Here are some of the hardest questions 3rd-graders had to answer on New York's statewide math test

Business Insider ^ | 08/11/2015 | Peter Jacobs

[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:

[egfowler3]

While everyone is asking about the questions and such, I’m wondering how LONG it took them to just answer the questions! I bet they had few questions and took LOTS of time to answer them. You can only count so far on your two hands before getting lost and starting over.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: I’m really confused.

You should join the TV show — Are you smarter than a 3rd Grader?...

:)

[P-Marlowe]

But the weight of the box was not calculated. If it was a cast iron box with 40kg of material inside, then either C or D would be correct. In fact even A or B could be correct.

The question did not contain enough information.

[P-Marlowe]

What about the magnet that is under the box?

[jpsb]

LOL, hey I just do numbers not magic.

[Rastus]

If you take the fun out of the fundamentals, the kids will all be dumb and mental. Haha.

[Rodamala]

I want to know why Pedro, Carlos and Tina were all late for school.

I want to know why they are late to work picking rocks from my coal up at the colliery.

You kids will be sorry when I start hiring Guatemalan kids to replace you.

[Ozark Tom]

Depends on whether the Crips catch wise to whats going down, before he’s a fully vested member of the Bloods.

[Rodamala]

When I was in grade school (and I guess to this day), I always did well on standardized tests. We took the California Aptitude Test in grade school, and I always was in the 98th percentile. One thing that I always struggled with, however, was reading comprehension.

I know a lot of kids really struggled with word problems in math... which that is probably normal for a 10 year-old American kid (well, unless they are Asian).

[Rodamala]

trick question... it can’t be 8 or the scale would be balanced. it “could only be” something less than 40÷5.

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

So true. Back to second grade for me!

TC

[cynwoody]

I looked at the sample exam questions. My conclusion is simple. If they expect 3rd graders to solve these problems then their expectations of 3rd graders are wrong. Making things overly difficult or complex does not improve education. The ability to multiply and divide in 3rd grade is appropriate. The ability to reason and solve problems happens at a later age for most children. I should also note that a little thing called algebra solves these math problems. Few 3rd graders are able to handle algebra as it requires abstract thought which doesn't develop until children are older.

Be that as it may, it doesn't hurt to challenge the little tykes early. After all, in less than a decade they will have to face the real world.

THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES HIGH SCHOOL MATH PROFICIENCY EXAM 
 
 
       NAME____________________
 
       GANG NAME______________


1. Little Johnny has an AK 47 with a 30 round clip. He
usually misses 6 out of every 10 shots and he uses 13 rounds per
drive-by shooting. How many drive-by shootings can Little Johnny
attempt before he has to reload?
 
2. Jose has 2 ounces of cocaine. If he sells an 8 ball to
Antonio for $320 and 2 grams to Juan for $85 per gram, what
is the street value of the rest of his hold?
 
3. Rufus pimps 3 hos.  If the price is $85 per trick, how
many tricks per day must each ho turn to support Rufus's
$800 per day crack habit?
 
4. Jerome wants to cut the pound of cocaine he bought for
$40,000 to make 20% profit. How many ounces will he need?
 
5. Willie gets $200 for a stolen BMW, $150 for stealing a
Corvette, and $100 for a 4x4.  If he steals 1 BMW, 2
Corvettes and 3 4x4's, how  many more Corvettes must he
have to steal to have $900? 
 
6. Raoul got 6 years for murder. He also got $10,000 for
the hit. If his common-law wife spends $100 per month, how
much money will be left when he gets out?
 
Extra credit bonus: how much more time will he get for
killing the ho that spent his money?
 
7. If an average can of spray paint covers 22 square feet
and the average letter is 3 square feet, how many letters
can be sprayed with 3 eight ounce cans of spray paint with
20% paint free?
 
8. Hector knocked up 3 girls in the gang. There are 27
girls in his gang.  What is the exact percentage of girls
Hector knocked up?
 
9. Bernie is a lookout for the gang. Bernie has a Boa
Constrictor that eats 3 small rats per week at a cost of $5
per rat. If Bernie makes $700 a week as a lookout, how many
weeks can he feed the Boa on one week's income?
 
10. Billy steals Joe's skateboard. As Billy skates away at
35 mph, Joe loads his 357 Magnum. If it takes Joe 20
seconds to load his magnum, how far away will Billy be when
he gets whacked?

[T-Bone Texan]

I actually did fail 3rd grade.

I blame Montessori.

[T-Bone Texan]

That is a sad photo. The older boy with the stick is obviously the morale officer.