Thursday, March 13, 2008

Panel Proposes Streamlining Math

This from the New York Times:

American students’ math achievement is “at a mediocre level” compared with that of their peers worldwide, according to a new report by a federal panel.

The panel said that math curriculums from preschool to eighth grade should be streamlined to focus on key skills — the handling of whole numbers and fractions, and certain aspects of geometry and measurement — to prepare students to learn algebra.

“The sharp falloff in mathematics achievement in the U.S. begins as students reach late middle school, where, for more and more students, algebra course work begins,” said the report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, appointed two years ago by President Bush.

“Students who complete Algebra II are more than twice as likely to graduate from college, compared to students with less mathematical preparation.”

The report, to be released Thursday, spells out specific goals for students. For example, it says that by the end of the third grade, students should be proficient in adding and subtracting whole numbers; two years later, they should be proficient in multiplying and dividing them. By the end of sixth grade, it says, students should have mastered the multiplication and division of fractions and decimals.

The report tries to put to rest the long and heated debate over math teaching methods. Parents and teachers in school districts across the country have fought passionately over the relative merits of traditional, or teacher-directed, instruction, in which students are told how to solve problems and then are drilled on them, as opposed to reform or child-centered instruction, which emphasizes student exploration and conceptual understanding. The panel said both methods have a role...

...Closely tracking an influential 2006 report by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the panel said that the math curriculum should include fewer topics, and then spend enough time on each of them to make it is learned in depth and need not be revisited in later grades. This is how top-performing nations approach the curriculum....
Today the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics applauded the findings.

NCTM Welcomes National Math Panel’s Focus

Reston, Va., March 13, 2008—The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) welcomes the release today of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel report and the unprecedented focus it brings to the mathematics education of America’s students. The report addresses many of the actions needed to provide a strong mathematics education for all students and to keep America prosperous and secure in the 21st century.

Created in 2006 by an executive order of President Bush, the Panel was charged to examine and summarize the scientific evidence related to the teaching and learning of mathematics, with a specific focus on preparation for and success in learning algebra. Students who successfully complete algebra, long considered a gatekeeper to future academic and career success, are better prepared for college and have greater opportunities after high school graduation. The Panel also analyzed what must be developed in pre-K through grade 8 and identified a set of Critical Foundations and accompanying Benchmarks as essential prerequisites for algebra.

“We applaud the Panel’s recommendation that the mathematics curriculum for Pre-K to grade 8 should be streamlined to emphasize the most critical topics in those early grades,” said Jim Rubillo, Executive Director of NCTM. “This reinforces the Council’s identification of the most important mathematical topics for each grade level in the release of its Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics in 2006.” ...

No comments: