Summary: Washington’s Math Problem

Summary: Washington’s Math Problem

Under Terry Bergeson’s administration, inquiry-based math was instituted in 80% of WA schools. Inquiry-based math stripped proficiency of basic math skills from the classroom and encouraged rampant calculator use and dependence. The results have been disastrous for WA students.

• 1..After a decade of OSPI’s pushing inquiry-based math on WA schools for the sake of increasing WASL scores, 50% of 10th graders still can’t pass the math WASL.

• 2..Over 50% of WA 2 year college students need remediation in math, costing students and taxpayers extra time and money.

• 3..Over 60 UW professors signed a letter to the legislature attesting to the declining math skills of incoming students over the past decade, forcing them to simplify the math content of their courses.

• 4..Tutoring has tripled in the last decade.

WA math education is hurting minority, low-income, and ELL students the most:

• 2007 math WASL passage rates were only 22.5% for African American students, 25.6% for Hispanic students, 10.7 % for ELL students, and 30.5% for low income students1.

• Over the last decade the achievement gap has continually grown.

• Inquiry-based programs purport to make math more accessible to disadvantaged students but school districts that have faithfully adhered to inquiry-based programs have widening achievement gaps.

WA students need to be internationally competitive:

• The National Science Board indicates that the growth of jobs in the mathematics-intensive science and engineering workforce is outpacing overall job growth by 3:1.

• Math is the universal language of technology, which drives our economy and national security. The National Math Panel warns that it is “fundamental to recognize that the safety of the nation and the quality of life—not just the prosperity of the nation—are at issue”.

• “For the high tech industry, it's about attracting the "best and the brightest" from overseas as the U.S. educational system struggles to produce graduates skilled in math and science. Microsoft has 3,000 U.S. job openings that it can't fill because it can't find qualified people or can't hire them from overseas because of existing immigration restrictions, Krumholtz said.”

Despite legislation to correct the current math failure, Terry Bergeson’s math education agenda continues to be driven by ideology rather than data, and is concerned more about process than results.

• OSPI has manipulated the standards and curriculum selection process to allow curriculum choices that will continue the status quo7. OPSI repeatedly minimized public input and stacked decision making committees with pro-inquiry, non-math specialists. Without a change in this biased and unprofessional approach, it is likely the result will be another decade of the same failing curricula and the same disastrous results.

• After spending nearly 1.5 million dollars, OPSI’s draft standards were so poor the State Legislature took the responsibility away from OSPI and gave it to a private consulting firm under the direction of the State Board of Education.
(See SB 6534)

• Pro-inquiry educators claim that their methodology is “research-based”; however, the National Math Panel report cited more than 16,000 studies on math instruction which were found unsuitable because they were not conducted with scientific rigor, thereby preventing any significant conclusions about math instruction methods.

We need a State Superintendent who is willing to follow the National Math Panel’s recommendations to improve math. Without a major shift away from inquiry-based math, WA children will be doomed to mediocrity in our global economy.

• Continued use of the same math programs is not the answer. The new, “updated” editions of inquiry programs still allow excessive calculator use and downplay or ignore the importance of standard computation methods that the National Math Panel cites as critical for success in “authentic” algebra. Why continue this harmful experiment when there are products that have proven success?

• The students in China’s gifted program exceed the total US K-12 population. India’s for-profit, private school population also exceeds the entire US K-12 population.

• The math curricula of top performing countries outpace our newly revised standards by roughly two years11. This cuts short future career opportunities and the millions of higher skilled workers around the world will take the best jobs.


Summary: Washington’s Math Solutions

Washington State has a golden opportunity to lead the nation by incorporating the recommendations set forth by the National Math Panel12 in the WA math standards revision and curriculum recommendations. Anything less will short-change our children.

Where’s The Math’s Specific Suggestions:

1. Clear, rigorous math standards that are pedagogy-neutral and keep pace with top countries.

2. Quality textbooks that are coherent and focused on proficiency of key topics at each grade. They should have clear examples/explanations and balance conceptual understanding; computational fluency and problem-solving skills. Textbooks that do not fully support the level of computational fluency recommended and described by the National Math Panel (automatic recall of basic math facts, fluency of the standard algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, and fluency with fractions) should not be endorsed by WA.

3. Useful assessments that require answers in math terms and provide diagnostics.

4. Safety nets for students with learning gaps and opportunities for students to excel.

5. Find ways to attract and retain more math teachers. Require professional development in math content.

6. Options for 3rd year of High School math other than Alg II.