The State Education Department is looking for ways to speed up scoring of the new Integrated Algebra Regents exam in June 2008, responding to concerns voiced by NYSUT and Regent Roger Tilles that results would not be available until late August or early September.

Tilles raised the issue at the March Regents meeting after the state assessment office said scoring would be have to be "post-equated" for the first administration. That means the raw scores would be sent to SED where a committee would conduct standards-setting and scaling, forcing a delay in results reported to students, parents and teachers.

"We can't wait until late August or early September for the cut-off scores," said Tilles, who represents Long Island on the policy-making board. "Kids who fail the test will not be able to take summer programs ... They will lose a year of math because of that."

While some schools may opt to identify the 10 percent who are most likely to fail and recommend them for remediation, Tilles said, "Most schools don't want to do that."

As a result, Tilles said, "schools are telling me they're only having the best kids take the test ... and that's going to skew the post-equating (cut-off scores)."

SED Commissioner Richard Mills said David Abrams, who heads the State Office of Assessment, would go back to the technical advisory committee for a solution. "We want to make sure of the accuracy of the set score," Abrams said, "so a 65 in June 2007 is equal to a 65 in June 2008."

The results delay was discussed at NYSUT's Math Subject Area Committee in February. The ramifications would be enormous, said committee member Grace Wilkie, a Hendrick Hudson TA member.

"The Regents Exams have a long history of results before the summer."

NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira has been communicating with SED officials. "We are concerned that the group of students who will take the Integrated Algebra Regents exam in June 2008 will face the same issue the next year with Geometry and the following year with Algebra 2/Trigonometry," Neira said. "We understand that the first administration of a test will not be easy, but this long delay harms students, schools and curricular offerings."

The new math sequence was approved by the Regents in 2005, along with a new pre-kindergarten-through-grade-8 math curriculum. The new exams are being phased in, beginning with the class of students entering ninth grade in 2007-08.

In June 2008, schools will be able to offer either the Math A exam or the first administration of the Integrated Algebra.

The last time Math A will be administered will be January 2009. The last Math B exam will be given in June 2010.

According to SED plans, the first two years of the Integrated Algebra and the Geometry Regents will be developed by an outside vendor.

SED has pledged New York state teachers would be involved in the design of the test specifications and blueprint, item review and selection, range-finding and standard-setting.

Test samplers were supposed to be published this school year, but they are not expected until next fall, at the earliest.

Specifications for the Regents Examination in Integrated Algebra were just posted this month on the SED Web site, including a requirement that schools make a graphing calculator available for each student during the exam.

Neira is concerned that a number of districts have still not realigned their curriculum or offered professional development to help teachers adjust to the new test format which has been available since March 2005.

State Ed has posted its new math schedule and other information about the new math curriculum at www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa.

- Sylvia Saunders