Thinking+about+Math

=Overview= > "The state education department in New York quietly changed the scoring of the state tests in mathematics and English language arts,which produced dramatic gains in the proportion who met state standards each year. **Between 2006, when the state introduced a new test, and 2009, the proportion of students in grades three through eight who reached proficiency on the state math test leapt from 28.6 percent to an incredible 63.3 percent in Buffalo**, from 30.1 percent to 58.2 percent in Syracuse, and from 57 percent to 81.8 percent in New York City. In the state as a whole, the proportion of students who were proficient jumped in these three years from 65.8 percent to 86.5 percent. To an unknowing public, these breathtaking increases were solid evidence that the schools were getting better and that more students were meeting high standards. //** B **** ut in reality, state officials made it easier to pass the tests. **// **In 2006, a student in seventh grade was required to get 59.6 percent of the points on the test to meet state standards in mathematics; by 2009, a student in that grade needed only 44 percent to be considered proficient**" (Ravitch, 2009, p. 157-158, emphasis mine) > > So how do we help students? Perhaps we need to follow the advice of Helen Keller who once said, "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." > > In this section of the wiki, I am going to provide you access to thinkers about math instruction, links to join an international conversation and a place where you can add your thoughts.

Thought #1: Teaching kids real math with computers, talk given by Conrad Wolfram
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=References=

Ravitch, Diane (2011-11-01). The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education (pp. 157-158). Basic Books. Kindle Edition.