Math that kids need to know

commentary b y Richard Becker
for eco-logic/Powerhouse

October 1, 2005

The Rocky Mountain News editorial of August 7, 2005, "Math that kids need to know," notes that the fourth grade improvements in the CSAP math test are "encouraging." But, then it notes that:

"By tenth grade, the passing rate drops to only 30 percent. In an increasingly technological world, that is completely unacceptable."

Perhaps, a basic problem is failure to effectively teach arithmetic, which is the basis for all higher math: A problem based in the "new math" that replaced, in the mid-1960s, the time-proven elementary arithmetic that served many generations. And, the "increasingly technological world," also includes CNC (Computer Numerical Control) of machine tools and other manufacturing, that began in the early 70s, is naïvely assumed to be "obsolete smokestack industry," as the "old economy" versus the "new economy" of "high tech information age."

To illustrate, a college textbook titled Arithmetic for college students covers arithmetic that was taught in elementary schools prior to the mid-1960s. First published in 1969, shortly after the new math was imposed, the copy this writer possesses was published as late as 1991, and was shelved in a college bookstore on May 5, 1994. How can high school students of the college preparation track graduate with high grades required for college entrance, and still require elementary school arithmetic? The obvious answer to that question is grade inflation, due to grades awarded on a "feel good" basis, rather than representing academic accomplishment.

In contrast to the arithmetic for college students text, a second-edition textbook Machine shop mathematics, published in 1951 (first edition in 1942), covers arithmetic in the first chapter. It states in the opening paragraph that "Arithmetic is the basis for all mathematics." Arithmetic is taught as a review, on the assumption that high school graduates enrolled in the vocational school or apprenticeship program in machining, in the era of manually operated machines, had already been taught arithmetic in elementary school, and had mastered it. Arithmetic is of even greater importance, as the foundation for math, in this era of computerized "high tech" machines of manufacturing.

A Rocky Mountain News story of November 21, 1996, "U.S. trails in math tests," has resulted in school officials demanding increased funding for "literacy programs." A Rocky Mountain News story of March 18, 1998, "Colorado gets "D" in math, science." Despite increased spending, the problems persist. Perhaps the heart of the problem is the lack of teachers educated in math, rather than the lack of "sufficient funding."

A Rocky Mountain News editorial of November 25, 1996, "Wanted: Real math teachers," illustrates the point. It states:

"Once again American students have done below average in international math, and only slightly above average in science competition, but it should come as no surprise. The fact is, too many of their teachers don't know much about math or science, either."

It states, in another paragraph:

"According to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, one-fourth of all teachers in secondary schools lack even a minor in their fields. The nation's math teachers? Some 40 percent lack proper training."

If one-fourth of all teachers lack even a minor in their fields, and 40 percent of the math teachers in secondary schools lack even a minor as "proper training," it is obvious that the key to the problem is the lack of teacher education and knowledge in the field they are assigned to teach when hired by a school district. The basic problem is that since the mid-1960s, teachers major in "education," rather than a specific field. Prior to the mid-1960s, all prospective teachers were required to declare a major field and complete the requisite courses in that field, to earn a degree in that teaching speciality. Required education courses supported the major field, rather than "education" being a major as it has become since the mid-1960s. The real solution to the problem, rather than continuing to spend increasing funds, is a return to the teacher preparation concept that existed prior to the mid-1960s. An element of the required education courses was education testing, measurement and evaluation, that supported testing and measurement as applied in the major and minor fields, along with teaching methods.

Rather than spending more money on "literacy programs" to allegedly address the problems, it is time to revamp the "schooling system" that has passed for education over the last several decades, and return to the concepts that existed prior to the mid-1960s. According to a U.S. News and World Report story of September 1, 1975, spending per student K-12 had more than doubled to $1,255 in the past decade, from $484 in 1965. The $484 spending per student in 1965 translates to $2,988.07 per student in 2005 dollars, according to a CPI inflation calculator, and the $1,255 spending in 1975 translates to $4,537.13 per student K-12, amid a clamor for more spending on "literacy programs." Spending approaching $7,000 per student is higher than in the past when adjusted for inflation, but there does not exist the education quality that existed in the past.

The same U.S. News article cited above also notes that college costs per student were $1,236 in 1965 ($7,631.81 in 2005 dollars), and had increased to $3,045.00 ($11,008.41 in 2005 dollars) by 1975. College costs have increased more than inflation, and colleges are not producing teachers with a major and minor in education fields, rather than majoring in "education," and they are assigned to teach subjects in which they have no more expertise than the students.

The mind cannot function without a strong academic base. The human mind is basically an organic computer of potentially infinite capacity. Unless it is loaded with quality academic "software" to create an "operating system" for thinking and reasoning ability, and establish an academic database of facts and knowledge on which to draw, when arriving at a conclusion based on data input from the senses, it cannot function any better than an electronic computer lacking proper software. If academic information is not downloaded, and installed, via drilling in the facts and knowledge, it cannot be effectively applied. The computer industry axiom GIGO (garbage in = garbage out) applies. This is true, whether the individual is attending college, a vocational school, technical school, entering the workforce, or just getting along in life after high school graduation.

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This article was written by Richard Becker, Graphic Image Education Reform, 13075 Grove Way, Broomfield, CO.