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The New New Math, And Some Old Debates Renewed


Baby boomers with bad memories of learning “new math” in elementary school can be forgiven if they get an unpleasant feeling of deja vu when confronted with their children’s arithmetic homework. As Tom Lehrer sang:

New-hoo-hoo-math,
It won't do you a bit of good to review math.
It's so simple,
So very simple,
That only a child can do it!

New math has grown old, but now there is new new math. It dominates the math curriculum in New York City schools and, like its predecessor, baffles parents and attracts controversy.

Earlier this month, the city announced that last year’s fourth graders scored far better on a state standardized math test than fourth graders the previous year. Most of the 2004-2005 fourth graders had had some of the new new math. But the results are unlikely to spur either side to call a truce in what some have called the math wars.

MATH CURRICULUM

For years, individual community school districts -- and sometimes even individual schools -- chose their own math curriculum. But after Mayor Michael Bloomberg won control of the school system in 2002, his Department of Education instituted uniform math and language arts curriculums in the vast majority of city schools.

Critics first attacked the idea of uniformity and then the Department of Education for the programs it chose.

The selection for the reading curriculum revived the decades old conflict between phonics -- in which students sound out words -- and so-called the whole language approach, where students learn to recognize words in books, often of their own choosing. To the chagrin of some, the city went with whole language, supplemented by phonics instruction.

Rote Calculations vs. Complete Math

A similar battle revolves around math. This bitter dispute pits proponents of a traditional approach where students eschew calculators and learn the fundamentals of rote calculations against advocates of what is called constructivist or complete math. In complete math, students learn concepts and several alternative ways of solving problems and try to incorporate problems from real-life experiences. This, its advocates say, helps students become mathematically functioning or “numerate.” The work can bewilder even a mathematically savvy parent whose mind boggles as their children discuss “strategies" for solving problems and, when subtracting, work their way from left to right (starting with, say, hundreds and moving to the tens and then ones) rather than the other way around, which is more traditional.

The city came down squarely on the side of reformers. It selected Everyday Math, a program developed at the University of Chicago in the 1980s. Almost three million students in grades kindergarten through six currently use it, according to its Web site. Thomas Loveless of the Brooking Institution has described it as “the most sensible” of the new new math programs and Everyday Mathematics has been endorsed by the National Science Foundation.

It also has attracted legions of critics. Some, including a number of mathematicians, have formed an organization called NYC HOLD (it is supposed to stand for Honest Open Logical Decisions on Mathematics Education Reform) to express concerns about the program. One member of its steering committee, mathematician Bastiann Braams, has written that Everyday Mathematics “offer[s] a hopelessly confusing potpourri of methods” for computation and, by introducing calculators to very young students “will contribute to the failure of many pupils to acquire proper facility with numbers and operations.”

But supporters counter that the traditional approach their critics remember so fondly did not work. To bolster their case, they note that U.S. students do not perform as well in math as their counterpoints elsewhere in the world. “In the field of children's learning of arithmetic, there is significant research to show that the force-feeding of computational procedures is harmful,” wrote Thomas C. O’Brien, a professor of education at Southern Illinois University. “But the critics continue to insist that arithmetic -- and knowledge in general -- is inert stuff to be transmitted and stored.”

Since neither Mayor Michael Bloomberg nor his school chancellor Joel Klein had any education experience to speak of, it is generally believed they relied on the advice of Diana Lam, then the number two person in the department, to select a program. As superintendent in San Antonio, Lam used Everyday Mathematics, and scores rose. After she left, though, the system dropped the program.

TEST SCORES

It would be nice -- and no doubt a relief to New Yorkers who simply want the city’s kids to get a good education -- if the test scores announced in late September could cast some light on this debate. Unfortunately, they don’t.

Some of last year’s fourth graders had more than a year and a half of Everyday Math when they took the test. But many others attend schools where the program had not yet been implemented.

Certainly the fourth grade scores seem like good news. New York City fourth graders saw their scores rise almost twice as sharply as did children in schools throughout the state as a whole with more than three-quarters of them meeting or exceeding state standards. And the scores for black and Hispanic fourth graders rose more than those for white students.

“If this isn’t good news, I don’t know what is,” Mayor Bloomberg said. Calling the scores “eye-popping,” the Daily News cheered, “clearly, something’s working.”

Many disagree, not all of them Democrats interested in unseating the mayor. These critics downplayed the significance of the results, seeing the cloud around the silver lining.

Eighth Grade Scores Declined

Many pointed to the poor eighth grade results. Scores for eighth graders declined by 1.6 points last year. The middle school version of Everyday Mathematics -- Impact Mathematics -- is being used, but the change came too late to affect last year’s eighth graders.

An analysis of the numbers by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum found that in 76 city schools, not a single eighth grader out of the more than 9,000 tested in those schools got the highest of the four grades on the test. (The tests are marked on a scale of one to four with four meaning that a child far exceeds the state standards.) In 39 of those schools, only 20 percent of kids met state standards. “Clearly, we need to invest more resources in our middle schools so that these students will be prepared to succeed in high school," Gotbaum said in a statement.

Election Year Statistics

Some questioned the validity of the scores, particularly in an election year. “New York State has historically overstated gains in the state,” Diane Ravitch, a professor of education at NYU, said in a radio interview.

“Double digit leaps should raise eyebrows” said Elizabeth Carson of HOLD, noting that large jumps in some individuals schools “cause us to be extremely cynical.” Problems could exist in how the text is scored, for example, she said.

And while math and reading scores may have gone up Ravitch said, all signs point to poorer student performance in other areas. “It’s not just a matter of having them [students] ready to take the test,” she said. “but having them able to read science and read history textbooks and make sense of them.”

Too Easy, Too Much Prepping, Taking Away From Other Subjects

Others, such as Clara Hemphill of Inside Schools, has said the test may be too easy . (You can judge for yourself by looking at test questions (in pdf format).

Even if the test scores are completely valid, it is difficult to use them to measure any single program among the many Bloomberg and Klein have instituted in the past three years. For better or worse, schools now spend more time on reading and math than they did previously -- and less on science, social students and the arts.

Schools have provided extra help to struggling students. “The remedial effort and the intensive effort for struggling students may be more effective than the core curriculum,” said Carson.

Again for better or worse, teachers and principals put a lot of emphasis on test preparation. Some schools offer supplemental classes or tutoring to help students bring up their scores. Students take practice tests and are told in no uncertain terms that the tests matter -- and matter a lot. For fourth graders, the test can pay a major role in determining what middle school the child will get into, spurring parents to hire tutors and buy test guides.

Is It Curriculums, Or Teachers?

Chancellor Joel Klein himself has said he is not sure how much difference a curriculum makes. “I think it’s a less filling/tastes great,” debate he told James Traub of the Times. “I don’t believe curriculums are the key to education. I believe teachers are.”

It will take years before we know what, if any effect Everyday Mathematics has on test scores -- and we may not know even then. Carson notes that the state is instituting new tests next year. That could make comparison between years -- and between the pre and post Bloomberg days -- largely meaningless.

BACK TO SCHOOL

The return to class for most of New York City 1.1 million public schools student proceeded calmly -- except for first-day jitters, anticipation and sometimes dread. The crises of previous years -- extreme teachers shortages or thousands of kids finding themselves without classes or even a school to attend -- appeared largely absent.

The city announced it would mark the new year by extending its new promotion policy, which requires a student to pass a standardized test, to seventh graders. The Department of Education said it had expanded gifted and talented programs to neighborhoods -- particularly poorer parts of the city -- that had had few if any such programs in the past. And it opened 53 new small high schools, at least one of which, Young Women's Leadership School in Queens, did not have a home. Sixteen charter schools, which are privately run but publicly funded, also began operation, including one run by the United Federation of Teachers.

But while teachers teach and students learn, controversies continue outside the classroom. Education has been, and will continue to be, a key issue in this year’s mayoral campaign. The state is still fighting a court order that it provide billions more dollars for education in the city.

And teachers and principals entered their third academic year without a contract. Teachers union president Randi Weingarten has called on the mayor to reach agreement with the union and has threatened to either endorse Fernando Ferrer or go out on strike if he doesn’t. The latter would be illegal -- and would certainly end the calm that marked the start of classes.

 

Mayoral Issue Grid: Education



Mayoral Issue Grid

EDUCATION

-Top priority?
-Pay raise for teachers?
-Should city contribute to Campaign for Fiscal Equity?
-Charter Schools?
-Social Promotion

New York City has the largest public school system in the country with over 1 million students and more than 1,100 schools. When he was running for mayor, Michael Bloomberg promised to overhaul the city’s education system and told voters to hold him accountable for the results.

After taking office, he won control of the schools, abolished the Board of Education, and began instituting policies like the end of “social promotion,” advancing students on to the next grade even though they may not be academically prepared.

Recent test scores show that city students are making improvements, but by any measure, the schools still face many critical issues. Many classrooms are overcrowded. Less than half of each high school class graduates in four years. And teachers in the city make less than their suburban counterparts and many leave or quit.

The state’s highest court ruled that the city’s educational system is severely underfunded. It ordered the state to spend an additional $23 billion to ensure a “basic, sound education” for each child. Lawmakers in the state have appealed the decision and have not increased funding. Some believe the city should pay a portion of the needed funding.

In February 2004, Mayor Bloomberg implemented a plan to end so-called "social promotion," the practice of passing students on to the next grade even though they cannot perform at academic standards. Bloomberg instituted standardized tests for 3rd and 5th graders that are required to advance. He now plans to implement the same tests in the 7th grade. Some criticize the plan, arguing it puts too much pressure on students and that single test does not accurately reflect a level of education.

Fernando Ferrer

Fernando Ferrer promises to increase the number of high school graduates from New York City public schools by 50,000 in four years. Within the next eight years, he wants to lower the dropout rate below the national level.

He plans to improve school buildings, hire more teachers, and create a centralized tracking system to monitor student progress and attendance, which he says will identify children at risk of dropping out. He also promises to provide a laptop computer for each high school student.

Ferrer, who often mentions that his wife is a schoolteacher, promises to give public school teachers a pay raise.

To pay for all of this, Ferrer proposes using the $23 billion that a state court ruled the city should receive in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. Although he hopes the majority of the money will come from Albany, Ferrer said city should pay about 25 percent of it.

To do so, he proposed a half a cent tax on stock sales on Wall Street. He argues that it makes sense to require Wall Street to contribute to education because “they are the industry that benefits most in seeing that New York’s children are educated to the highest of standards.”

Ferrer supports increasing the number of charter schools - institutions that are allowed to run independently of the rest of the school system but still receive government funding - as long as they do not take away resources from the pubic school system.

(Read Ferrer’s education platform)

Ferrer said he would not reverse the mayor's action to end social promotion for third and fifth graders. But Ferrer said the real problem is that the mayor is too concerned about test scores.

"The problem in our school system is while the mayor is obsessing about some test score increases in the early grades, we're forgetting about collapsing scores in middle school and a dropout crisis - a level of dropouts of 50 percent and more in our high school grades," Ferrer said.

Michael Bloomberg

Even Michael Bloomberg’s opponents agree that abolishing the Board of Education and taking control of the city’s schools was a major accomplishment. Bloomberg has also instituted a citywide curriculum and increased city funding for the Department of Education by $2.5 billion since 2002. Bloomberg eliminated the policy of social promotion in the 3rd and 5th grades and points toward a 10 percent increase in reading scores for 4th graders as proof of its success. Bloomberg also created a Leadership Academy to recruit and train principals.

After giving the teacher’s a raise in his first year in office, Bloomberg and the teacher’s union were locked in a deadlocked over additional pay increases for three years. In September, the Bloomberg administration and the New York City teachers' union reached a tentative contract that calls for raises of 15 percent over 52 months, but requires teachers to work longer days, eliminates some seniority rights in staffing decisions and establishes a new master teacher position with higher pay.

Bloomberg supports the State Supreme Court ruling that city schools should get $23 billion in more funding. But he does not want the city to pay any more than it currently does. Bloomberg has argued that any increase at all in city education spending would require cuts in other areas that "would harm the very children this lawsuit is designed to help." Michael Cardoza, the Bloomberg administration's corporation counsel, has even said that the city would reject any additional state funds if it had to chip in part of the settlement.

Bloomberg says he is a “strong supporter” of charter schools, institutions that are allowed to run independently of the rest of the school system but still receive government funding. He has urged the state to increase the number that can be created. In the last three and a half years, the Bloomberg administration has opened 17 charter schools with 16 more set to open this fall. His five-year capital plan includes $290 million toward building charter schools in the city.

(Read Michael Bloomberg’s education platform)

Mayor Bloomberg implemented a plan to end social promotion in the third and fifth grades. He points toward a 10 percent increase in reading scores for 4th graders as proof of its success. Bloomberg is now wants to require standardized tests in 7th grade as well.


RELATED ARTICLES:
- After Mayoral Control, Rivals Call For More Changes
- Money, Class Size and Mayoral Politics
- Mayoral Candidates Debate - Education (a transcript)
- The Latest Round on School Funding

 

Mayoral Issue Grid: Education



Mayoral Issue Grid

EDUCATION

-Top priority?
-Pay raise for teachers?
-Should city contribute to Campaign for Fiscal Equity?
-Charter Schools?
-Social Promotion

New York City has the largest public school system in the country with over 1 million students and more than 1,100 schools. When he was running for mayor, Michael Bloomberg promised to overhaul the city’s education system and told voters to hold him accountable for the results.

After taking office, he won control of the schools, abolished the Board of Education, and began instituting policies like the end of “social promotion,” advancing students on to the next grade even though they may not be academically prepared.

Recent test scores show that city students are making improvements, but by any measure, the schools still face many critical issues. Many classrooms are overcrowded. Less than half of each high school class graduates in four years. And teachers in the city make less than their suburban counterparts and many leave or quit.

The state’s highest court ruled that the city’s educational system is severely underfunded. It ordered the state to spend an additional $23 billion to ensure a “basic, sound education” for each child. Lawmakers in the state have appealed the decision and have not increased funding. Some believe the city should pay a portion of the needed funding.

In February 2004, Mayor Bloomberg implemented a plan to end so-called "social promotion," the practice of passing students on to the next grade even though they cannot perform at academic standards. Bloomberg instituted standardized tests for 3rd and 5th graders that are required to advance. He now plans to implement the same tests in the 7th grade. Some criticize the plan, arguing it puts too much pressure on students and that single test does not accurately reflect a level of education.

Fernando Ferrer

Fernando Ferrer promises to increase the number of high school graduates from New York City public schools by 50,000 in four years. Within the next eight years, he wants to lower the dropout rate below the national level.

He plans to improve school buildings, hire more teachers, and create a centralized tracking system to monitor student progress and attendance, which he says will identify children at risk of dropping out. He also promises to provide a laptop computer for each high school student.

Ferrer, who often mentions that his wife is a schoolteacher, promises to give public school teachers a pay raise.

To pay for all of this, Ferrer proposes using the $23 billion that a state court ruled the city should receive in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. Although he hopes the majority of the money will come from Albany, Ferrer said city should pay about 25 percent of it.

To do so, he proposed a half a cent tax on stock sales on Wall Street. He argues that it makes sense to require Wall Street to contribute to education because “they are the industry that benefits most in seeing that New York’s children are educated to the highest of standards.”

Ferrer supports increasing the number of charter schools - institutions that are allowed to run independently of the rest of the school system but still receive government funding - as long as they do not take away resources from the pubic school system.

(Read Ferrer’s education platform)

Ferrer said he would not reverse the mayor's action to end social promotion for third and fifth graders. But Ferrer said the real problem is that the mayor is too concerned about test scores.

"The problem in our school system is while the mayor is obsessing about some test score increases in the early grades, we're forgetting about collapsing scores in middle school and a dropout crisis - a level of dropouts of 50 percent and more in our high school grades," Ferrer said.

C. Virginia Fields

C. Virginia Fields promises to reform the school system and eliminate a “top down approach” that she says Mayor Michael Bloomberg has instituted.

She says she will increase parental involvement with an annual “Parent Power” conference. She promises to expand and improve pre-school options. Fields says she will reach out to business, unions, and non-profits to create high school job placement and counseling.

Fields promises to recruit more qualified teachers and give them a pay raise.

To pay for her education plan, Fields promises to secure the $23 that a state court ruled the city should receive in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. She said it is too early to say if the city should be required to pay any portion of the settlement. She criticizes Mayor Bloomberg for not doing more to demand the money from Albany.

Fields supports increasing the number of charter schools - institutions that are allowed to run independently of the rest of the school system, but still receive government funding - but she says her top priority is rebuilding the public school system.

(Read C. Virginia Fields education platform)

Fields said she would not reverse the mayor's action to end social promotion for third and fifth graders, but she said she would take a different approach than Bloomberg.

At a recent forum, Fields said, "I would take the approach of massive intervention very early on, beginning at pre-K, to make sure that we are putting the resources in our schools, assessing our students, providing them with the resources in every step along the way. We are investing in their academics and we can expect a greater performance overall."

A. Gifford Miller

Gifford Miller has made reducing class size his top priority. He has proposed a 20 percent reduction in all class sizes. This means limiting 17 students in kindergarten through third grade classes, 20 students in fourth through fifth grade, and 23 students in junior and senior high.

He also proposes eliminating quotas on the number of students a principal is allowed to discipline and providing after school programs for every child. Using new technology, he plans to foster better parent-teacher communication. And he wants to institute a service program so that every high school student performs community service.

Miller promises to give public school teachers pay raises. He says he will provide bonuses for teachers who agree to work in under-performing schools.

To pay for his education proposals, Miller proposes using the $23 billion that a state court ruled the city should receive in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. He believes the city should pay about 10 percent of this amount and has proposed an income tax on New Yorkers who make more than $500,000 a year to pay for it.

Miller supports increasing the number of charter schools, institutions that are allowed to run independently of the rest of the school system but still receive government funding

(Read Gifford Miller’s education platform)

Miller said he would not reverse the mayor's action to end social promotion for third and fifth graders, but that he does not believe it is the real problem.

"Giving tests does not transform our schools," Miller said. "What transforms our schools is lowering class sizes."

Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner says that the top priority for the education system should be ensuring school safety. He believes principals and teachers should be given more power to suspend unruly students. He also wants to replace the current school curriculum and give teachers more say in their lesson plans.

He promises to revamp school spending to ensure that more money goes toward the classroom. For example, he wants to eliminate Mayor Bloomberg’s Leadership Academy that trains principals.

Weiner promises to pay teachers more in order to keep them from moving to higher paid jobs in the suburbs.

To pay for his education proposals, Weiner proposes using the $23 billion a state court ruled the city should receive in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. Although he admits that the city will likely have to pay some portion of this, he has not committed to a specific amount.

Weiner supports increasing the number of charter schools, institutions that are allowed to run independently of the rest of the school system but still receive government funding

(Read Anthony Weiner’s education platform)

At a recent forum, Weiner said, "I believe that having a test substitute for a good teacher or having a test substitute for a reasonable debate in this city is just wrong. You know, I desperately want that third grader to pass but I also want that fourth grader who's an average student to become a great student. I want that seventh grader who's a great student to go on to become a scholar, to go on to Harvard and Yale and the other great institutions. This is what we should be focusing on."

Michael Bloomberg

Even Michael Bloomberg’s opponents agree that abolishing the Board of Education and taking control of the city’s schools was a major accomplishment. Bloomberg has also instituted a citywide curriculum and increased city funding for the Department of Education by $2.5 billion since 2002. Bloomberg eliminated the policy of social promotion in the 3rd and 5th grades and points toward a 10 percent increase in reading scores for 4th graders as proof of its success. Bloomberg also created a Leadership Academy to recruit and train principals.

Since giving the teacher’s a raise in his first year in office, Bloomberg and the teacher’s union have been deadlocked over additional pay increases. He has offered teachers raises of about 5 percent over three years in return for work rule concessions. The teachers union is demanding a 19 percent pay hike over three years.

Bloomberg supports the State Supreme Court ruling that city schools should get $23 billion in more funding. But he does not want the city to pay any more than it currently does. Bloomberg has argued that any increase at all in city education spending would require cuts in other areas that "would harm the very children this lawsuit is designed to help." Michael Cardoza, the Bloomberg administration's corporation counsel, has even said that the city would reject any additional state funds if it had to chip in part of the settlement.

Bloomberg says he is a “strong supporter” of charter schools, institutions that are allowed to run independently of the rest of the school system but still receive government funding. He has urged the state to increase the number that can be created. In the last three and a half years, the Bloomberg administration has opened 17 charter schools with 16 more set to open this fall. His five-year capital plan includes $290 million toward building charter schools in the city.

(Read Michael Bloomberg’s education platform)

Mayor Bloomberg implemented a plan to end social promotion in the third and fifth grades. He points toward a 10 percent increase in reading scores for 4th graders as proof of its success. Bloomberg is now wants to require standardized tests in 7th grade as well.


RELATED ARTICLES:
- After Mayoral Control, Rivals Call For More Changes
- Money, Class Size and Mayoral Politics
- Mayoral Candidates Debate - Education (a transcript)
- The Latest Round on School Funding

 



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