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Have you researched your child’s math text lately?
By Beth Schultz
Does your child use the K-6 “Everyday Math”? (RSU1, RSU5, Yarmouth, etc.) If so, Google “Everyday Math Controversy” and research it.
The Everyday Math text chooses not to teach traditional long division. According to the Teacher’s Edition: “It is simply counter-productive to invest many hours of precious class time on such algorithms. The mathematical payoff is not worth the cost, particularly because quotients can be found quickly and accurately with a calculator.”
Everyday Math, however, teaches only to the state standards (Maine’s standards received a “D” grade by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute). The Grade 3 Everyday Math book used throughout Maine was rejected by Texas (weak multiplication) and California (standards not met). These are the only states that approve textbooks for their schools. Maine does not review texts, so schools here are free to choose it, and most do.
Everyday Math has been described as a “mile wide and an inch deep.” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is calling for “more depth and less breadth” in education. States like Connecticut are heavily invested in reform programs like Everyday Math. The Hartford Courant newspaper recently reported that 40 percent of incoming college freshmen require non-credit “remedial” mathematics.
Everyday Math uses “spiraling”: Topics are repeated yearly and parents are often told not to worry if a concept isn’t mastered because it will repeat. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel warns, “Repetition of topics year after year without the expectation of closure should be avoided.” The advisory panel was formed because our international math ranking continues to drop (34th out of 39 countries). It recommend that administrations choose mathematics textbooks that are “more compact and coherent than the many excessively long textbooks that dominate the market.”
Reform math has dominated our schools for more than 15 years. Over this period, our international ranking has plummeted.
In 2003, the Minnesota legislature removed it from the state curriculum, saying it was depriving students of a good math education. Minnesota students now rank second to No. 1 Massachusetts on eighth-grade national math exams. Maine ranks 12th; however, when comparing Maine’s predominant demographic (white-English speaking) to the same demographic in other states, we drop to 37th, while Massachusetts still remains No. 1. In fourth grade our overall ranking is 19th, but our largest demographic ranks us 41st among the states.
Everyday Math is used in some schools in Massachusetts, but they are teaching to higher “A” standards, so teachers often supplement the textbooks being used. Additionally, the Massachusetts state exam is in line with the state’s rigorous standards. They allow no calculators on state exams until 7th grade (Maine allows in 3rd grade). Massachusetts has increased the percentage of 8th graders taking an authentic algebra or geometry course by 9 percent from 2001 to 2007.
According to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, “Students should be expected to develop automatic and accurate execution of the standard algorithms.” Everyday Math spends much class time introducing16-plus unique algorithms (i.e. lattice method), many of which are not recognized by traditional programs. Covering so many methods leaves little time for mastery of any one. Very few tests to assess mastery are administered. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel strongly recommends more “ongoing assessments” be given in the classroom at the elementary level. Traditional long division is not taught. Math professors point out that excluding long division leads to students who are unable to do polynomial factoring and polynomial long division.
Unlike Maine, Massachusetts’s standards require that long division be taught.
Everyday Math has been criticized for promoting a reliance on calculators, introducing them early. My district (RSU 1) approved a “Wellness Program.” With the emphasis that our district places on nutrition, I was surprised to find that this controversial text, which contradicts so many of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel recommendations, was approved.
For example, the advisory panel warns, “Caution should be exercised in the use of calculators.”
We listen to the experts when it comes to nutrition. Why don’t we listen to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel warnings?
Changes to Maine’s math standards are coming. Forty-six states have signed onto “Common Core State Standards” (see www.corestandards.org). The 46 states will have the same grade-by-grade standards and a common test. Standards should be in place by this December.
This is a joint effort by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, of which Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron is now the president. I applaud her for becoming involved in this initiative! The goal is to provide all states with the same high standards.
Everyday Math might meet Maine’s current mathematics standards, but our students need to surpass our “D” standards. Parents should ask RSU 1 to address the well-documented weaknesses of this text. RSU 1 administrators, teachers and parents should become well versed in the National Mathematics Advisory Panel recommendations.
Additionally, once the new “Common Core” standards are in place, the district has a responsibility to ensure that they provide a curriculum that meets these higher standards.
Concerned New Hampshire parents have put together the following Web site, www.mathwizards.wordpress.com.
I encourage parents who have concerns with the Everyday Math program in their local school to call their school board representative today!
Beth Schultz is a mother to three young children attending RSU1. She resides in Woolwich and received her B.S. degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She began studying mathematics at Northeastern University and went on to receive her M Ed. in Secondary Mathematics Education at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. She can be reached at bschultz@suscom-maine.net.
The Everyday Math text chooses not to teach traditional long division. According to the Teacher’s Edition: “It is simply counter-productive to invest many hours of precious class time on such algorithms. The mathematical payoff is not worth the cost, particularly because quotients can be found quickly and accurately with a calculator.”
Everyday Math, however, teaches only to the state standards (Maine’s standards received a “D” grade by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute). The Grade 3 Everyday Math book used throughout Maine was rejected by Texas (weak multiplication) and California (standards not met). These are the only states that approve textbooks for their schools. Maine does not review texts, so schools here are free to choose it, and most do.
Everyday Math has been described as a “mile wide and an inch deep.” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is calling for “more depth and less breadth” in education. States like Connecticut are heavily invested in reform programs like Everyday Math. The Hartford Courant newspaper recently reported that 40 percent of incoming college freshmen require non-credit “remedial” mathematics.
Everyday Math uses “spiraling”: Topics are repeated yearly and parents are often told not to worry if a concept isn’t mastered because it will repeat. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel warns, “Repetition of topics year after year without the expectation of closure should be avoided.” The advisory panel was formed because our international math ranking continues to drop (34th out of 39 countries). It recommend that administrations choose mathematics textbooks that are “more compact and coherent than the many excessively long textbooks that dominate the market.”
Reform math has dominated our schools for more than 15 years. Over this period, our international ranking has plummeted.
In 2003, the Minnesota legislature removed it from the state curriculum, saying it was depriving students of a good math education. Minnesota students now rank second to No. 1 Massachusetts on eighth-grade national math exams. Maine ranks 12th; however, when comparing Maine’s predominant demographic (white-English speaking) to the same demographic in other states, we drop to 37th, while Massachusetts still remains No. 1. In fourth grade our overall ranking is 19th, but our largest demographic ranks us 41st among the states.
Everyday Math is used in some schools in Massachusetts, but they are teaching to higher “A” standards, so teachers often supplement the textbooks being used. Additionally, the Massachusetts state exam is in line with the state’s rigorous standards. They allow no calculators on state exams until 7th grade (Maine allows in 3rd grade). Massachusetts has increased the percentage of 8th graders taking an authentic algebra or geometry course by 9 percent from 2001 to 2007.
According to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, “Students should be expected to develop automatic and accurate execution of the standard algorithms.” Everyday Math spends much class time introducing16-plus unique algorithms (i.e. lattice method), many of which are not recognized by traditional programs. Covering so many methods leaves little time for mastery of any one. Very few tests to assess mastery are administered. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel strongly recommends more “ongoing assessments” be given in the classroom at the elementary level. Traditional long division is not taught. Math professors point out that excluding long division leads to students who are unable to do polynomial factoring and polynomial long division.
Unlike Maine, Massachusetts’s standards require that long division be taught.
Everyday Math has been criticized for promoting a reliance on calculators, introducing them early. My district (RSU 1) approved a “Wellness Program.” With the emphasis that our district places on nutrition, I was surprised to find that this controversial text, which contradicts so many of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel recommendations, was approved.
For example, the advisory panel warns, “Caution should be exercised in the use of calculators.”
We listen to the experts when it comes to nutrition. Why don’t we listen to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel warnings?
Changes to Maine’s math standards are coming. Forty-six states have signed onto “Common Core State Standards” (see www.corestandards.org). The 46 states will have the same grade-by-grade standards and a common test. Standards should be in place by this December.
This is a joint effort by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, of which Maine Education Commissioner Susan Gendron is now the president. I applaud her for becoming involved in this initiative! The goal is to provide all states with the same high standards.
Everyday Math might meet Maine’s current mathematics standards, but our students need to surpass our “D” standards. Parents should ask RSU 1 to address the well-documented weaknesses of this text. RSU 1 administrators, teachers and parents should become well versed in the National Mathematics Advisory Panel recommendations.
Additionally, once the new “Common Core” standards are in place, the district has a responsibility to ensure that they provide a curriculum that meets these higher standards.
Concerned New Hampshire parents have put together the following Web site, www.mathwizards.wordpress.com.
I encourage parents who have concerns with the Everyday Math program in their local school to call their school board representative today!
Beth Schultz is a mother to three young children attending RSU1. She resides in Woolwich and received her B.S. degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She began studying mathematics at Northeastern University and went on to receive her M Ed. in Secondary Mathematics Education at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. She can be reached at bschultz@suscom-maine.net.
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