Posted on 08/11/2015 3:05:42 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The New York State Education Department released a sampling of questions from statewide math and reading tests this week, showing the kind of problems elementary- and middle-school students have to grapple with.
As The New York Times notes, New York is generally considered to have some of the hardest tests in the country. Only 36% of students passed the math exams in 2014; reading scores were even lower.
Along with some of the questions that appeared on each test, NYSED included the percentage of students statewide who answered the question correctly. Scores of individual schools will be released later this week.
We've pulled out a few problems that more than half of third-grade students got wrong:
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
The answer to question 17 is 8 not 6. C not D.
No wonder the kids missed it. The answer key was incorrect.
The first three are simple. Question #53 is worded badly, however, though the graph gives sufficient context.
“The total area of both floors she tiled was 92 feet.”
That could well be interpreted to mean for both floors, the total area was 92 feet. It would have been more clear if the wording was “The area of both floors combined...” or, “The total area for the two floors together” or some such.
Again, one look at the graph and you see one floor was less than 92 feet and so you can deduce from that what they meant. But the question is just not very well done.
The questions require a good reading vocabulary (’difference’, ‘identical’, ‘diagram’) in addition to math ability.
Wait!
Don’t you have to know what’s in the box?
What if it’s full of Helium?
Or food?
And did you notice that somebody took the labels off the cans?
THAT could have been food... but it could be oil-— YUCK!
I HATE these tests!
Actually it is D. The picture shows that the box on the scale is heavier than the five cans.
Two more problems:
I finally realized that the box is a ballot box. It’s on the LEFT. There’s nothing in it because all the ballots are still in the poll worker’s trunk.
Also, beer comes in 6-packs. One of the third-graders hid the missing can in his backpack.
So the answer is “D” (6) Because that’s how many cans WERE there.
Obviously, an empty box weighs more than 5 cans of PBR so the scale is busted!
31. difference = (90*6)-(60*8) = 60 “C”
If you had answered that way to your third grade teacher, he or she would have told you that you have some imagination.
I’m really confused.
No, the problem states that the box is heavier than the cans (and depicts a scale behaving as if this is true). C. 8 would have the box and the cans of equal weight (and, one would hope correspond to a picture with the scale balancing). Only D. 6 has the box heavier than the cans.
Maybe that explains the poor showing on the math quiz.
A basic skills test, such as the old Iowa tests were, are a much better way to determine if a child has mastered basic skills.
JMHO
And they expect a third grader to notice the scale is off kilter?
It depends on your viewpoint.
Literally.
As a general rule when scales are depicted the inference is equality.
A very poorly designed question.
THANK YOU!
If I recall correctly the weight (not mass) of the box was 40 and there were 5 cans. 5 x 8 = 40. So with 8 the box and the cans are of equal weight and the scale would show balance. But the scale shows the box out weighting the cans so the cans must weight less than 8.
BTW, Javeriouss needs to buy this: http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/glock-gag.html
Me too, why not just a simple
Solve (9 x 60) - (8 x 40) etc
Sorry, but these questions are way beyond what an 8-year-old should be expected to understand. They’re still trying to master their times tables.
Absolutely agree. These are complex multistep problems and third graders are busy learning mathfacts, not doing abstract reasoning.
Bogus.
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