Are students who would qualify for Advanced Placement classes in most communities missing out on the opportunity in West Windsor-Plainsboro due to the high number of high-achieving students in school district.
That question was raised during last month’s school board election by West Windsor candidate Brett Boal, who argued that more AP classes should be offered in WW-P middle schools. His opponent, incumbent Stan Katz, who won re-election over Boal, essentially agreed with his opponent, especially when talking about the mathematics curriculum.
But not everyone agrees. School district administration officials warn that the issue isn’t as simple as it was made out to be during the campaign, stating firmly that no changes will be made until the current system undergoes a complete review, a process that will likely begin this year.
The problem, according to Boal and Katz, is that the district doesn’t offer enough advanced placement math classes at the middle school level. Approximately half of the WW-P’s seventh graders are placed in pre-algebra, and half are placed in Math 7.
“According to the results of standardized tests, most of our kids show they are capable of taking pre-algebra in seventh grade, but we limit it to 50 percent,” says Katz.
Boal quotes statistics from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) to support his argument that some students in the district are victims of WW-P’s success.
“In 2004, NCES says 29 percent of American 13 year olds, or eighth graders, were in Algebra. WW-P places 50 percent of its seventh graders in that pre-algebra/algebra track, which sounds good until you consider our median sixth grader tested in the 93rd percentile nationally. This means all the kids in WW-P who tested in the national 71st to 92nd percentiles would have been placed into the pre-algebra/ algebra track in an average district, but WW-P holds them back.”
Both Katz and Boal have said the implications of the early placement resonate throughout the rest of the student’s years in school, pigeonholing them into tracks that are tough to break free from later on.
Says Katz: “In certain areas, some of the math requirements affect whether students can take the most advanced science classes. Clearly if you don’t start taking the advanced math classes early enough, you can’t take calculus in senior year. If you don’t take pre-algebra in seventh grade, you’ll have a hard time catching up.”
Victoria Kniewel, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction says the issue isn’t a black and white one.
According to Kniewel, if a student is not placed in pre-algebra, it doesn’t mean that they have no opportunity to later take advanced classes. “There are opportunities to move ahead, even if a student isn’t initially put in pre-Algebra, or on an AP track in another subject.” Kniewel says that through tutoring and taking extra classes, students can get themselves onto the advanced track.
“If a parent feels that their child’s needs aren’t being met, they have an opportunity to meet with administration and supervisors to create a plan that works best for their child,” says Gerri Hutner, district spokeswoman.
Katz terms this opportunity “parental override.” He believes that even though the district allows for the possibility of switching to a different track after the initial placement, that it is not the best possible system.
Says Katz, “WW-P prides itself on the ability of students to move from one math level to another; we are extremely protective of the parental override. However, that does not necessarily mean that we should continue to exclude students from the higher levels and wait for parents to override. I believe that Victoria is being properly protective of the current process in her statement, but I also believe that the current process will eventually be changed to allow more students to start at the higher levels in middle school.”
Both Katz and Boal see a simple solution to the perceived problem.
“All of the teachers currently teaching math in seventh grade teach both pre-Algebra and Math 7,” says Katz. “If they all teach two sessions of each now, there’s no reason they can’t change to three pre-algebra and one regular math. It wouldn’t cost anything to make more advanced classes available.”
Kniewel says that the changes aren’t so simple and, moreover, may not be necessary. “A lot of the numbers that were shared publicly during the campaign were not necessarily true or applicable to this system. Different districts have different titles for math courses, and what we cover in pre-algebra might be what another district teaches in algebra.
“A new algebra textbook was used this year with more real-life applications and critical thinking situations more aligned with the New Jersey assessments. Next year a new pre-algebra book will be used for the same purpose. We do not believe we’re holding students back.”
Kniewel offers statistics to support her argument that the district is ahead of the curve. “Overall, 40.4 percent of WW-P high school students take calculus, whereas according to the NCES, only 23 percent of students had taken a calculus course. We continue to use data to look for patterns and plan for improvement and growth.”
This year the district will perform a program review of its mathematics curriculum. According to Kniewel, this is not in response to the issue brought up by the candidates.
“It’s part of our regular curriculum cycle,” Kniewel says. “Over the course of the next school year, teachers, administrators, parents, students, and an outside panel of experts will look at the math program with the goal of seeing how we can improve the way we teach the subject throughout the school district.”
Katz feels certain that his proposed changes will be made eventually. “I believe that any study will show that the program would be improved if a larger percentage of the students were given the opportunity to take pre-algebra.”
Boal perceives that restriction of students happens in other departments, in addition to mathematics. Katz disagrees on this point. He feels the problem is not the same in the history or language departments, because all middle school students take the same classes in those areas.
Katz says that changes in the math department are overdue, but for a good reason. “The middle school curriculum has always been a priority. We have had problems with the current system, but the most problems were in spelling and grammar, so we spent our reform efforts on the writing curriculum. After that, we addressed needs in the science curriculum. Then we dealt with honors language arts, and made it so there is more variety in the classes students are able to take. Because math is an area where the district has tested very well, math reform took a back burner.”
Says Kniewel: “It should be noted that WW-P is ranked very favorably against comparable school districts and WW-P students attend a college of their choice, including highly selective schools.”
Hutner says that having these issues raised is one of the things that has contributed to the district’s excellence. “It’s important to look at how our students are doing. If you look at the scores, you’ll see that we’re meeting the needs of our students. They work to their abilities, and sometimes beyond.”
Hutner adds, that statistics from the New Jersey State Report Card show “the results of our students are very strong. We will continue to assess the results to better meet the needs of all students.”
Meanwhile, a new wrinkle to the debate recently emerged as Newsweek magazine released its ranking of 1,”200 top high schools “that help regular kids succeed in college.” High School South was ranked at number 356, and North was number 471.
That places the schools at numbers 10 and 13 in New Jersey, respectively — well behind Princeton, which was ranked number 131, and Montgomery, which was ranked number 308.
The ranking is based on a ratio that is the number of Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 2005, divided by the number of graduating seniors.
“By dividing the number of AP and IB (International Baccalaureate) tests taken at a school by the number of graduating seniors, we can measure how committed the school is to helping kids take college-level courses,” says the Newsweek article, “What Makes a High School Great?,” written by Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert, and posted on the magazine’s website. “We think kids at those schools have an edge, no matter their economic background.”
A sidebar article written by Wingert, titled “Why AP Matters,” makes a case for why Newsweek chose AP tests as the measure for ranking schools. “Large studies in Texas and California done over the past two years indicate that good grades on AP tests significantly increase chances of earning college degrees,” states the article.
“To send a student off to college without having had an AP or IB course is like insisting that a child learn to ride a bike without ever taking off the training wheels. It is dumb, and in my view a form of educational malpractice,” says Jay mathews, who wrote a frequently asked questions article regarding the rankings on the Newsweek website.
