[Ohiogift] Common Core Math Standards

[Margaret DeLacy]

Friends:

Below is a link to and excerpt from an important story in Education Week concerning the Common Core math standards.

What I took away from the story is that both sides agree that meeting the CCSS is not adequate preparation for students interested in pursuing STEM degrees in a four year college.  If you are the parent of such a student, make sure that his/her learning will go beyond meeting the CCSS and is not based on instruction that is "Algebra in name only".  STEM students will need to master the skills traditionally taught in Algebra 2 and take math beyond the traditional Algebra 2 level; that is, be successful in four years of "high-school level" math starting with a real Algebra 1 class (which may actually be taken in 7th. or 8th. grade).  

That may seem obvious to some of you, but I have myself attended school meetings where this was not clearly explained to parents and the students paid the price. 

Some schools are using an integrated curriculum that combines algebra and geometry.  The key here is to figure out what skills a student will actually have mastered at the end of a two- or three-year sequence. If you can't figure it out, ask what class your student will be able to take once the sequence is competed.  If the sequence starts by replacing Algebra 1 and is two years, the answer should be that the next course will at least be Algebra 2.  If the sequence is three years, the answer should be precalculus, geometry or calculus. A three-year sequence that starts in middle school and prepares a student for Algebra 2 (i.e. takes 3 years to cover Algebra 1 and geometry) can also work, but it may also be too slow for a mathematically gifted student.

The time to get a mathematically gifted student on track for STEM is middle school.  Ask what level of math your child will need to have to be successful in IB or AP math and science classes and what classes s/he will need to take to be prepared for these programs.  Count back through the sequence from where you want your child to be by senior year of high school all the way back to where s/he needs to be at the end of 6th. grade. Then ask whether a given sequence is really appropriate for your child.  Don't let people tell you there will be plenty of time to worry about it later on--sometimes there is, but often there isn't. 

If you are still bewildered, take a look at the actual textbooks that will be used, take two aspirins and consult an engineer in the morning!

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/10/report_common_math_standards_l.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2


"Report: Common Math Standards 'Lower the Bar'
By Catherine Gewertz on October 1, 2013 3:54 PM

A new paper argues that the common standards in math do not demand a level of skill that is sufficient for selective colleges, or for students planning careers in math or science.

In a white paper released today, the Boston-based Pioneer Institute, one of the most vocal critics of the common core, seeks to back up its argument with comments made by one of the math standards' lead writers, Jason Zimba.....

At the risk of giving more oxygen to what strikes me as being fundamentally a dispute about language, what [those critics] think of as 'college ready' is what I might call 'STEM ready.' [Zimba wrote] "I think it makes sense to most people that college readiness and STEM readiness are two different things. The mathematical demands that students face in college will vary dramatically depending on whether they are pursuing a STEM major or not.'"

Margaret
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