A Critical Look at Reform Math By Bruce Deitrick Price At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

First, there was New Math, which everyone said was a failure. So the educators went back to their labs and came up with Reform Math. But the public knew this was just the same old stuff, and called it “New New Math” to show contempt. A more accurate title might be Muddled Math.

Reform Math is actually an umbrella term for a dozen programs such as Connected Math, Everyday Mathematics, MathLand, TERC, etc. What they have in common is an inability to teach math. (And they’re very expensive.) By my analysis, these programs incorporate a lot of unproven fads, while scorning traditional methods that are known to work. Across the country, millions of hours are wasted while parents fight school systems over these counterproductive strategies. There’s a lot of anger out there.

Parents complain that their children are not taught even basic arithmetic. Students reach college unable to multiply 6 x 7 without a calculator. Math scores continue to fall, which is a major threat to the American economy.

What is to be done? On YouTube an educator in New Jersey foolishly declares: “We can’t go back.” I think he’s wrong. We can go back. The sooner the better. When allowed to choose, most parents prefer a solid foundation, such as that provided by Saxon Math or Singapore Math. The proper sequence is basics first, then a smooth progression toward more sophisticated materials. Reform Math’s sin is that it creates a big hodge-podge, and children end up more confused than educated.

Reform Math loves instructional gimmicks. Constructivist Theory says that children have to invent everything for themselves. Group Learning says that children must work in groups, guaranteeing that students can’t do independent work. Fuzzy Math says that correct answers don’t matter; it’s the process of looking for answers that is important. No Memorization says that children should remain empty-headed. Self Esteem says don’t teach much, don’t correct much, don’t expect much...Stir all this stuff together, and it’s not surprising that American kids aren’t good at math.

The main sophistry that sustains this whole charade is that children are learning to “think critically about math.” Even if they can’t multiply or divide. Please! We’re talking about very young children. If they don’t master basic arithmetic, they will feel alienated from math altogether. This “critical thinking” business is perhaps the silliest of the fads. Children who know nothing are hailed as “critical thinkers.”

My feeling is that Reform Math is emblematic of a larger problem in American education. There’s a lot of make-believe, a lot of pretending. We see books, classes, endless projects, some homework, grades, tests. From a distance you might think that children are being educated. Then you consider the fact that from K to 12, children are in school almost 12,000 hours, but they somehow reach graduation without learning very much. Ask them the simplest questions. Where is Japan on a map? How much is 8 times 7? Many won’t know.

The US used to have the best-educated work force. Now we are in 10th place. Bogus math programs are arguably a big part of that decline. How are we going to get back to where we were? Doing so would be a big boost for our future.

The first part of the answer is to tell the truth. American educators seem more dedicated to dumbing down then smartening up. We can’t know motives. But we can surely agree that dumbed-down is where a lot of students end up!

The best you can say, I think, is that the people behind Reform Math are inept. So-called experts should be ashamed of themselves. Let’s toss out all the fuzzy math programs, and make sure kids can add, subtract, multiply and divide, quickly and efficiently.

For more on this topic, please see “36: The Assault on Math” on Improve-Education.org.

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