The Lowell student newspaper,
March 5, 1993

Awarded the Partners-in-Print
Best News Story of the Year, 1992-1993.

PTSA INVESTIGATES STUDENTS' POOR MATH GRADES

By DAN WONG

The Lowell Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) is requesting that the math department re-examine its grading and honors enrollment policies because of concerns that too many students are receiving low grades or failing math.

"It is important to determine why so many students fail to meet the expectations of their teachers and what can be done to achieve a more successful outcome," a PTSA report obtained by The Lowell states. "We are concerned principally with any policies or attitudes that discourage students from interest in mathematics, limit their college opportunities, and divert their college plans."

But math teacher Michael Descilo said that parents should "not just be upset because their son or daughter didn't get the grade they wanted."

The math department will decide how to respond in a March 12 meeting with the PTSA's Academic Affairs Committee, according to PTSA sources.

The 22-page report was sent to the math department and Lowell administration on Feb. 5. Among the concerns expressed are:

• While only about 5 percent of all grades given at Lowell were D's or F's during fall 1991, more than 75 percent of those failing grades were given by the math department.

  During that semester, more than 20 percent of the Algebra 1 students received a D or F and more than 22 percent received a D or F in Geometry 1. The possibility of receiving a D or F in math is 15 times more likely than other courses at Lowell.

• Students' low grades do not reflect the high scores they receive in standardized math tests, such as the SAT.

  The mean math SAT score for seniors in 1990 was 586 at Lowell, while the national mean was 476.

• Enrollment requirements for honors math classes are unfair. Students who receive a grade on C or lower are not allowed to take honors the following semester.

  The report presents five case studies of students who were ineligible to take calculus at Lowell because of the requirement. Four of the five students took calculus after their parents wrote letters to the department. At the end of the course, the four students took the AP calculus exam and received perfect scores of 5, allowing them to receive college credit.

• Too many students stop taking math courses after meeting the minimum two-year math requirement.

According to national figures for 1990 included in the report, 13 percent of students who took the SAT had more than four years of math, while at Lowell that figure was 3 percent. Fifty-seven percent of Lowell students and 52 of students nationally took four years of math. Thirty-five percent of Lowell students and 29 percent of students nationally took 3 or 3.5 years of math.

"We fear that talented math students avoid advanced classes because they dread the consequences of a C, D, or F on their transcript when seeking admission to college," the report says.

The report questions whether the math program at Lowell is encouraging students to participate and excel or whether it sts up obstacles.

"There is something wrong, not with the teaching, but with how they evaluate what the students are learning," said one PTSA member involved in the preparation of the report who wished to remain anonymous.

The report says that there are "broad differences in grading policies from one teacher to another" but does not provide recommendations on how teachers should grade.

Deanna Nielsen, head of the math department, and principal Paul Cheng declined to comment on the report.

Descilo said he is wary of the parents' pressure on the teaching staff.

"They would like us to be more generous with our grades and still do the same job," Descilo said. "I don't know if that's possible."

Descilo said the parents have made their point in some isolated cases, such as the students in the case studies that exceled in calculus despite having a low grade before taking that class.

"I personally don't recognize [that argument]," he said. "They are also going heavily on the SAT and other standardized tests -- they are not always the best judgment of a student's full abilities."

"We plan to meet with parents to find some common grounds and understanding of this report," math teacher George Soniat said.

The report, parts of which were originally written in August 1991, was revised in January and approved by the executive board of the PTSA on Feb. 3.

At that meeting, PTSA president Nancy Kahn asked students to leave before discussing the issue.

Kahn declined to explain why students were not allowed to attend the meeting, but in a prepared statement, said: "We look forward to meeting with the math department to discuss areas of mutual concern."

David Spero, a member of the PTSA Academic Affairs Committee, said the report has been modified several times.

"Many people in Academic Affairs as well as Mr. Cheng brought up points that a section was too antagonistic or too negative, and we revised it," Spero said.

Ultimately, Spero said, "We'd like to work together with math teachers to strengthen the kids' math performance."

The Lowell obtained the report through sources in the PTSA and in the math department. The report contains a two-page cover letter, a two-page fact sheet, and an 18-page background report.

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