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USE OF CALCULATORS ON VIRGINIA STANDARD OF LEARNING (SOL) TESTS.

Superintendent Memo 97 of May 7, 1999 addresses the use of calculators on SOL tests.

According to memo 97, the use of a scientific calculator is not allowed anywhere on any of the SOLs. The concept of fairness is stated as one of the reasons.
Memo 97 states that "Four-function calculators (defined as a calculator having only addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division functions) and calculators having percent, square root, and +/- functions may be used by students on the following SOL tests:

Grade 5 mathematics (calculator section only)
Grade 8 Mathematics
Grade 8 Science
End-of-Course Earth Science
End-of-Course Biology
End-of-Course Chemistry"

Not letting students use these calculators on the SOL tests is one thing. However, I am afraid this policy will result in teachers not letting students using scientific calculators at all
during the year which I believe to be a big mistake particularly for Chemistry and Physics. I am not sure how you can teach a proper course in Chemistry without a scientific calculator unless we go back to slide rules.
The good thing about slide rules was that the student had to learn powers of ten. Now with the scientific calculator, the student should be adept at multiplying numbers such as 6.02 X 10^23
by other equally large and cumbersome numbers using the EE or EXP button. I am not sure how you would do this with a four-function calculator.
Four-function calculators do not follow the order of operations. For example, suppose you are asked to add: 1 + 36. We know the answer is 37. But what if we asked a student to add 1 + (4)(9).
If you aren't careful, the answer on a four-function calculator would be 45 whereas a scientific calculator would result in a correct answer of 37 because it multiplies first.
Most (but not all) scientific calculators let you enter a problem such as 0 + 3 and when you press "=" the answer is "3." Pressing "=" again, results in an answer of "6." By repeating this process one can easily learn to count by threes. Four-function calculators will not let you do this. As a long time tutor, I have taught a few children to count by twos, fives, tens, threes and sevens this way.
Regarding the cost: Good scientific calculators cost about $10.00.
The graphing calculators will do any thing the small ones will do, but they are awkward to carry around and I am sure, in real life, when one is needed it will not be available. Students should
be allowed to use both.
I believe that the scientific pocket calculator should be allowed on all high school SOL tests particularly those such as Grade 8 Math, Physical Science, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra I and II, Math Analysis and Calculus.
In closing, I have heard many people express the belief that calculators are the reason our students do not know their multiplication facts. I have taught many GED students and tutored
others. I have not found many who are good at calculators and poor at multiplication facts. I have found many who can't work with either. I have found many students who are good at both. A
calculator teaches a lot of important concepts. It greatly speeds up the rate of learning. After graduating from College with a BA in math, I got a hold of my first scientific calculator a few years later and was able to investigate some basic math problems that was too time consuming with paper and pencil. I had spent much tim in high school and collegeinterpolating trig and log tables and with this fantastic device, I could get the log of .009 with the touch
of a button-not an easy problem before the scientific calculator. It is the concept that counts and not the numerical manipulation.
Many people think the calculator is for adding, subtracting,multiplying and dividing. It is those other buttons the student needs to learn, if he/she is to succeed in the scientific world.
PS: I like and use the graphing calculator in my tutoring sessions. However, we shouldn't throw away our scientific calculators. They are very handy and fit in your shirt pocket. Shirt pocket size calculators are disappearing from the store shelves in Virginia because of the graphing calculator requirement.

Dear Mr. Epperly:

The use of calculators has been an on-going process in instruction and in testing. When the first SOL tests were administered in spring of 1998, the only calculators that were permitted were four-function calculators. As a state we are always concerned regarding the equity of materials that come into play in a testing situation. School divisions were provided with four-function calculators for use with students in sufficient numbers to assure their availability to all. Thus they were allowed. After that, the state provided graphing calculators in quantity to school divisions. Graphing calculators are permitted for use on Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II SOL tests but not on the Science tests. At that point, these were added to the permitted calculators. To date a similar distribution of scientific calculators has not been made. Thus the list of permitted calculators has not been expanded to include them.

The SOL tests are designed so that the student does not even need to use a calculator to achieve the correct answer. There is no desire on our part to have instruction de-emphasize the use of calculators merely because we do not allow them on the tests.

As with any policy we have, this one will be under review as the program matures. Should it be the case that the list of permitted calculators needs to be expanded, then a change will be made. We appreciate your writing to us on this topic.

If additional assistance is needed, please contact Ms. Cameron Harris, assistant superintendent for assessment and reporting, at (804) 225-2102.

Mr. Harris:

Thanks for answering the message. I would like to add something about the constant feature on some scientific calculators. The TI-30X lets you insert for example: "0 + 3" and press equal repeatedly and the calculator counts by three. The TI-30Xa uses a different technique. One enters "0 + 3" and then presses 2nd "k" and pressing "=" repeatedly will cause the calculator to count by three. If the state should purchase scientific calculators for students, I believe it should have this counting feature. It is an easy way to teach students to count by threes, sevens etc. Another example: If one wants to find the least common multiple for say, 16 & 18, then count by 16s and 18s and when you get a match, this is the LCM.
Example: 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144

18, 36, 54, 72, 90, 108, 126, 144. The sequences match at 144. Therefore, 144 is the least common multiple.


Loyd Epperly