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Recent Posts
- Comments on Hung-Hsi Wu’s “What is school mathematics?” 12/04/2026
- On Common Core and Educational Testing 24/11/2025
- Equitable Grading 04/09/2025
- Comparing states by only looking at overall NAEP average scores can provide incomplete analysis of performance 07/08/2025
- What does NAEP say about the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project? 07/08/2025
- Reading performance in the US is a serious problem 07/08/2025
- Grade 4 Reading – Is NAEP’s standard for proficiency set too high? 07/08/2025
Comments
- Noah on Comments on Zearn’s “Myth of the Math Kid”
- David D. Baskerville on Breaking the Spell of Math Reformists
- Albert B. Franklin on About Us / Comments
- Bryan on Comments on Zearn’s “Myth of the Math Kid”
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Category Archives: Mathematics
Comments on Hung-Hsi Wu’s “What is school mathematics?”
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
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On Common Core and Educational Testing
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
Equitable Grading
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
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Math Anxiety
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
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New article: Fact-checking Research Claims about Math Education in Manitoba
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
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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?”
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
Comments on Zearn’s “Myth of the Math Kid”
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
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Mississippi: Progress Commanding Attention or Outright Miracle?
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
Iowa Academic Standards Hold Teachers Hostage
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
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The absolute worst “real world” problem I have ever encountered
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
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Stanford Professor Jo Boaler’s Math Revolution and War Against Algebra 2
Recently, Stanford GSE professor Jo Boaler, the foremost champion for reform math, has scaled up her campaign to displace algebra 2 with “data science” in American high schools: https://www.salon.com/2020/09/26/teaching-data-science-instead-of-calculus-high-schools-math-debate/?fbclid=IwAR2_EUTcMIrSEK2Y2HffJchGn4EKZ7IQOK4ePvGxttvl407m2Oo8Ut8nj7Q. For decades, Stanford University has lent its prestigious fame to help … Continue reading
Posted in constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, math, Mathematics
2 Comments
Breaking the Spell of Math Reformists
by Ling Huang, Palo Alto, California In “My Childhood Schooling In The Soviet Union Was Better Than My Kids’ In U.S. Public Schools Today,” https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/27/childhood-schooling-in-soviet-union-better-than-u-s-public-schools-today/ Katya Sedgwick wrote, “Math was the dissident’s favorite in the Soviet Union. It was believed that … Continue reading
Posted in constructivism, Curriculum & Instruction, K-12, math, Mathematics
2 Comments
Here’s how Idaho can develop academically strong ELA and Mathematics Standards when it revises its current standards*
By Sandra Stotsky, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas Idaho can develop effective non-Common Core standards for mathematics and English/reading if its Legislature requires the development of K-12 standards in mathematics and in English/reading with the following features and guiding policies: … Continue reading
Posted in Common Core, Curriculum & Instruction, Education policy, K-12, Mathematics, Reading & Writing, Sandra Stotsky
Tagged Idaho, standards
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Mathematics and Science Courses Required or Recommended for Admission into Engineering and Engineering Technology Programs at Massachusetts Institutions of Higher Education (2003)
https://nonpartisaneducation.org/Review/Resources/MassMathEngReqs.htm This survey of the high school mathematics and science requirements for admission to the 11 colleges of engineering in Massachusetts in 2003 provides interesting facts in Tables 3 and 4. It is no longer clear if the required coursework … Continue reading
My letter to Bill Gates on how to prepare students for algebra
May 17, 2018 Dear Mr. Gates, You recently wrote, “Math is one area where we want to generate stronger evidence about what works. What would it take, for example, to get all kids to mastery of Algebra I?” I believe … Continue reading
Fewer Students Learning Arithmetic and Algebra
by Jerome Dancis This summer, I obtained the college remediation data for my state of Maryland. Well just 2014, the latest available. So BCC i.e. before Common Core became the state tests in Maryland. Does anyone know of similar data … Continue reading
Cognitive Science and the Common Core
New in the Nonpartisan Education Review: Cognitive Science and the Common Core Mathematics Standards by Eric A. Nelson Abstract Between 1995 and 2010, most U.S. states adopted K–12 math standards which discouraged memorization of math facts and procedures. Since 2010, … Continue reading
Posted in College prep, Common Core, Education policy, Eric A. Nelson, ESSA, K-12, Mathematics
Tagged Eric A. Nelson
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Significance of PISA math results
A new round of two international comparisons of student mathematics performance came out recently and there was a lot of interest because the reports were almost simultaneous, TIMSS[1] in late November 2016 and PISA[2] just a week later. They are … Continue reading
Posted in Education journalism, Education policy, Education Reform, information suppression, K-12, Mathematics, OECD, Testing/Assessment, Uncategorized, Wayne Bishop
Tagged Finland, OECD, PISA, TIMSS
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PEISCH SAYS REPEALING COMMON CORE WOULD BE “HUGE MISTAKE”
It seems that some Massachusetts representatives don’t think that parents, teachers, and administrators should be allowed to vote on a secret ballot whether they want to keep Common Core’s inferior standards or return to the state’s superior standards junked by … Continue reading
Fordham Institute’s pretend research
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has released a report, Evaluating the Content and Quality of Next Generation Assessments,[i] ostensibly an evaluative comparison of four testing programs, the Common Core-derived SBAC and PARCC, ACT’s Aspire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ MCAS.[ii] … Continue reading
Posted in College prep, Common Core, Education policy, Education Reform, Ethics, K-12, Mathematics, Reading & Writing, research ethics, Richard P. Phelps, Testing/Assessment, Uncategorized
Tagged CCSSO, CRESST, evaluation, Fordham Institute, Gates Foundation, guidelines, HumRRO, protocols, review, rigor, SCOPE, standards, Student Achievement Partners, testing
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