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Issues for Parents and Teachers
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 Polya Lecture!
We are proud to present this never before published presentation by
George Polya, the father of problem solving! "The Goals of Mathematical
Education" is a transcript of a class he taught many years ago, but it
is as timely as ever.
For more information and links to this and other articles, please go to our Publications page.
Helpful New Series
There're two new series in the ComMuniCator
which are proving very helpful to parents and teacers. One is written
by the CMC Executive Board. It is called "Have You Ever Wondered About
...(HYEWA)".
For more information and links to these and other articles, please go to our Publications page.
-
HYEWA1 How Instructional Materials Are Selected for State Adoption
(December 2000, Vol 25, #2)
- HYEWA2 The Meaning of Standardized Tests
(March 2001, Vol 25, #3)
- HYEWA3 The Academic Performance Index (API)
(September 2001, Vol 26, #2)
- HYEWA4 What Assessment Should Look Like
(June 2002, Vol 26, #4) - HYEWA4 What Assessment Should Look Like
- (June 2002, Vol 26, #4)
- HYEWA5 The Use of Multiple Measures in Mathematics
- (September 2002, Vol 27, #1)
- HYEWA6 If Assessment and Accountability are the Same Thing
- (March 2003, Vol 27, #3)
- HYEWA7 What Makes an Effective Professional Development Plan
- (June 2003, Vol 27, #4)
The other is Mathematics for Parents which includes excerpts from the wonderful new Math at Home booklet by Paul Giganti. Read Mathematics for Parents to find out how to get your copy of this booklet (practically free!)
Testing!!
This
is certainly the hot topic of the day, with much insanity behind the
political push for accountability at any cost. Some teachers are forced
to spend 25 to 50 % of their time prepping for the multiple choice,
rote-memorization test. The results are predictable; more kids are
being turned off to understanding and appreciating mathematics. The
politicians trying to fix mathematics education have taken us from a
curriculum which was a mile wide and an inch deep, and pushed us to one
which is five miles wide and barely dampens the ground.
Many people, including legislators, simply don't understand what a 50th
percentile score means, and that it bears no linear relationship to the
number of questions a student answered correctly. Norm-referenced
standardized tests are a poor measure of what students know, and are
not designed to measure the effectiveness of a school's educational
program. This is not Lake Wobegone, where all the children are above average!
Parents are beginning to pick up on this and we see a growing backlash
to the amount of time being wasted on testing. One group representing
these parents is Fair Test and their California affiliate, CalCare.
We'll be adding many articles to keep you up on this issue, but start
by reading CMC's position paper on Testing; then "The Meaning of
Standardized Tests" (an article in a new, very useful ComMuniCator
series called 'Have You Ever Wondered About'); and also refer to the
many insightful articles by Alfie Kohn, nationally recognized author
and expert on standardized tests.
Read about the connection between testing and teacher flight from an article by Bob Richter, Standardized Tests Ruled a Failure in the San Antonio News-Press
More on Testing
For the complete text of this article, go to Reich on Testing.
Standards for What?
By Robert B. Reich, Education Week 6/20/2001
Standardized
tests have nothing to do with preparing students for what they'll do
when they leave our schools. … Our schools are morphing into
test-taking factories. Politicians like tests because they don't cost
much money and they reassure the public that children are at least
learning something.
Paradoxically, we're embracing standardized tests just when the new economy is eliminating standardized jobs…
The
more disturbing prospect is that all the testing may have the opposite
effect—dulling young people's interest in learning and dimming their
creative sparks at just a time in history when learning and creativity
are more important to the economy than ever before.
Robert B.
Reich, who served as U.S. secretary of labor under President Clinton,
is the university professor of social and economic policy at Brandeis
University in Waltham, Mass. His latest book is The Future of Success.
TEACHERS: National Math Trail Info!!
COMET
Check out this up-to-date collection of mathematics education news from various sources!
Setting the Record Straight
about Changes in Mathematics Education The National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics, NCTM, has recently released a series of single page
messages that help to set the record straight about some of the
fabrications being spread by a small but vocal minority--many of whom
are not involved in day-to-day mathematics education. Get the straight
facts; dont be mislead!
Teachers:
What should your classroom look like?
Parents:
What are some of the things you should expect to see in your child's classroom?
We believe you'll find the following information helpful
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This Page was last updated: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 11:45:45 AM
This page was originally posted: 5/23/2001; 2:17:44 PM.
Copyright 2008 cmcmath
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