bigorange Report post Posted April 18, 2014 Is this test being graded on a curve? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted April 18, 2014 OK CWT class you did really good, I was surprised at the logic that was used in many cases. What got me started on all this was the recent news that our steps and columns are going to be froze this year.....bummer deal but hey I have a job that after 25 years I am still sitting at a measley $48,000.00 a year. That includes a 4 year degree plus a masters in vocational education, plus additional schooling every year which was needed to keep my teaching certificate. I have had a great career teaching, my wife teaches so double that amount for household income and we have been fine. Same days off, summer jobs to keep us going and always able to attend my kids functions. So I am sitting there during AIMS testing looking at all these phones that the students handed in before testing and I am thinking...........I was due for an upgrade on my verizon account and my options were to buy a 200 dollar keep up with technology swipe phone or they were giving away for free the outdated we want to get rid of flip phones. Yep.....that gray flip phone up in the top right hand corner.....Prowlerman wins it... and can let me know which one of these elk antler ornaments he wants. Snap, You were correct on the information provided which AIMS is really good at.......misdirection question that has absolutely nothing to do with the answer they are looking for....tricky buggers. Also, we as teachers have to read the instructions word for word every day every test, and it specifically says this is not a timed test.....but.....you gotta be done by the end of the day...go figure. CouesHunterAZ, You made me laugh.....you would have won the award if we were doing Common Core because even though you didn't get the correct answer.....you did the best job of walking us through why you chose what you chose. Big Orange, Statistics show that 60% of the multiple choice questions are correct with a C answer...........one other method is the second hand on the clock which has gone by the wayside with digital timing devices. So if you do not have a clue a C answer is your best bet. No Curve. Patrick hang in there.......AIMS is just one of those things you gotta get through.... The answer that got me off guard the most was by Avid Hunter....the one in your hand......I actually had to wait til day two to take the picture so I could take my sons ipod with me to work to take the picture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted April 18, 2014 A teacher would never allow their phone near the others. Camera is your phone. I think??...Special Ed are allowed to have accommodations (calculator), hence not having "all" of the phones! Although AIMS allows IEP accommodations, calculators are still not allowed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues79 Report post Posted April 18, 2014 /> A teacher would never allow their phone near the others. Camera is your phone. I think??...Special Ed are allowed to have accommodations (calculator), hence not having "all" of the phones! Although AIMS allows IEP accommodations, calculators are still not allowed. Which is ridiculous as teachers are mandated by federal law to follow the IEP. That one has always gotten me stumped... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturebob Report post Posted April 18, 2014 Non Typical Solutions, My Daughter and her husband are both teachers too.They do fine too, the tough part is having your own kids.Keep up the good work............BOB! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted April 18, 2014 You mean I didn't win? TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted April 18, 2014 All the years that I have administered that AIMS test I have always felt bad for the kids.........there are so many ways to learn and I am Pro vocational anyways which tends to be more of a hands on experience.... How many of us are really going to sit down and do an algebraic equation and not have a calculator???? Thanks everybody for helping me get through AIMS........ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted April 18, 2014 All the years that I have administered that AIMS test I have always felt bad for the kids.........there are so many ways to learn and I am Pro vocational anyways which tends to be more of a hands on experience.... How many of us are really going to sit down and do an algebraic equation and not have a calculator???? Thanks everybody for helping me get through AIMS........ You are so right about the lack of authenticity in the AIMS test. Furthermore, it is not just AIMS. In the last two weeks we tested our kids with AIMS, PARCC, and PISA. These are all mandated by state and federal agencies, yet the benefit to our students is negligible at best. We need a little more rancher mentality in our education system...any rancher will tell you that weighing your cows more often doesn't make the heavier. I am glad the testing season is over. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted April 18, 2014 How many of us are really going to sit down and do an algebraic equation and not have a calculator???? Hmmm.......... I got through four years at an all boys Catholic high school with two 1-yr. courses in algebra and one year of trig, geometry and calculus. The only "tool" allowed was a slide rule for the last one. I had only one year of college algebra since I was a biology major and no calculator for it either. Oh, and that was many, many years prior to Al Gore inventing the internet. In the many years of wandering internet forums ( a buddy from MD and I started the very first outdoor/hunting forum on Compuserve way back in 1983, before the Web existed) I've been somewhat disheartened to see so many folks posting that appear to have a pretty dismal grasp of rudimentary spelling and grammar. This is just my opinion of course, but it seems the public school system has gone far downhill instead showing improvement. And that's considering the tools now available. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sam Report post Posted April 18, 2014 A teacher would never allow their phone near the others. Camera is your phone. I think??...Special Ed are allowed to have accommodations (calculator), hence not having "all" of the phones! Although AIMS allows IEP accommodations, calculators are still not allowed. Both IEPs (special ed) and 504s (non special ed) actually exempt these students from meeting standards on AIMS tests. That means a kid with a 504 or IEP does not have to pass the AIMS to graduate - unless a counselor or special ed teacher specifically states in the IEP or 504 that the student must meet standards on these tests. Unfortunately, many times, these documents are used as a crutch and students are not held accountable for performing at the same level of their peers. IEPs and 504s are important and should be used for qualifying kids, but in the last 20 years, I have often seen them misused. Some kids have disabilities and can not perform at the same level of their peers, even with accommodations and calculators; these are the only kids that should have 504s and IEPs. You guys would be surprised at how many parents request a 504 for their child. I agree with Tony - many of us made it through high school and college without calculators and computers (I had a calculator). It is not about doing algebra, it is about developing higher level thinking skills - which many people in society are lacking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted April 18, 2014 Sam, you are right on with this. Many (maybe most) schools write the IEP or 504 requiring the student pass the AIMS, then at the end of the senior year, if they have not, the IEP is changed. This encourages the students to take the test. Amazingly, many of them pass when they take it. Another practice that is common is doing an initial 504 placement at the end of the senior year, for a student who has not passed AIMS. This gets them around the graduation requirement. As presented at an administration conference two years ago, almost every kid has some form of a chronic medical condition. These include allergies, skin conditions, asthma or any number of other conditions. Any of these are adequate under section 504 of the rehabilitation act of the Americans with Disabilities act. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mocha1545 Report post Posted April 18, 2014 We had a 504 for my daughter who has OCD and Bipolar. During elementary school and Junior High we used some of options because a timed test would freak her out. OCD watching the clock. By High School she still had the 504 but we never asked for any special treatment. She passed all of her AIMS tests! The 504 is a good system doe the people who use it becaue they need it. Unfortunately someone always abuses the system. Very disappointed that I didn't get an honorable mention for my AIMS testing picture! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reganranch Report post Posted April 19, 2014 I remember the AIMS test, don't miss that. I think I lowered the average score for Pacific Islanders(not of pacific island origin haha). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Girls Shoot Better Report post Posted April 19, 2014 None. You can't afford one on a Teacher Salary. SAD...........BOB! Ha that is so true. Sad but true. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Non-Typical Solutions Report post Posted April 19, 2014 Ah.....Tony I agree with you 110% the demise of our educational system is something I could spend hours on......I have to admit I have never used a slide rule to calculate anything. I remember when the first program came out on computers to help contractors bid houses...plug in the numbers and bingo.....bottom line bid. On my kitchen cabinet bids I still sit down and do a pencil sketch of every cabinet and calculate every single piece of wood, hardware etc. before I can come up with a bottom line. You have to remember memorizing your times tables.........you don't need to do that anymore.....and the current trend towards Common Core will just boggle your mind. My wife teaches 5th grade and the pace they have those kids going from week to week makes my head spin. Doesn't matter if Johnny learned how to divide we are going on to fractions.......course now you are really lost cause if you can't divide you can't do fractions.......math is one of the great equalizers, you miss a step and until you get that step down things only get harder. I remember one short stint I had teaching math......this was for the kids who struggled with math....I about got fired that year. The very first section in the book was teaching decimal placement and place value. 25.3478961.......what place value does the 1 represent.......these kids couldn't add double digit numbers and my boss wanted me to "stick to the book".....I refused....... Oh man I could go on and on.......our educational system is a direct reflection of what the morals of this great nation have become. We have been flooded with the social problems of our society and have set learning basic, fundamental RRR's aside to take care of many of the things mentioned above. IEP, 504......which I don't disagree with having programs like that but oh it is as mentioned soooooooooo misused. My kid can't pass math so I get him approved for an IEP so he can play sports when in reality the kid is bright.....just lazy and won't turn in his work. And I love sports and what it can teach kids but skating around an education to play sports I don't agree with. My point with the calculator was, we spend all year letting kids use the tools that modern day society has placed in the classroom because that is "the way our kids need to learn"........and then we put them in a room, no talking, #2 pencils, fill in a bubble which since they play play station their fine motor skills are under developed so they can't fill in the bubble. And we expect them to perform on a test that teachers cannot review, read or otherwise discuss because we signed a paper agreeing to said terms. I better jump down off my rant before I get fired.........I have taught wood shop now for 25 years and have enjoyed 98.7% of it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
