Recall Everyday Math in Long Valley NJ

In the February 28th edition of the Observer Tribune there was an article that reviewed the Elementary and Middle School test results. The pass results all showed good passing numbers for Cucinella (97%), Flocktown (96%), and Old Farmers (98%) and a lot lower number for the Middle School (88%). Flocktown showed an increase in the number of advanced students. There were also the following quotes from Assistant Superintendent Leslie Schwartz:

• “We knew we had an area that could use improvement and we feel we have installed a program that is showing that.”
• “We have spent a lot of time with High School officials to coordinate our new programs with theirs, so that students have the same approach from eighth grade to ninth.”

Wow, don’t these results show that Everyday Math is working? My answer is an enthusiastic NO. This to me is a false positive reading. Here’s why:

1. According to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (yes I base almost everything on that) the role of K-8 mathematics is to prepare our students for Algebra, Calculus, Trig and other higher math concepts.
2. I’ve already proved that Everyday Math does not prepare our kids for Algebra as demonstrated by the panel’s report.
3. Ask any high school teacher, there are NOT ANY NEW WAYS FOR TEACHING CALCULUS AND ALGEBRA. Your children need to be prepared for those concepts in K-8
4. If Everyday Math is preparing them for high school math then why are we coordinating efforts with the High School? Perhaps the High School Math teachers (I’ve spoken to a few and hopefully a letter is coming in the next issue of the OT), know that these Everyday Math prodigies are not prepared for High School algebra.
5. We are teaching to the NJ ASK Test. Everyday Math is so pervasive in our NJ Educational System that the tests look just like our Everyday Math curriculum. We are teaching towards a test that makes us feel good, but in the end our kids are not prepared for Algebra.
6. Finally, the numbers are not that impressive. First, I don’t know if the changes are statistically significant and second we are measuring Pass/Fail numbers on a test that allows the use of calculators and approximations. Think back to your college days, how easy was it to study for a Pass/Fail test that used calculators?

The ONLY role K-8 Mathematics has to play in our school system is to prepare our children for High School level math. It is not to teach them how to use math in their everyday world. They can pick that up just like we did. There are other ways of teaching mathematics that don’t involve memorization like we were taught. These include Saxon Math as well as Singapore Math.

Even though the NJ Ask tests on Everyday Math concepts, these are so basic that if our children were taught using other Math textbooks, I am confident that our scores will remain high and they will be better prepared for high school level math. We need to purge Everyday Math from our schools.

Eric