Ira Cooper, Glen Cove School District mathematics coordinator, speaks at February 2004 Coalition meeting

Glen Cove School District mathematics coordinator Ira Cooper was the guest speaker at the February meeting of the Coalition for Glen Cove. Mr. Cooper, who was previously assistant principal for mathematics for the Long Island City schools, has a BA degree from Hunter College and an MS in Computer Science from Brooklyn College.

Mr. Cooper began by saying that although 80 percent of Glen Cove fourth graders had high scores in State tests last year, almost all comparable Long Island school districts had an even higher percentage of students with high scores. The fourth grade test is not difficult but it requires students to remember what they learned in first, second, and third grades.

In the eighth-grade tests, which cover more difficult topics, although 60 percent of Glen Cove students had high scores, that percentage was again below percentages for comparable school districts.

Math scores should improve next year since the department has found and corrected some of the problems that students have had with the exams. Some topics, like probability, are always the last chapters in the book and sometimes the course ends before the book does. Teachers are encouraged not to repeat topics year after year, but to remind students what they have learned before and then move on to new topics. Teachers are becoming more experienced with differentiated instruction, that is, pacing material differently and using different levels of abstraction for students who learn at different rates. The department is trying to improve both what is taught and the way it is taught.

In reply to a comment that some districts, such as Rockville Centre, let any student choose honors or advanced placement courses, Mr. Cooper said that Glen Cove encourages students to choose advanced placement courses, which are taught at a college level and for which many colleges offer college credit. Students who take these courses work hard and learn well. College admissions officers appreciate students who take difficult courses even when they do not get top grades. However, since more students have been encouraged to take advanced placement courses, it has become more difficult for teachers to teach the wide range of students in these courses. Encouraging advanced courses has also led to some students having nothing but advanced placement courses in their senior year, generating an extraordinary workload.

Students, including those taking advanced courses, benefit from tutoring and extra help sessions after school and from extracurricular activities like math clubs, participation in math fairs, contests, and annual celebrations such as Pi (3.14159…) Day. Some students who stay after classes end have trouble getting home, since school buses leave directly after school. A later bus at the high school would help all students who participate in extra help classes, clubs, or athletic teams.