Category Archives: Curriculum & Instruction

Iowa Education Challenges

Posted on 05/08/2026 by Joye Walker

Iowa has a tough combination of a governor and legislative majority who are anti-public schools and anti-teacher but at the same time, a department of education that marches to the Common Core drum and has managed to dumb down the … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, Education policy, Governance, Higher Education, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics, partisanship | Tagged civics, discipline, fuzzy math, Iowa, Iowa City | Leave a comment

Rethinking the Structure of American Secondary Education, by Qianruo Shen

Posted on 23/07/2026 by Richard P Phelps

New in the Nonpartisan Education Review: https://nonpartisaneducation.org/Review/Essays/v22n1.html This essay examines the strengths and structural challenges of American secondary education from a comparative perspective informed by educational experience in both China and North America. While recognizing the achievements of American schools … Continue reading →

Posted in College prep, Curriculum & Instruction, Education policy, Governance, International Tests, K-12, Qianruo Shen, STEM | Tagged academic rigor, British Columbia education, Canadian education, Chinese education, education policy, standards | Leave a comment

Modernizing Mathematics Education for Grades 9-14

Posted on 16/07/2026 by Richard P Phelps

https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DEPS-MSEB-25-01 “We are seeking perspectives from math researchers, educators, and users of math and statistics for a consensus study report on modernizing math education for Grades 9-14. Submissions are due by August 20, 2026. “ “A student’s mathematical education can help … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, math, Mathematics, STEM | Leave a comment

The Sage from the East: Michael Xu’s Story as a Mirror to America’s Math Education Crisis

Posted on 11/07/2026 by Ling Huang

https://nonpartisaneducation.org/Review/Resources/Michael_Xu_Success_v_America_Math_Ed_Crisis.pdf by Ling Huang Most people only know Jaime Escalante from Stand and Deliver. Few know there was a Chinese immigrant teacher who did something just as extraordinary:For 20 years in the Arizona desert, he took the state’s poorest Indigenous, … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, math, Mathematics, STEM, teachers | Tagged Arizona, Chinese Cultural Revolution, dyslexia, insomnia, Jaime Escalante, math competition, math education, Michael Xu, Stand and Deliver | Leave a comment

Visual Models, Procedural Fluency, and Multiple Strategies:A Cognitive Critique of Common Core Elementary Mathematics

Posted on 28/06/2026 by Qianruo Shen

https://nonpartisaneducation.org/Review/Reviews/v22n1.html by Qianruo Shen Abstract: This paper examines the cognitive and curricular problems of Common Core elementary mathematics. Through analysis of Big Ideas Math and related instructional practices, it argues that, visual representations are employed excessively and without sufficient transition … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, Education policy, Eric A. Nelson, International Tests, K-12, math, Mathematics, Qianruo Shen, STEM | Tagged automaticity, cognitive science, conceptual, discovery learning, inquiry learning, memorization, PISA, standard algorithm, TIMSS, understanding | Leave a comment

Comments on Hung-Hsi Wu’s “What is school mathematics?”

Posted on 12/04/2026 by Joye Walker

I read a document by Hung-Hsi Wu entitled “What is school mathematics?” I recall reading about some of Wu’s ideas back in the 1990s when I worked for the Department of Mathematics at The University of Iowa. Since that time, … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Higher Education, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics | Tagged common core, Hung-Hsi Wu, Iowa City, measurement | Leave a comment

On Common Core and Educational Testing

Posted on 24/11/2025 by Joye Walker

Common Core has contributed greatly to decline in academic achievement. K-6 teachers use it as a guide, and feel that it is more of a ceiling to reach rather than a basement to stay above. I found that as I … Continue reading →

Posted in College prep, Common Core, Curriculum & Instruction, Education Reform, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics, teachers | Leave a comment

Equitable Grading

Posted on 04/09/2025 by Joye Walker

I think most of these policies are not good for math students. I am OK with test retakes (one per test) if a student scored below 75% on a test, and the maximum possible retake score is 75%. It encourages … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Ethics, Joye Walker, K-12, Mathematics, teachers | Tagged academic rigor, assessment, grading, standards | Leave a comment

Comparing states by only looking at overall NAEP average scores can provide incomplete analysis of performance

Posted on 07/08/2025 by Richard Innes

One of the more notable problems with much that is written about the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) regarding relative state performances is that far too often, only overall average scores are compared. Whether we are talking college professors, … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, Reading & Writing, Richard Innes, Testing/Assessment | Tagged Mississippi | Leave a comment

What does NAEP say about the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project?

Posted on 07/08/2025 by Richard Innes

There is a lot of discussion of late about Lucy Caulkins’ Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP)to teach reading. It got me thinking. Back in 2003, then New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein really pushed TCRWP as THE … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, Reading & Writing, Richard Innes, Testing/Assessment | Tagged New York City, Teachers College | Leave a comment

Reading performance in the US is a serious problem

Posted on 07/08/2025 by Richard Innes

Whether we use NAEP or state assessments, reading performance in the US is a serious problem, and trying to excuse this away just doesn’t work. There’s been a lot of discussion from some teachers and Ed school professors about how … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, Reading & Writing, Richard Innes, Testing/Assessment | Leave a comment

Grade 8 Reading – Is NAEP’s standard for proficiency set too high?

Posted on 07/08/2025 by Richard Innes

There’s been a lot of discussion from some teachers and Ed school professors about how the National Assessment for Educational Progress’ (NAEP) standard for reading proficiency is simply set too high. These naysayers claim this creates a false sense of … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Reading & Writing, Richard Innes, Testing/Assessment | Leave a comment

Math Anxiety

Posted on 13/01/2025 by Joye Walker

I dealt with test anxiety among my honors students when I was teaching. From my perspective, it mostly arose from one of the following situations: I saw many students over the years deal with these sorts of issues. The first … Continue reading →

Posted in College prep, Curriculum & Instruction, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics, Testing/Assessment | Tagged anxiety, math anxiety | 1 Comment

New article: Fact-checking Research Claims about Math Education in Manitoba

Posted on 14/12/2024 by Anna Stokke

https://nonpartisaneducation.org/Review/Resources/Fact-checking_research_claims_about_math_education_in_Manitoba.pdf EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In a Winnipeg Free Press article, Mathematics education of Manitoba teachers should be based on research (November 13, 2024), Dr. Martha Koch, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba, made several … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Education policy, Governance, Higher Education, information suppression, K-12, licensure, Mathematics, Uncategorized | Tagged academic rigor, course requirements, education school, Manitoba, math education, standards, teacher standards, teacher training | Leave a comment

New article: Qianruo Shen’s “Integrated Curriculum Reform and its Impact on Science Education — Why is the West Falling Behind East Asia in PISA and TIMSS?”

Posted on 09/12/2024 by Ling Huang

Abstract: This paper investigates why western nations underperform in PISA and TIMSS compared to East Asia and explores the root causes of the decline in science education. By analyzing TIMSS data and comparing the science curricula and teacher qualifications in … Continue reading →

Posted in constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, Education policy, International Tests, K-12, Mathematics, Qianruo Shen, science, STEM | Tagged academic rigor, content standards, East Asia, education, education policy, PISA, TIMSS | Leave a comment

Comments on Zearn’s “Myth of the Math Kid”

Posted on 15/08/2024 by Joye Walker

https://time.com/7008332/math-kid-myth-essay/ I really find these kinds of articles tiresome, because the accusations or “myths” as expressed by Shalinee Sharma, are assumptions made by people who are generalizing about all math teaching in order to peddle their programs. The first myth … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Education journalism, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics, STEM | Tagged accuracy, aptitude, math ability, math education, Shalinee Sharma, TIME magazine, Zearn | 2 Comments

Mississippi: Progress Commanding Attention or Outright Miracle?

Posted on 18/07/2023 by Richard Innes

Due to comments from others about Mississippi, I thought it would be useful to post a short message with some of the data I have been looking at recently that tells me while Mississippi’s educational improvements are not in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Education journalism, K-12, math, Mathematics, Richard Innes, US Education Department | Tagged Los Angeles Times, Mississippi, NAEP, science of reading | Leave a comment

Iowa Academic Standards Hold Teachers Hostage

Posted on 31/10/2022 by Joye Walker

By Joye Walker I retired more than a year ago, giving me many months to process the discomfort I felt in my last few years of teaching. It was a difficult time for many reasons, but one big reason stands … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, Curriculum & Instruction, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics, STEM | Tagged Depth of Knowledge, DOK, Iowa, Iowa Academic Standards | Leave a comment

The absolute worst “real world” problem I have ever encountered

Posted on 27/05/2022 by Joye Walker

by Joye Walker It was in the UCSMP Algebra 2 book and I encountered it during my first year of teaching. Here was the opening linear programming example. *** Stuart Dent decided to investigate one of his typical meals, fried … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum & Instruction, Joye Walker, K-12, math, Mathematics | Tagged real world math problems, UCSMP Math | Leave a comment

Do We Still Need Public Schools?

Posted on 22/04/2022 by Sandra Stotsky

Sandra Stotsky, April 2022 Do we still want a chief policy maker in in the Department of Education with little classroom teaching experience beyond grade 5 who has never administered a middle or high school? No particular ethnicity or race … Continue reading →