MATH A PANEL REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

October 9, 2003

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” - - Isaac Newton

Greetings from Wayne Central School District. Below are some items of interest.

Newsletter:

Ginna Sale: On Wednesday October 7^th I had a conference call with one of the bidders on the Ginna Plant. They did not identify the company they were with. Instead they called themselves the “blue Team”. Their first names were Deanna, Robert and Dave. They asked questions about our tax rates and what would happen to their taxes if the sale of the plant was for more than its current value. I explained that it was a complicated process based on the overall assessed value of the district, the wealth of the district and State Aid. They also ask if we would consider a pilot (payment in lieu of taxes). I told them we would be willing to talk to them about one. My sense is that the sale will be for more than our current assessed value. That should be very good news.

The “orange team” is supposed to be calling the Town of Ontario sometime during the next few days. I believe the sale will occur by the end of November. We probably should talk about these as one of our three board items.

2. Construction Alternatives: Listed below are the alternates for the construction project. Note that none of these items were in the original 14.9 million dollar project approved by the voters last year. Provided the bids come in less than 14.9, the board of education will have the opportunity to include some of these items in the project. We would expect to be able to make that decision in March or April.

OPTIONAL ITEMS (ALTERNATES)


1	Beneway H.S. Convector Cover Replacement Alternate	$54,000
2	Beneway H.S. Cafeteria Arched Divider Wall	$17,500
3	Beneway H.S. Epoxy Terrazzo in New Coridors	$77,000
4	Light Poles Along Access Road Between H.S. & M.S.	$15,050
5	Drainage System at New Varsity Field	$100,000
6	Asphalt @ Construction Laydown Areas (2 Locations)	$69,050
7	Ontario Elementary Roof Alternate #1	$49,500
8	Ontario Elementary Cooling Alternate -T.B.D.

3.    GED Graduation Rate: Last night the Board of Education asked about the percentage of last year’s seniors who graduated with a GED. Mr. Spring has researched that information and reports that less than 1% (2 students) graduated with GED’s. This is somewhat difficult to track because the GED enrollment and passing data is not recorded by school district at SED or BOCES. Passing results are shared with the students themselves and not conveyed back to the home school district.

4. Clubs: Last night the board of education requested information on all of the school clubs and activities for which staff members are not currently receiving a stipend. Attached is a list of the majority of those clubs. Please note that some activities may be informal and thus we are not even aware of them yet. As I discussed last night, the usual course of events is for a teacher to want to do an activity with a bunch of students, begin doing it informally with a few, later request permission from the principal to continue the activity on a more formal volunteer basis, and finally at some point a request is made for a stipend. Sometimes these informal activities will only occur once a year, sometimes monthly, and some may fade away after a short period of time. Many of these clubs and activities occur during the regular teaching day.

5. Three Board Items: If you have anything for our Three Boards meeting please let me know by Monday. Mr. Clark is putting the agenda together.

6. Finance Workshop: The finance workshop sponsored by four school boards is next Wednesday. Greg and I are willing to serve as drivers. Please let Lori know if you want a ride.

7. Newark Attempted Abduction: As you have probably heard on the news, the incident of an attempted abduction of a 14 year old girl in Newark was a hoax, fabricated by the girl.

8. Math A Test: As I reported to you last night, the Regents acted on the Math A report developed by a Statewide committee of educators. The Commissioner recommended extending the 55 passing score option for two additional years, extending the safety net for students with disabilities for five years, and accepting virtually all the Math A panel recommendations. I believe this is an excellent decision.

It is less clear what they will do on the Physics exam. I hope that I will learn additional information at my assessment meetings on Thursday and Friday. I have attached the summary of the committee’s recommendations.

9. Events:
Oct. 13 – School Closed – Columbus Day
October 15 - Four County School Boards Mtg – Club 86, Geneva
“The Board’s Fiduciary Responsibility” 5:30 Social, 6:30 Dinner/Program
Dinner selections: Steak, Chicken Picatta, Eggplant Parm –
Please let Lori know if you plan to attend.
October 16 – FE Curriculum Night (Open House) – 6:00 – 8:15 p.m.
October 16 – HS Math Team Meet @ Wayne Central School District
October 20 – HS PTSA Meeting – District Office – 7:00 p.m.
October 20 – Three Boards Meeting – Casey Park Lodge – 7:30 p.m.
October 21 – MS PTA Meeting - MS
October 23-25 – NYSSBA Annual Convention – Rochester Convention Center
October 30 – Four County School Boards Pres & VP Dinner - Wayne Finger Lakes Technical Center, 3501 County Road 20, Stanley – 6:15 p.m. – Buffet Dinner
Please let Lori know if you plan to attend.

Athletics: (home games)
10/11 – Boys’ JV & V Soccer vs. Pittsford-Sutherland – 5:00 & 7:00 p.m.
10/13 – Girls JV & V Soccer vs. Canandaigua – 4:30 & 7:00 p.m.
10/14 – Boys’ JV & V Soccer vs. Midlakes – 4:30 & 7:00 p.m.
10/14 – Girls’ JV & V Volleyball vs. Midlakes – 5:00 & 6:30 p.m.
10/15 – Boys’ JV & V Volleyball vs. Canandaigua – 5:30 & 7:00 p.m.
10./15 – Girls’ JV & V Volleyball vs. Pal-Mac – 5:00 & 6:30 p.m.
10/17 – V Football vs. Livonia – 7:00 p.m.
10/17 – Girls V Volleyball vs. Honeoye – 5:00 p.m.
10/21 – JV Football vs. Midlakes – 4:15 p.m.

10. Attachments:
a. Non-Stipend Clubs
b. Math A Report
c. Newscope
d. Walworth Town Board Meeting Minutes – 10/2

Wayne Central School District Memorandum

Department of Human Resources

TO: Michael Havens, Superintendent of Schools

FROM: Mark D. Callahan, Director of Human Resources

DATE: October 9, 2003

SUBJECT: Activities and Clubs without Provision for Stipend

The following activities and clubs are currently being offered by staff who do not receive a stipend for their participation:

MS: Skateboarding Club, Science Club, Jazz Band, Show Choir

FE: KICS (Kids In Community Service), Homework Helpers, Garden Club
Intention: FE will be requesting a stipend for Homework Helpers

OE: Service Club, Ecology Club, Homework Hangout, Newspaper Club
Intention: OE will be requesting stipends for the Service Club and Ecology Club

With the stipends approved this week, the high school now has each of its clubs funded.

Name	Department	Bldg.	#Tchr	Rate
Kelly Gallup	Counseling	District	[6.0]	$2,647
Lori Sensenbach	Counseling	District	[2.0]	$2,007
Kim Sherwin	Eagle Ventures	Eagle Ventures	[5.5]	$2,567

Charlie Roods

English

$2,807

David Scott

English

7.4

$2,871

Carolyn Straub	Foreign Language	HS/MS	[8.0]	$2,967
Kathy Emison	Mathematics	HS	[7.0]	$2,807
Brad LaBarge	Mathematics	MS	5	$2,487
TBD	Occupational Education	HS/MS	[8.0]	$2,967

Ed Currier

Science

[6.5]

$2,727

Jason Lance

Science

$2,807

Marc Binsack	Social Studies	MS	4	$2,327
John DonVito	Social Studies	HS	[8.0]	$2,967
Deborah Wood	Special Education	MS	10	$3,287
Deborah Valinzo	Special Education	HS	7	$2,807

$41,049

Name

Department

#Tchr

Rate

Patrice Ott

Art

$2,807

Robert Berkowitz

Media

$2,327

Sarah Moran

Music

$3,287

$8,421

Name

Activity

Bldg.

Rate

Andrew Shearer	Detention (1/2)	MS		$ 1,296.50
Jayson Gauthier	Detention (1/2)	MS		$ 1,296.50
Joanna Bucci	Freshman Class	HS		$ 657.00
Amber Wawrzaszek	Government (1/2)	MS		$ 498.50
Erin O’Brien	Government (1/2)	MS		$ 498.50
JoAnne Hurley	History Club (1/2)	MS		$ 902.50
Barb Carlisle	History Club (1/2)	MS		$ 902.50
Judith Fletcher	Honor Society	HS		$ 546.00
Bob Magin	Intramurals	FE	$26/day
Martha Hanley	Intramurals	FE	$26/day
Deb Knox	Intramurals	FE	$26/day	$ 3,084.00
Scott Freischlag	Intramurals	MS	$26/day
Dave Leone	Intramurals	MS	$26/day
And Maureen Doyle	Intramurals	MS	$26/day	$ 3,084.00
TBD	Intramurals	OE	$26/day	$ 3,084.00
John DonVito	Junior Class	HS		$ 1,434.00

Tom Seimbor

Key Club

$ 530.00

Michelle Timothy	Masterminds	HS	$ 530.00
Lisa Twitchell	Math Team	HS	$ 1,912.00
TBD	Musical Accompanist	HS	$ 546.00
TBD	Musical Drama Director	HS	$ 1,641.00
TBD	Musical Inst. Director	HS	$ 1,641.00
TBD	Musical Producer	HS	$ 1,026.00
TBD	Musical Sound	HS	$ 410.00
TBD	Musical Vocal Director	HS	$ 1,641.00
Jennifer Borowiak	Newspaper	MS	$ 272.66
Kathleen Walker	Newspaper	MS	$ 272.66
Amy Tobin	Newspaper	MS	$ 272.66
Ed Currier	Science Olympiad	MS	$ 1,366.00
Frank Gough	Science Olympiad	HS	$ 530.00
Lisa Marlowe	Senior Class (1/2)	HS	$ 1,434.50
Kelly Gallup	Senior Class (1/2)	HS	$ 1,434.50

Thomas Gentile

Ski Club

$ 683.00

Kevin Shoemaker

Ski Club

$ 683.00

Jen Klehr	Student Senate (Gov’t)	HS	$ 683.00
Gwen Hoffman	Sophmore Class	HS	$ 818.00
Dave Marean	Varsity Club	HS	$ 1,053.00

Lance Jason

Yearbook

$ 1,364.50

Teresa Lawrence

Yearbook

$ 1,364.50

Wendy Herrick

Yearbook

$ 1,936.00

$ 41,328.98

Name	Grade Level	Bldg.	#Tchr	Rate
Patricia Dombroski	Kindergarten (1^st Qtr	FE	2.5	$ 475.50
Darlene Martino	Kindergarten (2^nd Qtr)	FE	2.5	$ 475.50
Laurie Gilbert	Kindergarten (3^rd Qtr)	FE	2.5	$ 475.50
Tracy LaBarge	Kindergarten (4th Qtr)	FE	2.5	$ 475.50
Linda Casey	Kindergarten	OP	3	$ 1,945.00
Kim Adamson	Grade One (1^st Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Tiffany Cotsonas	Grade One (2^nd Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Silvia DonVito	Grade One (3^rd Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Amy Sullivan	Grade One (4^th Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25

Patricia Morton

Grade One

$ 2,203.00

Jill Ghysel	Grade Two (1^st Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Deb Adamo	Grade Two (2^nd Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Cheryl Fry	Grade Two (3^rd Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Fran Treible	Grade Two (4^th Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25

Bill Thompson

Grade Two

$ 2,203.00

Kim Meitus	Grade Three (1^st Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Cindy Rutan	Grade Three (2^nd Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Shari Hurny	Grade Three (3^rd Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Carrie St. Pierre	Grade Three (4^th Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Sandra Karp	Grade Three	OE	5	$ 2,117.00
Andrea Dysart	Grade Four (1^st Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Jason Carter	Grade Four (2^nd Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Deb Adamo	Grade Four (3^rd Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Alex Balta	Grade Four (4^th Qtr)	FE	3	$ 486.25
Nicole Welch	Grade Four (1/2)	OE	5	$ 1,058.50
Jenn Becker	Grade Four (1/2)	OE	5	$ 1,058.50

Bob Magin

Grade Five

$ 1,945.00

Heather Glossner

Grade Five

$ 2,117.00

Barb Carlisle

Grade 6 Neptune

(1^st)

$ 1,015.50

Nancy Driscoll

Grade 6 Neptune

(2^nd)

$ 1,015.50

Barb Thiele	Grade 6 Pluto (1^st)	MS	4	$ 1,015.50
Alan Etkin	Grade 6 Pluto (2^nd)	MS	4	$ 1,015.50
Terry Lindsay	Grade 7 Jupiter	MS	4	$ 2,031.00
Eileen Schwarz	Grade 7 Saturn	MS	4	$ 2,031.00
Michelle Guerrieri	Grade 8 Mars	MS	4	$ 2,031.00
Jenny Wing	Grade 8 Mercury	MS	4	$ 2,031.00

$ 36,515.00

Name

Activity

Bldg.

Rate

Jackie Senecal		International	HS			$ 530.00
Caroline Straub		International	HS			$ 530.00

Corine Robideau

Art (1/2)

$ 265.00

Terese Manfredi

Art (1/2)

$ 265.00

Hailey Burns		Natural Helpers	HS			$ 530.00
Kelly Gallup		Natural Helpers	HS			$ 530.00

Gail Streeter

FBLA

$ 530.00

Michael Lester

Jazz Band

$ 530.00

Pete Derse		Select Chorus	HS			$ 530.00
Sheryl Idzick		Tech Theatre	HS			$ 530.00

Pat Brennan

FTA

$ 530.00

$ 5,300.00

2003-04 Stipend Expenditure

Department Chairpersons

$ 41,049.00

	K-12 Advisors		$ 8,421.00
	Activity Advisors		$ 41,328.98
	Team Leaders		$ 36,515.00

Model School Club Advisors

$ 5,300.00


				$ 132,613.98

MATH A PANEL REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Panel supports the Commissioner and the Board of Regents in the quest to raise standards for all children, and we write this report in the hope of recommending solutions to the problems the Panel has identified, so that our State may continue on its path of providing a top quality education for every child. Based on the Panel's perusal of math graduation exams from other states, it is the Panel's opinion that New York State has the highest math standards in the nation; our recommendations are intended to keep it that way.

Before Math A, there were two ways students could meet the math graduation requirement, either by passing the Course I Regents exam, or by passing the simpler Regents Competency Test (RCT). Math A is a much more challenging requirement than Course I; it tests more content and it
has more problem solving. It is a challenge to move students from Course I to Math A. The challenge of moving students from the RCT to Math A is much greater. Early on, concerns were raised about the extent of this challenge. An SED report issued in 1998 entitled "Mathematics
Standards and Assessment Review Committee Report" contains the following caution:

Until (1) the Standards are clearly stated and communicated to teachers, students, parents and other interested parties; (2) proper support systems are put in place to give ALL students a fair chance to meet the Standards; and (3) proper support systems are put in place to provide
ALL teachers with opportunities to develop mathematical content knowledge and pedagogical strategies, it may be unfair and unrealistic to expect the passing of the Mathematics A exam to be a requirement for a high school diploma. (p. 4.)

This Panel has concluded that the standards are not clear, and that the necessary support systems for students and teachers are not in place. It is not within this Panel's charge to discuss graduation requirements; the Panel's work has focused on changes to Math A to make it more successful.

As noted above, even after a substantial adjustment recommended by this Panel, 45% of the students failed the June 2003 Math A exam at the 65 level. Such a failure rate on an adjusted exam points not to a single problem or a few simple problems; it points to a systemic problem. This
Panel focused on identifying the various facets of this systemic problem, and on making broad recommendations to the Board of Regents, so these problems can be addressed, and so we can continue moving forward to raise all of our students to high levels of math competency.

The Panel spent hours examining pages and pages of information, graciously provided by SED staff. The Panel spent hours speaking with SED staff, who patiently put up with our questions day after day. The Panel spent hours discussing what we were seeing, and then trying to
reach consensus on our recommendations. The Panel believes it has identified a number of areas in which changes need to be made, so that we can continue moving forward on the path to higher standards for all children.

The Panel has identified 16 findings, and has developed a total of 22 recommendations, many with several parts, for a total of 41 recommendations. These are summarized below.

The Math A Standards

Finding 1: The Math A standards lack clarity and specificity (p. 15).

Recommendation 1A: Educationally useful standards must be developed in mathematics for each grade, K-8, and for Math A and Math B, that consist of a clear, well-defined set of skills, the mastery of which is demonstrable (p. 19).

Recommendation 1B: SED should establish a mathematics standards committee to rewrite the standards into functional form, and to meet regularly in the future to analyze test results, thus ensuring continuous relevance (p. 19).

Recommendation 1C: SED should develop and disseminate suggested curricula for mathematics instruction for each grade K-8, and for Math A and Math B (p. 19).

Recommendation 1D: To benefit from the extensive research and deliberation of the current Math A Panel, some of the current Panel members should be included in both new committees recommended in this report, i.e., the standards committee, and the curriculum development
committee (p. 20).

Finding 2: The design concept that the Math A exam should be taken by the typical student after three semesters of instruction has not been successful (p. 20).

Recommendation 2: The standards and curricula should be structured so that the typical student will take the Math A exam after one year of high school mathematics (p. 20).

The Math A Exam

Finding 3: The June 2003 Regents Math A exam was harder than past Math
A exams (p. 25).

Recommendation 3A: Establish and maintain narrow statistical targets for difficulty of Parts I, II, III, and IV of the Math A exam forms (p. 28).

Recommendation 3B: Review the Math A item pool (p. 28).

Recommendation 3C: The difficulty of problems in the anchor item set, in the guidance documents provided to teachers, and on the actual tests should be aligned (p. 28).

Recommendation 3D: The weighting of the open-ended items, number of scale points possible on the open-ended item rubrics, and other aspects of the scoring of open-ended items should be reconsidered (p. 29).

Recommendation 3E: The Math A test should focus on a more limited, more clearly-specified set of content standards and indicators (p. 29).

Finding 4: The Math A tests have not been able to maintain a consistent performance standard over time (p. 29).

Recommendation 4A: Alternative equating designs should be considered (p. 32).

Recommendation 4B: Sampling procedures for estimating item performance must be improved (p. 32).

Recommendation 4C: Replace the anchor item set (p. 33).

Recommendation 4D: Revisit performance standards (cut scores) (p. 33).

Finding 5: The New York State Education Department cannot accurately predict performance on Math A test (p. 33).

Recommendation 5A: SED should implement procedures for predicting the performance of test forms and groups of students on future Math A exams
(p. 34).

Recommendation 5B: Policies for field testing and data collection should be revised (p. 34).

Finding 6: Support and oversight for the Math A exam program should be improved (p. 34).

Recommendation 6A: SED should immediately increase in-house content and technical expertise resources by a minimum of one psychometrician and two math content specialists (p. 35).

Recommendation 6B: SED should clarify the responsibilities assigned to its technical advisory committee, and should request this group to provide regular reports, including technical analyses, reactions to proposed changes in test programs, and suggestions for improving State testing programs (p. 35).

Recommendation 6C: SED should increase demands placed on contractors (p. 36).

Recommendation 6D: Internal coordination and documentation should be improved (p. 36).

Infrastructure Issues Related to the Attainment of Math A Standards

Finding 7: Passing rate data for the State as a whole were not available until three months after the exam; no data are collected regarding student performance on individual items, nor even regarding student performance on the four parts of the exam (p. 37).

Recommendation 7: SED should increase its data collection capacity to include item level data, and should accelerate its data collection timetable (p. 37).

Finding 8: While the most important use of student performance data is to inform instruction, statewide data mining models that would enable local schools and teachers to use these data effectively are not generally available (p. 37).

Recommendation 8: SED should substantially broaden its efforts to assist districts in data collection, and the use of data to inform instruction (p. 37).

Finding 9: The mathematical background of teachers delivering math instruction varies widely; yet, raising almost three million children to higher levels of math achievement will be impossible without highly skilled teachers (p. 37).

Recommendation 9A: SED and higher education need to continue and to strengthen their partnerships to ensure strong teacher education programs, both pre-service and in-service (p. 37).

Recommendation 9B: The certification requirements for elementary teachers and special education teachers should include a minimum of nine credits of college level mathematics (see Recommendation 9C), and three credits of teaching techniques in mathematics (p. 37).

Recommendation 9C: Mathematics courses required for certification, both for mathematics teachers and elementary and special education teachers, should be specific not only in terms of number of credits required to be taken, but also in terms of coursework required to be taken, e.g.,
calculus, number theory, algebraic structures, probability and statistics, etc. (p. 38).

Recommendation 9D: The Panel believes that, for any teacher responsible for teaching mathematics at any level, the 175-hour professional development requirement should include specific mathematics requirements. The Panel's thinking is that:
• teachers who teach mathematics exclusively should be required to take 100 of the 175 hours in the area of mathematics;
• secondary teachers who are certified in, and who teach in, more than one subject area, should be required to take 50 of the 175 hours in the area of mathematics;
• teachers who teach mathematics as part of a broad set of teaching responsibilities, e.g., elementary teachers and special education teachers, should be required to take 30 of the 175 hours in the area of mathematics. Additionally, the range of possible courses that would satisfy these
requirements should be clearly specified (p. 38).

Finding 10. The public has very little awareness of Math A, and may have misunderstandings about the goals of Math A (p. 38).

Recommendation 10: Make greater use of SED communications capacity to engage the public in conversations about the importance of strong mathematics skills (p. 38).

Finding 11: There is often a "disconnect" between K-12 and higher education (p. 38).

Recommendation 11: SED should encourage conversations at the local and regional levels of K-12 teachers of mathematics and higher education professors of mathematics, for the purpose of sharing curriculum, and exploring professional development opportunities and other possible
collaborations, to bridge the gap between K-12 and higher education (p. 38).

Finding 12: Raising the level of mathematics achievement of all students to high levels must start when children are very young, and must go beyond the school day for school aged children (p. 39).

Recommendation 12: SED should encourage through grants and other means the expansion of mathematics education initiatives beyond K-12, such as the creation of partnerships between schools and libraries, and the greater use of public television and museums (p. 39).

Additional Issues --
Scoring Rubrics, and Communication to the Field Regarding Grading

Finding 13: The scoring rubrics do not give credit for a variety of mathematically correct approaches (p. 40).

Recommendation 13A: Develop more generally worded, holistic scoring rubrics which permit credit to be granted for atypical, but mathematically correct, student responses (p. 40).

Recommendation 13B: Rubrics should be designed so students do not lose 33% or 50% credit for a minor arithmetic error (p. 40).

Finding 14: There is a serious "disconnect" between the perception of the SED content specialists and the perception of field classroom teachers regarding the application of the scoring rubrics (p. 40).

Recommendation 14: On each set of directions for the Math A exam, a statement should be added confirming that the scoring rubrics are a guide and should be applied using professional judgment (p. 40).

Finding 15: There needs to be better communication of SED grading interpretations during the grading process for the Math A exams (p. 41).

Recommendation 15A: SED should continue on its path of setting up a website during Math A Regents exam grading to provide up-to-date clarifications to teachers grading the exam (p. 41).

Recommendation 15B: SED should explore ways of sending up-to-date grading clarifications to the school districts during the grading period following the administration of the exam, as a backup to the website, to ensure the greatest possible consistency of grading across the State (p. 41).

Additional Issues --
Calculator Use on the Math A Exam

Finding 16: Allowing the option of using a graphing calculator on the Math A exam provides some students with an advantage on the exam, thus creating an inequitable situation (p. 41).

Recommendation 16: The use of calculators on the Math A Regents exam should be standardized (p. 42).

The January 2004 Exam, and All Math A Exams until A New One Is Designed

Recommendation 17: Until the standards are rewritten, new curricula are developed, the new course is delivered, and a new Math A Regents is designed and field tested, the Math A Regents exam should be restructured so the exam includes: 30 Part I items, 5 Part II items, 2 Part III items, and 2 Part IV items (p. 43).

Recommendation 18: The exam should be reviewed by a group of practitioners, including math teachers, university mathematicians and mathematics educators, with representatives from this Panel, prior to the administration of the exam (p. 43).

Recommendation 19: Until new items are developed and properly field tested, the exam items should be scaled in accord with the procedures used for the August rescaling of the June 2003 exam (p. 43).

Recommendation 20: The scaling should not be finalized until after the exam has been administered and after a post equating procedure has been implemented to ensure the fairness of the test (p. 43).

Recommendation 21: The 55 passing option on the Math A Regents Exam for a local diploma should be continued until after the standards have been clarified, after new curriculum has been developed and disseminated, and after a new exam has been developed and administered for at least one school year (to ensure that it is performing in accord with its design) (p. 44).

Recommendation 22: The math RCT safety net for special education children should be continued until after the standards have been clarified, after new curriculum has been developed and disseminated, and after a new exam has been developed and administered for at least one
school year (to ensure that it is performing in accord with its design) (p. 44).

The Panel believes our recommendations, taken together, will successfully address the problems we have identified in our independent investigation. A suggested timeline for implementation has been developed and is included in the report. (p. 45).