Lame Duck Commissioner Acts

New Jersey's lame duck education commissioner, Lucille Davy, released the following statement this week:

In May 2010, all students enrolled in an Algebra I course will take the Algebra I End of Course (EOC) Assessment. This administration will act as a formative assessment in preparation for the spring 2011 administration when passing the Algebra I EOC will be a graduation requirement. We have examined the results of the May, 2009 administration and are very concerned about the performance of the students on this assessment.

Thus she has single handedly confused the entire NJ mathematics education community and the students of NJ as on one hand she has committed the state to the Achieve Benchmarks and the Algebra I exam and on the other hand she has committed to the Common Core Standards. Thus, schools will have to change curricula now to meet the first and then change again later to meet the second.