three times as many red beads as white ones. Most students drew bars representing white beads and red ones to figure out that three groups of 1,875 red beads could be added to one group of 1,875 white beads to get the answer.
        ''I know another way to get the answer,'' said Jamie Bancroft, 9. He multiplied 1,875 by 4, he explains, as is usually required in class.
        ''They're seeing things that are challenging and difficult and they can do it,'' said Karin Pillion, a 17-year veteran teacher, who says she is teaching difficult math concepts earlier. She has used Singapore math in her fourth-grade classroom since the district decided to test it out.
        Singapore math is now in 55 classrooms in North Middlesex - or about a third of them. And already district officials say they're seeing results. About 78 percent of sixth-graders who used it for at least a year scored in the proficient or advanced categories of the math MCAS in 2002, compared with 53 percent of students in other math programs. .......
        This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 12/8/2002.


Springfield Union-News, 12/8:  MCAS: Test success a boost; For some 12,000 high school seniors in Massachusetts this is the week for an MCAS showdown
http://www.masslive.com/news/unionnews/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1039336207160600.xml


New Bedford Standard-Times, 12/8:  Lawmakers renewing push to eliminate MCAS requirement
http://www.s-t.com/daily/12-02/12-08-02/b05sr069.htm
        BOSTON -- Some state lawmakers are trying once more to eliminate the MCAS standardized test as a graduation requirement as thousands of high school seniors prepare for another crack at the exam next week.
        While most state leaders and education officials have not wavered in their support of the test, some lawmakers think that conviction could fade as June 2003 approaches and students face a future without a diploma.
        "There has always been an indication that when we see an actual number (of students not graduating) they might alter that position," said Rep. Ruth Balser, D-Newton, who has proposed a bill to eliminate the requirement. "Those of us who are opposed philosophically to high-stakes testing don't
want to give up, especially this year."....
                This story appeared on Page B5 of The Standard-Times on December 8, 2002.