office of Mathematics, science
technology & business education
167 Myers Corners Road
Wappingers Falls, New York 12590
(845) 298-5000 x 40170
Fax (845) 298-7085
todd mensch, district coordinator
January 22, 2014
Dear Parents and Guardians of Students Enrolled in Regents or Honors Algebra:
As you may be aware, the New York State Department of Education adopted the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) for Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) in July of 2010.
In order to ensure adequate notice and time for students to be prepared to take the new Regents Exams aligned to the CCLS, NYSED has allowed for an overlap in the administration of the “old” Integrated Algebra Regents Exam with the “new” Algebra 1 CCLS Regents Exam. All students completing Algebra 1 in June or August of 2014 must take the “new” Algebra 1 CCLS Regents Exam. Districts may also choose to administer the “old” Integrated Algebra Regents Exam. If students take both exams, the higher student score will be reflected on the student transcript. In addition, a student who passes either exam will have met the mathematics exam requirement for graduation. This option exists for the June 2014 and August 2014 regents administrations only.
All Wappingers Central School District students completing Algebra Regents or Honors before August 2014 will sit for both exams. The Algebra 1 CCLS Regents Exam will be administered on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The Integrated Algebra Regents Exam will be administered on Friday, June 20, 2014. We feel that students sitting for both exams will have the best opportunity possible to demonstrate their mastery of the Algebra content. In addition, the 8th grade honors’ students will not be mandated to sit for the NYS Math Assessment 8 in May of this year, therefore reducing their number of mandated math examinations from 3 to 2.
With the implementation of the new curriculum comes an increased integration of the graphing calculator. This tool allows for quick and accurate manipulation of many functions, graphs and statistical plots. While the District does not mandate ownership of a personal graphing calculator, it is extremely advantageous for students to own their own graphing calculator to practice concepts and complete homework assignments outside of school. The District and the NYS curriculum use the Texas Instruments family of graphing calculators, the TI-84 Plus, being the most popular.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions. More information and resources about the CCLS and aligned assessments can be found by visiting http://www.engageny.org.
Kindest Regards,
Todd Mensch Dwight Bonk Tom Stella Rodger DeHay
District Coordinator John Jay Principal Roy C. Ketcham Principal Orchard View Principal
Steven Shuchat Terrence Thompson
Van Wyck Principal Wappingers Junior High School Principal