High School Update

Some interesting updates from the state about high school assessments follow:
(1) The pilot algebra I EOC assessment will be given to 35,000 students nationwide of which 33,000 are from NJ. It seems NJ is the only state to retain interest in this exam. It costs NJ approximately $20/student to give this exam, thus over $600,000 is being spent on this exam.
(2) The state wishes to develop a Geometry EOC exam but, to date, has not begun this process.
(3) While an algebra II course nor an algebra II EOC exam will be required For graduation of students, a third year of mathematics that builds on algebra I and geometry will be. This implies that an alternative to Algebra II will need development and hopefully will include data analysis, probability, and additional algebraic skills and applications.
(4) The current DOE thinking is to require 2 EOC mathematics exams to be passed for graduation. This raises many questions since Algebra II will not be a requirement and Geometry has not begun development.
(5) Next year's entering freshman will NOT have to pass any new EOC exam to graduation. The HSPA will remain the graduation test of record for next year's freshman.