Where’s The Math?

As for possible math changes in Shoreline, the first step is to see what the state’s new standards and recommended curricula are, Porter said.

The Legislature is expected to vote on the revised math standards at the end of January. The state aims to recommend curricula to districts this spring.

Once they have this information, Shoreline officials would assemble a group of stakeholders, including parents and others, to determine where the district should go in the future, Porter said.

Read the article in The Enterprise Newspapers, Shoreline / Lake Forest Park edition

Where’s the Math? is pleased to announce the release of the public draft of Washington Exemplary Mathematics Standards: 2008

The Washington Exemplary Mathematics Standards: 2008 have been written by a team of Washington State educators to align closely with the standards used by exemplary states and nations named by the State Board of Education (SBE) and House Bill 1906. The first public draft has been posted on Tuesday, January 22 at www.wheresthemath.com for public review and comment. These proposed math standards reflect the world-class mathematics education Washington State students need to flourish in a technically competitive world.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) was tasked with revising our state math standards following the recommendations made by Strategic Teaching (Review and Recommendations of WA Math Standards). When OSPI selected the Texas-based Charles A. Dana Center to oversee the revision process, Where’s The Math expressed concerns about Dana Center’s significant bias towards the failing reform programs and believed they were unlikely to produce satisfactory standards. The first public draft of revised WA standards confirmed these concerns, falling far short of the Strategic Teaching recommendations.

Where’s The Math has offered support for every stage in this process. WTM members have attended focus groups, served on the SBE Math Advisory Panel, and have provided constructive and specific written recommendations to OSPI.

When it became clear that OSPI’s efforts would fall short of the world-class standards specified in the Strategic Teaching report, WTM created alternative standards to demonstrate what can be achieved by drawing on the strengths of exemplary states and nations, where world-class math standards are being used. This work was done by a volunteer committee of math teachers, college educators, professionals and parents. Our objective was to show that it is possible to produce the extremely high quality standards called for by the Strategic Teaching report in the amount of time allotted, and at no cost to taxpayers; a stark comparison to the $ 750,000 budget OSPI allocated to the Dana Center.

We invite legislators, educators, professionals, and the general public to review theWashington Exemplary Mathematics Standards: 2008 and compare them to the standards produced by OSPI through the Dana Center (view here). Evaluate both documents against the guidelines of the SBE’s Washington State Mathematics Standards Review and Recommendations (p. 5 – 7) and let your legislators know your preference. To find your legislators’ contact info. Click here.

Click here for the flyer (PDF, 2p.) with a comparison of the Dana Center standards vs the Washington State Exemplary Standards.

The Dana Center has released the Review Draft of the proposed revision of the Washington Mathematics Standards. The final version is scheduled to be submitted to the Legislature on January 31, 2008.

Three public meetings have been scheduled to present the 2nd draft of the revised State Math Standards. They will include a presentation followed by time for public comment.

• January 22: Seattle, Roosevelt High School, 6 to 8 p.m., 1410 NE 66th St. Seattle (Directions below)
• January 28: Spokane, Spokane School District Administration Building Board Room, 6 to 8 p.m., 200 N. Bernard St., Spokane, WA
• February 6: Vancouver, Evergreen Public Schools Evergreen Room, 6 to 8 p.m., 13501 NE 28th Street, Vancouver, WA

These public meetings are your last opportunity to give public comment on the revised standards. Please try to attend and make your voice count.

Directions to Roosevelt High School (1410 NE 66th St. Seattle)
Going north on I-5
Take exit 170 for Ravenna Blvd toward NE 65th St.
Turn left at 8th Ave. NE
Turn right at NE 66th St.

Going south on I-5
Take exit 171 toward NE 71st St. / NE 65th St.
Merge onto 6th Ave. NE
Take a slight left on NE 70th St.
Turn right on 8th Ave. NE
Turn left at NE 66th St.

Eric Knight, a science teacher at Mount Tahoma High School, points out the root causes of poor math WASL scores.

Much of this is also related to the “integrated” math programs, which don’t stress enough drill in arithmetic skills and allow kids to go on without the needed foundations to be successful in math and related subjects. Many students need calculators for the simplest multiplications and divisions.

Read the article in the Tacoma News Tribune

Senator Val Stevens writes about poor passage rates for the math WASL in a guest commentary in the Herald. The senator notes that

For years, parents, math professors and industry experts have insisted that the current math WASL curriculum is ruining our kids. They say it fails to give students basic algorithms and computations –the building blocks that teach why math works.

She blames “discovery” math and compares with the experiences in California and Singapore with the experience of Washington:

Why hasn’t Washington learned this lesson? Because the superintendent of public instruction, Terry Bergeson, wrote her doctoral thesis on conceptual math and doggedly refuses to give it up. Her motto seems to be: “If the square peg won’t fit in the round hole, get a larger hammer.”

Read the article on HeraldNet, Everett.

An 8-minute video that describes what is happening with math and science education in our state – including timelines for the rewriting of math and science standards, and when decisions will be made on curricula.

This video shows the use of Saxon curriculum at North Beach elementary school. We visit the classroom of teacher Lin-Co Nguyen, and hear about Saxon from students and parents. North Beach elementary has been achieving excellent WASL results with this curriculum. For instance, in 2007, the passage rate for the math WASL was 92% in the fourth grade.

North Beach began using Saxon Math in 2001, in the belief its strong skills-based approach was best for our students, says former North Beach principal Niki Hayes. According to Hayes, the students really learn mathematics and, therefore, most lose the dreaded “math anxiety.” They succeed because of its structure and content, and nothing makes people like something like success. Teachers and parents also find the program extremely user-friendly. For elementary teachers, who are well-known for being “unsure” in mathematics knowledge, they find that teachers learn a lot of math, along with the students. For most parents, it is more familiar with the math they know (especially for English language learners and those from poverty).