According to some observers, Maryland might as well hire smart 6th graders to teach math in its middle schools. In a recent issue of the Washington Post, University of Maryland math professor and all around gadfly Jerome Dancis takes aim at Maryland s choice of the Praxis II as the math exam now required of its middle school teachers to demonstrate subject matter competence, charging that the test could be passed by any competent twelve year old. (To be fair, others have estimated the test to be aimed at the 10th grade level.) Dancis points the finger at the Maryland State Department of Education for choosing the Praxis II test and for deciding a passing score that is relatively easy to achieve. He alleges that none of the sample questions that are online are as sophisticated as "adding 2/3 + 1/5."

Dancis may not be far off the mark judging by performance of Maryland students. Last year only half of Maryland's students passed the state's 9th grade algebra test; even worse was the 30% pass rate for minorities.