The math department re-tested all eligible Geometry students to explore forming an Honors Advanced Algebra class next year. This test comes on the heels of the original entrance exam, which eligble students took after school on April 8. After the results of the first entrance exam came back several weeks ago, the department announced that while they had enough students to run two sections of Honors Geometry they did not have enough students to run an Honors Advanced Algebra class.
“Only six students qualified for Honors Advanced so we are giving another diagnostic this week to all [current] Geometry students to determine which students should be invited to participate in a single section of Honors Advanced Algebra next year,” math department teacher leader David Wetzel said.
According to Wetzel, a minimum of 24 to 26 students need to qualify by scoring at least a 67 percent on the entrance exam to offer Honors Advanced Algebra next year. The entrance exam was designed by all district math departments and is identical at Redwood, Drake, and Tam.
Wetzel announced that there would not be a class offered, and on the same day Principal Julie Synyard announced that it was. “She did not know the results at the time,” Wetzel said. “Due to that announcement, I proposed we test all Geometry students to determine which ones should be invited to participate in one section of Honors Advanced next year.”
Freshman Ellie Evans didn’t mind taking another entrance exam. “I’d already been studying for the final, it felt like a pre-test,” Evans said. Evans said she thought the second test was easier than the first.
Wetzel said that students will be notified about the status of their acceptance by letter shortly. The administration did not respond to requests for comments.