| Students at La Joya at Community High School in the Tolleson district have had a history of difficulty with the AIMS test. But one dedicated teacher, Liam Honigsberg helped the school increase its passing math AIMS scores by 83%. Some students had failed the math portion three times before passing. Their success has much to do with Honigsberg’s dedication to teaching an after- school class combining remedial math lessons with test taking skills. This challenging class uses questions sampled from the actual exam, so students are prepared for the format. Tolleson Union High School District knew they had to do something when over seventy-five percent of students failed the math portions of AIMS. Honigsberg offered to teach the AIMS preparation test in addition to his algebra and advanced algebra classes. His students praise, “Before, if I didn’t understand something the rest of the class would still move on. Here you just go over it until you understand it,” said senior Marcella Aguilar who has failed the test four times but is confident she will pass this year. Honigsberg, however, will not be teaching the class next year as he was honored with a Fulbright Scholarship and will be teaching in Spain for the remainder of 2006. |
