In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (8/6, Ratner, Subscription Publication), Marina Ratner, professor emerita of mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley, makes a case against the Common Core math standards, calling their adoption in California a step backward for the state, and arguing that the standards will push the US closer to the bottom of international rankings.
NPR Explores New Concepts In Elementary Common Core Math
NPR’s All Things Considered (7/31) broadcast a segment in its series on the Common Core Standards focusing on how “the standards work in a second-grade math class.” The reporter discusses her own daughter’s use of “partial sums” for addition, explaining that though she herself found the concept to be alien, the Common Core requires that her daughter not only master it, but also be able to explain it. A transcript of this segment can be seen here (7/30, Alvarez).
US Teachers See Limited Success In Overhauling Math Instruction
In a piece for the New York Times (7/24, Subscription Publication), author Elizabeth Green profiles Akihiko Takahashi, a leading Japanese math teacher who derived his pedagogical ideas from such American reformers as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, “which published manifestoes throughout the 1980s, prescribing radical changes in the teaching of math.” When Takahashi “got the opportunity to take a new job in America, teaching at a school run by the Japanese Education Ministry for expats in Chicago,” he was dismayed to find that classrooms in the US typically use old-fashioned techniques based on repetition and drills. The article suggests that this “wasn’t the first time that Americans had dreamed up a better way to teach math and then failed to implement it,” noting that often teachers are told to implement innovations without sufficient training or support.
Study Of 6th Graders Found Extra Math Time Had Only Short-Term Benefit
A report on the website Phys (7/21, Tonn) examines findings from a study done by Stanford University PhD student Eric Taylor, who found that students who increased the amount of time in math classes earned higher scores as a result, “but the gains did not last for long.” Taylor, who is studying at the Center for Education Policy Analysis, built the study around extra math classes added for some sixth graders in Florida’s Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Although students benefited from the extra classes, they had lost those benefits by high school. Moreover, to take the extra math, they missed out on “physical education, arts or foreign language class,” leading Taylor to question whether that was a good outcome
How Teachers Can Combat Math Anxiety
The Education Week (6/11, Heitin) carries an article telling teachers what they can do to “combat math anxiety.” The article notes three things that can be done based on a research article: focusing math teacher training on pedagogy rather than on concepts, stop giving timed math tests, and being careful when consoling students who are struggling.
California Elementary Students Embrace Common Core Math
NPR’s Morning Edition (5/27) broadcast a segment on how students at a California elementary school are adapting to the Common Core Standards. The piece describes the students as not being intimidated by new methods for solving two-digit multiplication problems, and attempts to portray the new methods. The piece concludes that though many adults “struggle” with the new methods, “these kids seem surprisingly eager and willing to embrace something new.” A transcript of this segment can be seen here. (5/28, Bess)
New SAT Will Focus More On Algebra And Reading Comprehension, Less On Vocabulary
Politico (4/16, Simon) reports on the recent changes to the SAT. In addition to noting the changes to vocabulary testing, the article says that “the exam now focuses intently on algebra” for its math section, adding that the essay is optional. The article adds that students may find new questions “confounding,” as the new test mimics Common Core exams and the first wave of students taking the SAT in 2016 will have little exposure to the Common Core tests. College Board President David Coleman said, “We aim to offer worthy challenges, not artificial obstacles.” The article speculates that Coleman seeks to revitalize the SAT brand, which has lost market share to the ACT. The article also provides sample questions from the new exam.
Common Core Writers: Controversial Math Problem Not Common Core-Aligned
The Hechinger Report (3/27) reports on the recent “viral” response to a Common Core-inspired math question posted by a frustrated father, noting that “critics say the problem takes a simple one-step subtraction problem and turns it into a complex endeavor with a series of unnecessary steps, including counting by 10s and 100s.” The article notes that Jason Zimba and William McCallum, lead Common Core writers, said that “a poorly written curriculum” is to blame, quoting McCallum saying, “It’s a complete reversal of the truth to call this a Common Core problem.”
Authors: Public School Students Outperform Private School Students In Math
On the Washington Post (11/5) “Answer Sheet” blog, Christopher and Sarah Lubienski, authors of the book “The Public School Advantage,” write that their analysis, “one of the most comprehensive studies ever performed of school type and achievement in mathematics,” found that public school students “outperform those in private schools.” School reform efforts, including the charter school movement, “elevate the idea of autonomy,” with parents choosing between competing schools, but the “neat, appealing” market model is “quite possibly wrong.” Instead of using autonomy to adopt better education practices, private schools often “maintain outdated strategies that may align with parental preferences but are not particularly effective for educating students.” Meanwhile, parents often choose schools based on uniforms, demographics, sports, or religious affiliation instead of educational quality. Meanwhile, after controlling private school students’ “advantages,” such as money and highly-educated parents, “public elementary schools are, on average, simply more effective at teaching mathematics,” possibly due to public school teachers’ being “more likely to be certified and to receive ongoing training in the field.”