The New, Mediocre Math
NY Daily News columnist Alison Gendar is skeptical about the the new curriculum, "Everyday Mathematics", which is slated for use in NY's elementary schools this fall. It seem other classrooms that have used this curriculum have not had stellar results:
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and his deputy for teaching and learning, Diana Lam, touted the success of "Everyday Math" in New York City schools and other urban districts across the country. But the 77 schools using the program in Bronx District 11 and Brooklyn's Districts 18 and 19 posted only a 1.8 percentage point increase in the number of students passing city and state math exams between 1999 and 2002, The News found.
The News had to get information about which schools were using the program from the publisher - The Education Department refused to release this information. Doesn't sound as though they're that confident of its potential, does it? And it sounds as thought it's a program that will produce results only if teachers have been properly trained to use it:
"Everyday Math," developed by the University of Chicago, teaches students unconventional ways to solve problems. For example, students don't just memorize seven times seven, they learn why the answer is 49.
But it is a difficult program for elementary teachers to use because it doesn't rely on the old-fashioned calculations most of them learned in school. So Chicago, Pittsburgh and Dallas have seen math scores rise with "Everyday Math" by coupling it with aggressive teacher training, members of Lam's staff said.
"It is a solid program, but without that professional development, it's stressful for teachers and doesn't work as well," said Andrea Prejean, senior professional associate of student achievement at the National Education Association.
"Stressful." Great. Just what cash-strapped NYC classrooms need.