What’s the Problem with Math?
There’s consensus among education experts: Americans are bad at math. Recent results on international tests show U.S. students trail not only mathematical leaders like China, Japan, and South Korea, but countries like Canada, Viet Nam, and the Czech Republic also outranked American kids.
In Georgia, scores on state math tests are substantially lower than reading and English/Language Arts scores. So, why is math stumping students?
Math has long been a problem for Georgia. This year, just 35% of high school students passed a new analytic geometry test. 40% passed a coordinate algebra exam. Standardized tests for grades 3-8 showed higher numbers of students passing reading and English/Language Arts test than math.
However, in a recent interview with WABE, State Schools Superintendent John Barge said the scores signal a shift in the state’s approach to math.
“In the past, our standardized tests for this state have always been set at a basic skills, minimum competency,” he said. “And we are changing that to create tests that send an indicator of college and career readiness.”
Barge says those tests have been redesigned to get students used to harder exams coming this school year.
But he admits that shifting math policy has left teachers and students playing catch-up. He says to help students advance, math teachers need to go beyond the old “drill and kill” philosophy. He says students need to explain their thinking.
“When you get into a word problem and you’re trying to get them to explain why David had four apples, he gave two away, he has two left, well, how does that work?” he says. “I mean, I know four minus two is two, but show me how that works.”
That lines up with what national experts say: we need to do a better job of teaching math.
But some local school leaders say state education officials are sending mixed messages.
“We’ve had a concern with mathematics in the state of Georgia for over a decade because of all of the changes that have occurred, whether it’s the traditional model versus the integrated model, whether it’s Common Core, not Common Core,” Fulton County Superintendent Robert Avossa said at a press conference. “We’ve not had clear direction from the state. We’re waiting for that.”
Avossa says that makes it hard for districts to know what they need to do.
“And so, it’s left school districts really scrambling, and teachers, quite frankly, scrambling to find resources to meet the needs of all of our kids,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state board of education is conducting a review of the Common Core math and English/Language Arts standards. It’s expected to wrap up in September. The outcome could further affect math standards and how they’re taught.
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