Where’s The Math?

Here’s the message Julie Wright sent to Gov. Gregoire. Please feel free to use it or write your own to urge the Gov. to keep EOC assessments. You can call or send an email to the Governor at http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/default.asp

Dear Governor Gregoire,

Thank you for your commendable dedication to improving math and science for WA students. Providing math and science instruction that prepares students for college and the international job market are essential to the future success of our children and our economy. SB 6023 provides sound measures that will help students succeed in this goal.

End-of-Course Assessments in the standard math and science courses required for college will help ensure instruction aligns with college requirements. It will allow students to study each course in depth, which will better prepare them for success in college.

Using the SAT and ACT college entrance exams as alternatives provides a reliable evaluation of college readiness in the content areas needed for HS graduation.

Providing diagnostic tests in all grades will identify learning deficiencies early so they can be corrected efficiently through targeted remediation. That will foster greater success for students and save money on remediation.

I urge you to keep these provisions in SB 6023.

Thank you,

Julie Wright

by Faith Haleem

The National Teachers of Phys Ed Education (NTPEE) has released its new set of guidelines in response to a new law that takes effect next September, the NCPL (No Child Picked Last), which calls for narrowing the gap between students who are athletic and those who are not.

“Historically, kids played sports like volleyball or basketball during PE. But research shows that kids don’t really benefit from actually being physical in PE class,” said Rachel Shumacher, head PE teacher at Honor Roll For All Middle School. Dr. Shumacher demonstrated a new program called Reform PE where students actually learn the concept behind sports rather than the sport itself. For instance, instead of learning to dribble, pass, shoot and block in basketball, students discuss how they feel when they watch their favorite professional basketball team play on television. Kids who don’t have a favorite NBA team can discuss the latest events on American Idol.
Read the rest of this entry »

It’s called reform math, discovery math, constructivist math, fuzzy math. I think of it as new-age math, and believe it is one reason why last year nearly half the 10th-graders in Washington public schools failed the mathematics portion of the high-school graduation test. …

April 22, 2007, by Bruce Ramsey, the Seattle Times 

by Kathie Durbin, Columbian staff writer

“House Bill 1906 passed the Senate on a bipartisan 37-12 vote. Earlier, a similar version passed the House on a 90-7 vote. …The Board of Education, with help from expert consultants and advisory panels, would revise the math standards by September and the science standard by June 30, 2008. The bill also would narrow the number of math curricula used in Washington schools. ”

Read more

“The Washington State Board of Education is pleased to announce the selection of the Math Panel members who will work in an advisory capacity to the national consulting firm, Strategic Teaching, on the independent review of the K-12 mathematics standards.”

Read More

” … the science produced is often inconclusive, politically charged or less than useful for classroom teachers. And when it is useful, it often is misused or ignored altogether. … Part of the problem is few researchers have the means to conduct large-scale, long-term studies, which usually require the cooperation of at least one school district. But districts often are reluctant to agree to trials that could cast them in a less-than-favorable light.

USA Today

” …a move described by some as a step toward national educational standards. … The other states are Arkansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.”

Read more in Courier Journal

“At the root of the difference is the idea, in Chinese and other East Asian math curricula, "that there is a very small body of factual mathematics that students need to learn, but they need to learn it really, really well," said R. James Milgram, professor emeritus of mathematics at Stanford University and one of the authors of California’s public school math standards.”

Read More in L.A. Times

A new federal report raises questions about the effectiveness of computer-based math and reading programs, including a popular algebra course used by Snohomish County schools and touted by the governor.

“There isn’t much support from this study for believing that software products in reading and math … are necessarily going to improve your kids’ learning a lot,” said Phoebe Cottingham, commissioner of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.
Read more in the Everett Herald