In Spokane ...District Research Says ....

Just reviewing some email:

"How Students Learn Math" is probably one of the publications Spokane used when it adopted Core-Plus. This is what I was told when I asked what sort of research supported its adoption:

"Our research included studies of How Student Learn Mathematics, The Achievement Gap, the document from Achieve, the American Diploma Project, NCTM standards for instruction, assessment and curriculum and the Washington State Materials review, as well as several other articles and information from other districts, notably Bellevue Schools, Peninsula School District, Nine Mile Falls and Central Valley Schools."

That administrator said Spokane considered "about 20-25 textbooks preliminarily. " Her list of the four finalists was all reform:
1. College Prep Mathematics
2. SIMMS
3. Discovering Algebra/Geometry series, and
4. Contemporary Mathematics in Context.

This list isn't at all surprising when you know that a discovery learning style was one of the requirements for curriculum choice. Traditional instruction never had a seat at the table. I believe this is one of the big barriers to choosing a better curriculum. They will not give up on discovery learning. In every conversation I've had with Spokane administrators about it, discovery learning is the must-have. They appear to be absolutely committed to it.