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Math: Add, Don't Subtract: Experts Say Better Math Education Needed; Some Say Students Get Enough or Even Too Much.

Posted on: Monday, 27 February 2006, 12:01 CST

By John Norton, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Feb. 26--Nothing bothers a mathematician as much as when two sides of an equation don't add up and that's the conundrum facing them since the troubling results of a survey by Public Agenda were released earlier this month. While educators, politicians and business people have bemoaned the lack of preparation in math and science high school graduates bring with them to work and college, parents and students seem to think they're getting plenty. On one side: Citing poor test scores in math, President Bush's budget request for fiscal 2007 wants an additional $260 million in education funding for math programs. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education has laid down strict math requirements for the state's colleges. Members of the Pueblo Education Consortium have repeatedly told District 60 officials that high school graduates need to be better grounded in math skills because of the increasing sophistication of jobs in the community. But the recent survey doesn't find the same sense of urgency among the public. According to the survey, 57 percent of parents say their children are getting enough math and science and another 2 percent want less. For John Brainard, who oversees School District 60's math programs, the survey results were no surprise - he's heard that for years as a teacher, principal and now an administrator. But that isn't discouraging him from pushing for more math at the high school level. "We spend a lot of time aligning curriculum with colleges," Brainard said so that students get what they need to face the rigors post-secondary classes. "The business community spends a lot of time telling us what it needs. The third piece of that puzzle is that parents have to realize that their kids aren't getting what they need." Parents may be satisfied with high school math requirements, he said, but "colleges tell us that 70 percent come in needing remediation. You think there's a disconnect?"

At South High School, Principal Jim Wessely is telling juniors to plan for math and English next year, even if they don't need the credits for graduation. South sends more than 150 graduates on to college each year but many need to take remedial courses. "The bottom line is the remediation rates are atrocious," said Wessely. "Frankly I'm embarrassed by it." He said that a districtwide policy is needed to require math and English in the senior year but "I wasn't going to wait for policy. We had a lengthy discussion at the site-based committee about it. I know I have broad support." Wessely said he knew some parents would be concerned that having their youngsters take the next level of math could hurt their grades but said, "We're being practical about this. They can take consumer finance, business math, accounting, even economics. We want to give kids a chance to stay in a class where they have to think figures for their senior year." When parents question stricter requirements, they don't realize that the math they got in high school isn't enough today, Brainard said. "They're watching their students walk across the stage to get that diploma, thinking that they're prepared for college or work and they're not." Brainard taught the subject at Corwin Middle School, served as a principal and now uses his math skills as director of assessment, analyzing district test scores, as well as personally directing math instruction throughout the district. A big part of his job in the last few years has been finding a way to get more math into the high school program. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education will require that all high school graduates have three years of math by 2008 and four years by 2010 if they want to enter a state college or university.

District 60 currently requires two years of math and Brainard's boss, Superintendent Joyce Bales, believes that's one reason so many Pueblo graduates need to take remedial courses in college. She said that many get those classes out of the way early and their skills get rusty by the time they graduate. Not all educators agree with the need for more math, either. After the CCHE came out with its new rules, small districts around the state complained that they didn't have the resources to offer four years of high school math. "I think those districts that are fighting the four-year requirement are wrong," Brainard said. Brainard has dealt with prejudices against math all through his career, but he's also seen what happens when students have a chance to succeed. "There is a perceived idea that numeracy is only for the elite," he said. "It's like saying they don't need four years of English or they don't need four years of writing. "What are the families of those kids in Japan, the families of those kids in Germany, the families of those kids in Singapore doing to prepare their students to compete in a global economy?" he asks. "And when I hear community members telling young people that not everyone goes to college, I get nervous." Districts need to realize that four years doesn't necessarily mean calculus by the senior year, he points out. Even with four years of math, District 60's new program allows for a series of less challenging courses that will still have graduates ready to take the most basic college algebra class without facing the expense of taking a remedial class in college that doesn't count toward a degree. "It's consistent with what Pueblo Community College wants, what employers want and what you need for a liberal arts degree at a four-year college," he said. Students heading for science degrees in college likely will take the more challenging classes, he adds. Some critics of expanded math worry that it will just cause more high school students to drop out. Brainard agrees that math is often a "gatekeeper" course that can send students into a downward spiral that ends in discipline problems or just dropping out. When they do succeed, the results are impressive. "I had kids at Corwin, and once they found out what they could to, it was amazing," he said of youngsters he had to drag into class at first. The new offerings in the four-year program District 60 has developed are showing some success, too, he said. "With the three-semester algebra, the initial results are promising." That program allows students who are having trouble in the traditional algebra class to transfer to an extended program that's spread over three semesters instead of two, in time to keep from falling too far behind. Math labs at the four high schools also have proved to be a vital safety net for students. Using the SuccessMaker and NovaNet programs, they're able to bail out of the classroom where they're failing and work at their own speed, using specially designed programs that move them steadily ahead in the subject matter. Often, math lab teachers report, they pick up so much speed they move ahead of their former classmates. ------------ CSAP SCORES Percentage proficient and advanced Pueblo Colorado CSAP Science Eighth grade 39 50 CSAP Math Third grade 81 6 8Fourth grade 77 66 Fifth grade 68 63 Sixth grade 53 56 Seventh grade 33 46 Eighth grade 37 44 Ninth grade 20 33 10th grade 17 30 Average ACT scores Math 16.3 18.6 Science 17.2 19.2 ------------ ON THE NET: Public Agenda: http://www.publicagenda.org

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

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Source: The Pueblo Chieftain

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