Thursday, June 23, 2005
EXCELLENCE!!!
I really can't convey how elated, proud, ebullient, buoyant, and just plain psyched I am thanks to your incomparably great Chemistry Regents performance! You all put on your game face, put in the time and did a true Honors job on the exam. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Now I can fall into a two-week coma and then enjoy my summer to the HIZZILT!
Here are the results along with some kudos and accolades:
The test had 85 separate questions so I will tell you the class average by straight percentage and then the unfairly skewed Regents conversion chart percentage.
D-Period: Class average = 96.2 % Regents scale average = 94.2 %
B-Period: Class average = 95.6 % Regents scale average = 93.4 %
E-Period: Class average= 94.4 % Regents scale average = 92.0 %
You accomplished the highly difficult task of beating the average of last year's classes! Furthermore, how is any future class ever going to beat you ?!!
Now let's talk HUNDREDS and near hundreds (one wrong!):
Perfect scores (bragging rights FOREVER!):
Kim M! , Dan Bau! , and Chistine C! You three are gods of Chem for life!
Closest-to-perfect: (most of you got only the Avogadro's Law question wrong because equal volumes of gases contain an equal number of particles ONLY IF the pressures and temperatures are ALSO equal; just use PV/RT = n and you can see that; this has nothing to do with STP, by the way.)
Joanna S. , Michele E. , Mark M. , Brian McC. , Nicole M. , John K. , Laura H. , Emily G. , Michael C. ,Jency D. , Matthew G. , and Mike P.
( now I won't have to get another job this summer, tee-hee. )
Everyone did well at the very least. The lowest score was an 85 which is still really 88% correct so you should ALL be complimented and celebrated with huge raises in allowance and new cars (perhaps a Camaro).
Have the greatest summer of your life!
Mr.C.
Here are the results along with some kudos and accolades:
The test had 85 separate questions so I will tell you the class average by straight percentage and then the unfairly skewed Regents conversion chart percentage.
D-Period: Class average = 96.2 % Regents scale average = 94.2 %
B-Period: Class average = 95.6 % Regents scale average = 93.4 %
E-Period: Class average= 94.4 % Regents scale average = 92.0 %
You accomplished the highly difficult task of beating the average of last year's classes! Furthermore, how is any future class ever going to beat you ?!!
Now let's talk HUNDREDS and near hundreds (one wrong!):
Perfect scores (bragging rights FOREVER!):
Kim M! , Dan Bau! , and Chistine C! You three are gods of Chem for life!
Closest-to-perfect: (most of you got only the Avogadro's Law question wrong because equal volumes of gases contain an equal number of particles ONLY IF the pressures and temperatures are ALSO equal; just use PV/RT = n and you can see that; this has nothing to do with STP, by the way.)
Joanna S. , Michele E. , Mark M. , Brian McC. , Nicole M. , John K. , Laura H. , Emily G. , Michael C. ,Jency D. , Matthew G. , and Mike P.
( now I won't have to get another job this summer, tee-hee. )
Everyone did well at the very least. The lowest score was an 85 which is still really 88% correct so you should ALL be complimented and celebrated with huge raises in allowance and new cars (perhaps a Camaro).
Have the greatest summer of your life!
Mr.C.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Preliminary Results
Thank you all so very much for your classy class performance today; your Honors effort is already paying off. The unofficial multiple choice class average was 47.5 out of 50. The written responses look just as good so far!
Congratulations to the following students for their perfect 50/50 multiple choice performance:
B: Dan Bau. , Christine C. , Ryan D. , Michele E. , Jenn R. , and Joanna S.
D: Emily G. , Laura H. , Nicole M. , Matthew McC. , Brian McC. , and Paul M.
E: Jency D. , and Kim M.
There were many 49s and I will check your answer sheets on those tomorrow!
So LOOKING GOOD yooo!
One bad note: if you go to this web address, you can see that the NY Board of Regents has decided,because of the Board's socialist/homogenizing principles, to HEAVILY PENALIZE high scorers. Those who got anywhere from 85% to 99% of the credits were deducted 3 to 4 points OFF of their scaled score!!!
Here it is: http://emsc33.nysed.gov/osa/concht/june05/chemistry.htm
I think that every teacher and parent should vehemently complain about this highly unfair treatment of students who care enough to highly achieve. This unfair curving has got to stop! Go ahead and boost up those who got a 60 but don't shoot down those who scored in the 90s.
Even last year, they did not have such a blatant downward curve for the 90 and above set.
Lookin' out for you all.
Mr.C.
Congratulations to the following students for their perfect 50/50 multiple choice performance:
B: Dan Bau. , Christine C. , Ryan D. , Michele E. , Jenn R. , and Joanna S.
D: Emily G. , Laura H. , Nicole M. , Matthew McC. , Brian McC. , and Paul M.
E: Jency D. , and Kim M.
There were many 49s and I will check your answer sheets on those tomorrow!
So LOOKING GOOD yooo!
One bad note: if you go to this web address, you can see that the NY Board of Regents has decided,because of the Board's socialist/homogenizing principles, to HEAVILY PENALIZE high scorers. Those who got anywhere from 85% to 99% of the credits were deducted 3 to 4 points OFF of their scaled score!!!
Here it is: http://emsc33.nysed.gov/osa/concht/june05/chemistry.htm
I think that every teacher and parent should vehemently complain about this highly unfair treatment of students who care enough to highly achieve. This unfair curving has got to stop! Go ahead and boost up those who got a 60 but don't shoot down those who scored in the 90s.
Even last year, they did not have such a blatant downward curve for the 90 and above set.
Lookin' out for you all.
Mr.C.
Good Luck! Buena Suerte! Bon Chance! Vielen Gluck!
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
"The Show"
Today is the day; it's showtime! I hope that you all feel prepared and confident for the exam today. There may be a few questions that are phrased in a new or unfamiliar way or there may be an alternate lab setup in a question but, just think about the topic to which the question applies and use the formula that contains the same units as the data; you will then reason your way to the solution. Don't let any one or two questions get you down or even slow you down; save those tougher ones for last and then read the question several times and concentrate on the key terms to jog your memory. If your reference tables are properly marked up, you should have plenty of mnemonic help and examples to walk you through the exam.
Overall, I think that we covered a lot of ground at the review sessions and I hope that those who did not/ could not attend played along at home by answering each session's question set. You will be applying your now clarified knowledge on the test today, no doubt!
So, treat your Chem Regents like a work of art: keep enhancing and improving your answers (illustrations) until you turn in your masterpiece. I look forward to broadcasting your great results which you will have strongly earned! A high Chem Regents score (yes, even today) gives you bragging rights for life.
Overall, I think that we covered a lot of ground at the review sessions and I hope that those who did not/ could not attend played along at home by answering each session's question set. You will be applying your now clarified knowledge on the test today, no doubt!
So, treat your Chem Regents like a work of art: keep enhancing and improving your answers (illustrations) until you turn in your masterpiece. I look forward to broadcasting your great results which you will have strongly earned! A high Chem Regents score (yes, even today) gives you bragging rights for life.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
T - 60 Hours
As I proctored some of the finals last week, I witnessed many freshmen who would finish their exam early and then stare at the ceiling or fidget in their seats for an hour rather than check their work or improve upon their initial responses. Suffice is to say, they did not do as well as they could have. No, it made much more sense to them to sit and do nothing rather than to make good use of their time. Those particular freshmen were poor test-takers.
Here are some tips on how you can thoroughly check your Regents exam if you finish before our classes' 2.5 hour minimum test time ( though I encourage you to go the distance and put in an Honors 3-hour effort; yes, you will hear a stampede of failing students rushing out after two hours so that they can register early for summer school).
1. After you SLOWLY and carefully re-read a given question, carefully read your response and make sure that it contains the KEYWORDS from the question and, most importantly, that your response ANSWERS the question. You can always add clarifying details to your answer. Do not let space be a concern. You may write outside the boxes as long as you draw an arrow showing the continuation of your answer.
2. Make sure that your answer is EASILY readable/legible. Carefully cross out anything that you are editing out and clearly write in what you are correcting.
3. DRAW PICTURES/DRAW DIAGRAMS/ DRAW PICTURES/DRAW DIAGRAMS!!! to enhance your explanations (if you did not initially do so). This may be the single best tip that I can give you. A picture can organize your thoughts and it also paints a thousand words.
4. Plug your numbers back into the question to make sure that they produce the correct total. Check all values that you (mis)READ off of the Reference Tables.
5. Add SPECIFIC EXAMPLES of anything that you are writing about in general.
6. Directly above your solved quantitative answer, write the GENERAL EQUATION for the specific calculation that you did and make sure that you placed the numbers AND UNITS in the correct location in the equation and that you didn't leave out any part of the equation.
If you follow these tips thoroughly, you WILL improve your test score ; also, performing these steps will keep you engaged and productive for the entire allotted Regents time.
A lot is riding on your performance. I will see and check everyone's complete test including scrapwork. You should display/demonstrate every sound test-taking technique that you now know.
My classes last year certainly followed this advice and we lived happily ever after with four perfect scores and a 93 class average too.
Here are some tips on how you can thoroughly check your Regents exam if you finish before our classes' 2.5 hour minimum test time ( though I encourage you to go the distance and put in an Honors 3-hour effort; yes, you will hear a stampede of failing students rushing out after two hours so that they can register early for summer school).
1. After you SLOWLY and carefully re-read a given question, carefully read your response and make sure that it contains the KEYWORDS from the question and, most importantly, that your response ANSWERS the question. You can always add clarifying details to your answer. Do not let space be a concern. You may write outside the boxes as long as you draw an arrow showing the continuation of your answer.
2. Make sure that your answer is EASILY readable/legible. Carefully cross out anything that you are editing out and clearly write in what you are correcting.
3. DRAW PICTURES/DRAW DIAGRAMS/ DRAW PICTURES/DRAW DIAGRAMS!!! to enhance your explanations (if you did not initially do so). This may be the single best tip that I can give you. A picture can organize your thoughts and it also paints a thousand words.
4. Plug your numbers back into the question to make sure that they produce the correct total. Check all values that you (mis)READ off of the Reference Tables.
5. Add SPECIFIC EXAMPLES of anything that you are writing about in general.
6. Directly above your solved quantitative answer, write the GENERAL EQUATION for the specific calculation that you did and make sure that you placed the numbers AND UNITS in the correct location in the equation and that you didn't leave out any part of the equation.
If you follow these tips thoroughly, you WILL improve your test score ; also, performing these steps will keep you engaged and productive for the entire allotted Regents time.
A lot is riding on your performance. I will see and check everyone's complete test including scrapwork. You should display/demonstrate every sound test-taking technique that you now know.
My classes last year certainly followed this advice and we lived happily ever after with four perfect scores and a 93 class average too.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
15
Another great review session today. We thoroughly analyzed every question in each of the two topics and we even had some time for Le Chatelier. So far, we have done 15 hours of review ( if you've been to all of the sessions ). If you really know the answers to all of those review session questions sets, you will either get a 100 on the Regents or in the high 90s. If you have questions from those question sets or past Regents, just email me. After next Wednesday, the pressure is off.
For now, I hope that you are all acting like true Honors students and studying in excess. Keep in mind that everything that you do now to prepare for the Regents can benefit your Regents grade, your Quarter grade AND your Final Course Grade ( and your Physics placement ). There's a big payoff if you work extra-hard now. However, the inverse is also true in this case...
For now, I hope that you are all acting like true Honors students and studying in excess. Keep in mind that everything that you do now to prepare for the Regents can benefit your Regents grade, your Quarter grade AND your Final Course Grade ( and your Physics placement ). There's a big payoff if you work extra-hard now. However, the inverse is also true in this case...
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Review Sessions
I have Room 132 reserved for our remaining review sessions although, if it gets too hot in there, we will seek a cooler location (sports complex pool yooo?). So far, they have gone quite well.
We have done over 10 hours of review so far. I still have not seen about ten people who should not miss ANY of these review sessions. If I don't see or hear from you by Tuesday or Wednesday, I will react.
Thanks to all who have been making the time to come to review (and to the parents/friends who drove them) and to those who have come prepared with questions.
We have done over 10 hours of review so far. I still have not seen about ten people who should not miss ANY of these review sessions. If I don't see or hear from you by Tuesday or Wednesday, I will react.
Thanks to all who have been making the time to come to review (and to the parents/friends who drove them) and to those who have come prepared with questions.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Glad I found these...
to make your Regents study more thorough yet somewhat easier...
okay, last year, I took the UPCO Chemistry review book and answered a BOATLOAD of "constructed response" part B-2 and part C-type questions. I am now scanning the questions (with my answers) and will post them, two or more topics per file, on the website. I don't really have time to scan the questions separately because this is going to take me 5 to 6 hours as is. So, just cover up the answers as you do these questions and then you can get instant feedback. I will have the first two or three units on the website tonight.
These questions should really solidify your knowledge base for the crucial written part of the Regents exam.
...more study aids to come...
okay, last year, I took the UPCO Chemistry review book and answered a BOATLOAD of "constructed response" part B-2 and part C-type questions. I am now scanning the questions (with my answers) and will post them, two or more topics per file, on the website. I don't really have time to scan the questions separately because this is going to take me 5 to 6 hours as is. So, just cover up the answers as you do these questions and then you can get instant feedback. I will have the first two or three units on the website tonight.
These questions should really solidify your knowledge base for the crucial written part of the Regents exam.
...more study aids to come...
Thursday, June 09, 2005
last day
I guess we had a kool last day thanks to liquid nitrogen. I know that we're not totally done with Chem yet and we do have The Show on June 22 but I want to congratulate my students on completing their Sophomore/Junior classes at St. Anthony's. From my perspective, this year flew by and I am impressed/relieved at how much work we got done under our extremely tight schedule.
I do regret that we didn't have time for more semi-amusing stories (or even a complete story would have been nice) and some occasional lower pressure classes but we were up against the clock from our relatively late start on. I hope that a crazy high Regents score will compensate somewhat for that.
Though my classes last year performed superbly on the Regents, I want to point out a clear advantage that this year's groups may have: you all are not at ALL shy about coming to extra help/review! That may be your secret weapon for jumping over the very high bar set by my classes from last year. I look forward to seeing you at the sessions; I think that you will find them informative and helpful; also, we won't have that time pressure of a 40 minute class so that will also help things to be somewhat relaxed.
I do regret that we didn't have time for more semi-amusing stories (or even a complete story would have been nice) and some occasional lower pressure classes but we were up against the clock from our relatively late start on. I hope that a crazy high Regents score will compensate somewhat for that.
Though my classes last year performed superbly on the Regents, I want to point out a clear advantage that this year's groups may have: you all are not at ALL shy about coming to extra help/review! That may be your secret weapon for jumping over the very high bar set by my classes from last year. I look forward to seeing you at the sessions; I think that you will find them informative and helpful; also, we won't have that time pressure of a 40 minute class so that will also help things to be somewhat relaxed.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Coming up next...
Two more days of formal school; this year flew by, it seems. In fact, we only had 153 days of school (some of them with 20 minute non-classes); compare that to the puritanical, laborious 180-day public school schedule. If we had that kind of time, we'd be on Regents # 40 by now ( June 1967 yooo?). Some of you may want to come in and take the Regents that your parents took.
Well, I will post our review class schedule (tomorrow, most likely) after I edit out some conflicts with finals. Each review class consists of specific questions that thoroughly test your knowledge on a given topic. You must come to the sessions with the questions printed out (from the webpage). I will have lots of review time up until and including the morning of the Regents exam (bagels that morning, too!)
Bring a 4X6 index card to log your review session hours so that I may give you extra fourth quarter credit ( 5 points towards your quarterly total points per hour of review) for time put in with work shown (all questions must be answered as we cover them).
Anyone coming to the review sessions to take a practice Regents must let me know via email the day before (by 6PM) so that I will have it printed out for you. You do not get review credit time for taking a Regents though, just the usual credit if your practice Regents score is above your quarterly average.
Lastly, I have posted one more released Regents exam. After you finish that one, you will have completed eight Regents exams. I advise you to take each Regents exam AGAIN until you get a guaranteed 100 on each of them. Then, I will know AND you will know that you will be ridiculously confident and prepared for your exam on June 22.
Reminder: write THOROUGH, detailed written responses along with drawings/arrows and anything else that will make your answers elaborate. Succinct, ambiguous answers result in the loss of SCORES of points. I have seen this tragedy again and again (fortunately not from my classes who , in past years, have come through for themselves and for me :)) ).
That's all for now folks.
Well, I will post our review class schedule (tomorrow, most likely) after I edit out some conflicts with finals. Each review class consists of specific questions that thoroughly test your knowledge on a given topic. You must come to the sessions with the questions printed out (from the webpage). I will have lots of review time up until and including the morning of the Regents exam (bagels that morning, too!)
Bring a 4X6 index card to log your review session hours so that I may give you extra fourth quarter credit ( 5 points towards your quarterly total points per hour of review) for time put in with work shown (all questions must be answered as we cover them).
Anyone coming to the review sessions to take a practice Regents must let me know via email the day before (by 6PM) so that I will have it printed out for you. You do not get review credit time for taking a Regents though, just the usual credit if your practice Regents score is above your quarterly average.
Lastly, I have posted one more released Regents exam. After you finish that one, you will have completed eight Regents exams. I advise you to take each Regents exam AGAIN until you get a guaranteed 100 on each of them. Then, I will know AND you will know that you will be ridiculously confident and prepared for your exam on June 22.
Reminder: write THOROUGH, detailed written responses along with drawings/arrows and anything else that will make your answers elaborate. Succinct, ambiguous answers result in the loss of SCORES of points. I have seen this tragedy again and again (fortunately not from my classes who , in past years, have come through for themselves and for me :)) ).
That's all for now folks.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
The State has spoken: no graphing calculators...
Sadderthenews folks. Here is the link to the latest Chemistry Regents proctoring instructions. The state has decreed that you may not use a graphing calculator (i.e. Ti-83 or Ti-89er) on the Chem Regents. I'm not making this up so we'll just have to deal with it. Come to think of it, this is not such a big deal. You don't use your calculator much on the Chem Regents (due to those "numerical setup" questions) and, when you do use the calc, you will most likely be multiplying, dividing, or adding.
Pick a nice calculator, the Ti-30 or some Radio Shack thingie is nice, and get used to it for the next three weeks, mmm-kay.
Here is the link to THE STATE file (once again fixing what ISN'T broken):
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/scire/infoblktsciencesja05.pdf
Read it and sigh and then get your revenge by getting high 90's or a 100 (the STATE doesn't like scores that high- you can tell by their "progressive" scoring scale; everyone must be homogenized into mediocrity).
Pick a nice calculator, the Ti-30 or some Radio Shack thingie is nice, and get used to it for the next three weeks, mmm-kay.
Here is the link to THE STATE file (once again fixing what ISN'T broken):
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/scire/infoblktsciencesja05.pdf
Read it and sigh and then get your revenge by getting high 90's or a 100 (the STATE doesn't like scores that high- you can tell by their "progressive" scoring scale; everyone must be homogenized into mediocrity).