MODERATOR’S NOTE: This comment was posted to another blog, but we felt it deserved a post and discussion of its own.
I attended the round table discussion on math in November, and was shocked at the apparent disgust of many parents about the IMP math curriculum. Various parents shared how their children, after taking 4 years of IMP math, could not pass the math entrance exams at college, and were required to take remedial math. What gives
Students at this meeting said for homework, they receive a ‘completion grade’ but not an actual grade on the homework, which is not even corrected. As a result, they find out that they don’t understand a concept when taking the TEST, rather than during the unit.
Another student said she had an A in math, but did not feel she had an understanding of the material. Wow.
I assumed (perhaps inaccurately) that the students who attended this meeting would have been asked to do so by their teachers. I would figure that the teachers would have invited students who were at least somewhat proponents of the current model (IMP). But these students, who seemed happy to share their experiences when asked, appeared to be struggling with it.
I understand the high school will be changing the math curriculum next year. How do you students feel about that? Is this a good thing? What transition plans are in place?
I’ve certainly gotten the message that the HS has an excellent journalism program. How does the High School fare in math and sciences, and other technical areas?
Filed under: General Interest | Tagged: IMP, math
Personally, I am glad the math curriculum is changing. Although I am graduating at the end of this year and will not experience the new program, I am glad that the other students will get a fresh start.
I do feel a little jipped by the program- both times I took the ACT, my math score was drastically lower than the other subjects. I found that one thing IMP seems to lack is the math vocabulary that is often on standardized tests. We spend so much time with story problems about Al & Betty and Ferris Wheels, we arn’t learning the terms we need. Granted, story problems are nice sometimes, because we will use math in our lives as in story problems (I’m sure all of us will have to build a deck or replace carpet sometime), however IMP seems to do nothing but.
To clarify, there is only one math teacher that actually graded for correct answers, not completion. It was the only time in IMP that I had to strive for an A. In other IMP classes, we would go over the homework in class (or sometimes would hand it in).
My mom is particularly unhappy with the IMP program. She feels that it has damaged my 9th grade brother’s chances at being as caught up as other districts. She has suggested to him on numerous occasions to take a summer math program to be prepared for next year’s curriculum, which I don’t think is a bad idea.
All in all, I’m glad for the younger students who will never have to do a POW or Portfolio again. I do, however, worry about MY college math experience after IMP….
As a graduate of the IMP system, I am glad to see that the schools are reverting back to a traditional math system. When I took the college entrance exam, one of the problems is that the test has no place to list that I took IMP 1-4. The advisors don’t really know how rate the what I knew, and had to base my placement entirely off of my entrance exam score. For many students who don’t take tests well this can cause problems. I felt that the first unit my AP calculus class, which is supposed to be review, was covering material that I had not seen before. In fact I feel that my one year of AP calculus, which is a class that the majority of high school seniors elect not to take, better prepared me for college math than my four years of IMP before that. I am very happy to hear that the school is finally listening to the overwhelming public oppinion of the system and changing. My only regret is that I had to spend four years in an experimental program rather than something that is tried and true.
I heard that the grades 9-11 will be grandfathered in and will have to continue to take IMP. Can anyone confirm this?
It is somewhat frustrating when people (or colleges) ask what math classes you have taken/are taking and you have to reply with “Uhh…. it’s called IMP”. The math still isn’t entirely easy but it seems like we really only learn the math required to find the time spent above the fence on a ferris wheel or where we should place the snack if the monorail drops it off in between the two people working in the apple orchard. Sometimes teachers will say something like “You know how to do this… remember Al and Betty?” Actually, I don’t. I remember the quadratic formula though. I’m slightly worried that I won’t be where I should be in college so in that sense, I feel robbed. I guess all of us SHS students just need to try harder in college.
I would like to confirm the students will not be grandfathered in. I repeat, they will not have to continue to take IMP, they will imediately have to start taking the new system’s class. These classes include algebra, geometry, etc.
I have another thing to say though. I personally feel that, while the IMP system is flawed, the system isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. I have been an excellent student through the years and have found that, while doing POW’s and portfolio’s take a lot of time, they are useful. POW’s may not always be relevant, as people always complain, but they can still serve a purpose. These are meant to be small challenges that do require time, but that also either make us use math that we haven’t used in a long time or to try to learn how to do something on our own. These POW’s may not be the most fun thing, but they are something that serves a vital purpose. Portfolio’s are also something that is a constant complaint of almost all students. But these are meant to be something used as a way to review topics. To be able to write a good portfolio, you have to understand the topics that you are discussing. This is something that I myself often struggle with, but once I finish my portfolio I usually feel that I have done a fairly decent review for my upcoming test on the subject.
Another complaint by all of the previous students that have written on this blog, as well as of students that I personally know, is that it doesn’t prepare them for college, and that their ACT math score was drastically lower than other subjects. I would just like to remind people that the average score on the math section of the ACT by SHS students has actually gone up with the use of the IMP system.
I am not saying that the IMP system isn’t one that should be changed. I am glad that it is being changed, but I believe that the effects of using the IMP system have been exaggerated. It may be flawed, but it isn’t as bad as people make it out to be.
I have to admit that I actually did use the story problem of the ferris wheel in a previous science competition. This may not be too relevant, but I did actually use they idea of associating a story problem with a certain type of math problem.
I have to agree with that kid about the POWs and Portfolios. Although students have complained about POWs (myself included) they help improve our problem solving abilities.
In a conversation I had with a math teacher (I will not name said teacher- I will let this person come out if they want) I learned that math scores on standardized tests were also low with the old system. This teacher mentioned that a change in the whole district’s math system, with more math vocabulary, could help students when they get to high school.
It would be interesting to hear from some teachers.