California Approves Math overhaul to help Struggling Students. But will it hurt whiz kids?
An Equation To Hurt Brilliant, Advanced Children?
“The progressive-education authors of the math framework want students to learn through their own inquiry and self-discovery,” blogged Williamson M. Evers, director of the Center on Educational Excellence at the Independent Institute. “The authors give little emphasis to mastery of facts and standard algorithms” but instead promote “vague, billowy ‘big ideas.’”
PUBLIUS SPECIAL GUEST: Williamson M. Evers is a Senior Fellow, Director of the Center on Educational Excellence, and Assistant Editor for The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy at the Independent Institute. Dr. Evers was the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development from 2007 to 2009.
California education officials on Wednesday approved a long-studied overhaul of the state’s math teaching guide, with sweeping changes designed to make the subject more relevant and accessible, stirring debate over whether it will improve poor student achievement or harm learning for 5.8 million public school students.
The 1,000-page teaching framework before the state Board of Education was approved unanimously, culminating a process that has taken more than four years and three versions.
The guide emphasizes replacing traditional instruction with a focus on “big ideas” with the hope that students with varying math skills can work together in the same class for most of their schooling and reverse the state’s low math achievement levels. Critics predict a decline in math achievement from what they see as watered-down curriculum and teaching approaches that they say rely more on ideology than research.
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Williamson M. Evers is a Senior Fellow, Director of the Center on Educational Excellence, and Assistant Editor for The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy at the Independent Institute. Dr. Evers was the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development from 2007 to 2009.
Public schools in California have already harmed the high achievers, especially in math, so this is going to make things even worse. With the ballooning need for special education due to so many learning disabilities (mostly caused by vaccines,) gifted programs have been cut from most if not all CA public schools. Teachers at my kids' K12 schools told me my kids could have "differentiated" learning where, if they were more advanced, they could do extra work and take home packets of more homework. While my kids thrived and liked this, why couldn't they get direct classroom instruction for more advanced math skills and other skillsets? Why couldn't a math-competent teacher take my son under his or her wing and develop his skills and enthusiasm for math? We tried programs outside the school, but this conflicted with his sports. This RUINED my son's major enthusiasm for math. He was a math prodigy starting at age 4. He could do math in his head and do the homework of 7th graders with no problem. Due to this treatment, he lost interest in math and ended up losing his math advantage by high school, since making math a focus was not supported by the school system. It was actively discouraged, in fact. This is going to make student literacy in CA even more abysmal.
I read today that the formerly exclusive Boston Public schools that required exams, scores, etc. are now allocating spaces to students based on low family income, homelessless, and other non-relevant characteristics. These approaches are ruining real education. I had gifted education in 6th grade and it made a big difference. We need gifted education. I think they may have also ruined the Bronx High School of Science. Many of my former colleagues were angry when they started in on corrupting the Bronx HSS. They are trying to ruin America.