Fuzzy Math

“Effort to Fix ‘Broken’ System Sets Targets for Each Grade, Avoids Taking Sides on Method.” The National Mathematics Advisory Panel doesn’t specifying methods for teaching, but is clear in describing key competencies for students by grade.

See John Hechinger’s full story.

UPDATE: The Panel’s report is now available online.

Michelle Malkin’s recent piece discusses the perils of “fuzzy math.”

New York Post
National Review

According to a New York Sun article on an 11/20/2007, “The state of Texas has dropped a math curriculum that is mandated for use in New York City schools, saying it was leaving public school graduates unprepared for college.”

Read the full story

A piece in the New York Times relayed a story of a dad who attended a Parent Night at his child’s school. A math teacher talked about the curriculum, put an example on the board and asked if there were any questions. This dad did the unthinkable and raised his hand.

He asked a simple content question based on the equation, what x to the 0 power is. The teacher answered incorrectly and the dad knew it and told him so. The title of the article, Parent-Night Hint: Keep Mouth Shut gives away the author’s opinion of the event.

Stanford professor Jim Milgram, in response to a parent in the Orchard, NJ, area says, “...don’t make the mistake of thinking that curricula like Investigations are harmless. They are extremely dangerous.” He continues to add that “What we’ve seen is that sometimes, though it is very rare, parental pressure has resulted in change. But what we’ve never seen is instant change. Usually, change takes so long that the original students are through the system by the time the curriculum is gone.”

Here’s the full response: