Dancing in South Carolina

This story and video are probably going to surprise many, many readers from around the country. But if you are aware of the addition of the curriculum Everyday Mathematics into schools around the country, you need to take this seriously. AND IF YOU ARE FROM SOUTH CAROLINA, WATCH CAREFULLY. THIS IS HAPPENING IN YOUR STATE.

Is this really the best method they can think of for teaching "sequence" to children?

Go here to read the story.

In reading the comments at the bottom of this article, you get the idea of the embarrassment of the citizens of S.C. Considering that 50% of the students in S.C. drop out of school before graduating, you can understand their frustration that their tax money is paying for this kind of teacher training.

And you also see an example of a "brainwashed" teacher who actually believes that Everyday Mathematics raises the bar over other curricula. Any other curricula, according to her, is sub par. She obviously has no idea that college professors have been speaking out strongly for years against using these and other "new math" books.

(The teacher makes it clear that the "dance" number and song aren't actually a part of Everyday Mathematics curriculum -- it's something teachers from all across the country use to teach "sequence".)

Here is another report of this same story.

"New Math" comes to your town?

Oh, my goodness!!! How did I miss this!

There is a wonderful post and thread over on Kitchen Table Math -the Sequel. The post, which is about Everyday Mathematics, is by Barry Garelick, one of the best.

Go here to read the entire thing.

Oh, the teacher's reference manual has a good section on how to use the calculator! That eases my mind greatly!

Remember: Words and promises are not important. Textbooks make claims and promises all the time. The promises of change are just to lull us all to sleep. Then they come back with the same stuff. It's redefined, so that makes it 'not fuzzy". How much of the traditional algorithms are they really including and having children learn and practice?

N.Y. Algebra Test still being reviewed

Evidently the recent results of the Regents new integrated algebra test is causing some worry and it seems people are unsure what to do about the results.

The test was administered in June of this year and was apparently so difficult that a student could get a raw score of only 30 and pass. That's 30 out of 87 points! (I wonder if Medical Schools do that!)

We have to understand the difference in the "scaled score" and the "raw score". Questions on the test are weighted. The N.Y. state Education Department uses a "scale score", which gives students more credit for answering certain harder questions.

When a raw scale is used, there is a low cut off level for passing which indicates the test is more difficult than if there was a high cut off level, which would require more and easier questions to be answered correctly.

According to a report in "The Buffalo News: World and Nation", Jonathan Burman of the state Education Department said the following:

"It takes 30 raw score points out of 87 to get a passing score of 65. Some have said this is too low. But you will find that it was a challenging test and the questions that must be answered are appropriate. Many students still did not pass at that level."

The test is mostly taken by ninth graders.

Of interest is that Westminster Charter School in Buffalo teaches integrated algebra to eighth graders. According to their teacher, Patricia Frey, all 14 of her average to slightly above average students passed the test. She stated that she "did not think the test was all that daunting for pupils who are going to be proceeding to geometry the following semester."

GOOD FOR THEM!!

The statewide failure rate has not been calculated. The test is still being reviewed.

Is anyone out there knowledgeable about this and able to shed further light on what is happening?

Read the whole article in "The Buffalo News: World and Nation" here.

___________________________________________

Think about this -- 30 out of 87 questions is passing, but that's OK because they were hard questions. OK, 30 out of 87 is 34%-35% and that is a score of 65 (because the questions were hard). You see, they can make the questions easier and then raise the number of problems a student must answer. Would that make us feel better? Hmmmm.

I have an idea -- How about teaching the students Algebra and how about starting by spending time in the lower grades teaching them math algorithms and requiring some practice, practice, practice.

Good for you, you 8th graders at Westminster Charter School.

As I have said before, you can make a test say anything you want: Just change the way it is scored by changing the weight of certain questions.

The Purpose is NOT to Get the Right Answer . . .

"The teacher opened her book and read to me that the purpose of the exercise was not to get the right answer..."

I hope that got everyone's attention. Read on to get more information about this quote from a parent.

_____________________________

I was only slightly familiar with the American Policy Center. I had heard the name but that was about all. However, I had never heard of "The DeWeese Reports", nor had I heard of Tom DeWeese, the author. Wow! What a little gold mine I have stumbled upon! I recommend this site to all readers. There are many articles worthy of mention here, but I will reference one that discusses the failures of public education.

Tom DeWeese has an article on "ABSOLUTES" entitled "Why is Public Education Failing?" dated December 17, 2007. In this article, DeWeese addresses the source of the problem of that failure. He discusses restructuring of the classroom, block scheduling, cooperative learning, and individual subjects of Math, English, Reading, and Literature. And his direct quote from a book used in classrooms entitled "The Book of Questions" - - well, that quote will just curl your ear!!

His introductory paragraph follows:

"It's a fact. Most of today's school children can barely read or write. They can't perform math problems without a calculator. They barely know who the Founding Fathers were and know even less of their achievements. Most can't tell you the name of the President of the United States. It's pure and simple; today's children aren't coming out of school with an academics education."

He further states about math:

"Perhaps the most bizarre of all of the school restructuring programs is mathematics. Math is an exact science, loaded with absolutes. There can be no way to question that certain numbers add up to specific totals. Geometric statements and reasons must lead to absolute conclusions. . . .

"Instead, Fuzzy Math teaches students to "appreciate" math, but they can't solve the problems. . "

DeWeese goes on to discuss the social and political issues that are pervasive throughout the texts, leaving little if any room or time for important study of the math concepts and procedures. He states:

"In many of these textbooks, there is literally no math. Instead there are lessons asking children to list "threats to animals," including destruction of habitat, poisons, and hunting. . .

Read the entire article here. It includes the entire opening quote which began this post.

And as you pull up the article, be sure to look for the little "More Articles" button at the top right, where you will find many, additional writings on related subjects by Tom DeWeese and other authors, all of whom are brave to take on the education establishment. I will try to pull some up to my sidebar later.

Making Wise Decisions

Take some time to be educated on some of these underlying issues and sources of problems in public education today. The knowledge we glean from these articles will help us make wise judgments about our children's educations. Our students are not able to make these kinds of judgment themselves, and they depend on and trust us as parents to know what's best and to make wise and sensible decisions for them.

Too Bad: Idaho jumps on the bandwagon for fuzzy math!

The Idaho Statesman has a letter (dated July 12, 2008) in it's "letter to the editor" page about the state's math. It seems that the state of Idaho has adopted "fuzzy math" curriculum, according to this writer. Read the letter here under the heading Math Initiative (You will have to scroll down a little to get to the letter.)

The writer asks the question, "Why do educators ignore the obvious success of other nations to teach math to the masses?" She is also puzzled, as am I, why Idaho is jumping on the bandwagon for fuzzy math when other states are jumping off!

I think I can answer that question. Educators breed more educators in the universities. Eventually, you have enough people being (mis)educated and being told that the "new math" way is the only way students can really ever understand math. It's hard for a person coming through the system to buck the system, if they ever even see the light at all. For a person to make a career of education, especially Math education, he/she is taught so much "fuzzy" stuff, that they might not even recognize "good common sense" when they see it. And when people show them the statistics of the failures across the country, they just shake their heads and put their fingers in their ears! Even when college professors speak out in huge numbers, the "new math" folks turn a deaf ear and continue to peddle their way as the only way. I know because it happened to me. I didn't even get an audience. There is no reasoning in education departments.

I tried to find information about what Math Curricula are being used in Idaho. Anybody out there in Idaho know for sure? From what I've located on the web, it seems that Everyday Math and Investigations are two. Can anyone verify these? Are there others? I want to be fair and list them all!

Division of Fractions, Part 2; Real Life Problems for Division of Fraction Study

The real-world-problem-solving folks think that to study real world problems, the students have to be deeply involved in an hour-long problem solving exercise! Or an all week problem solving exercise!!

The examples of short, real life problems, in this post, are proof that real life examples can be used and are used all the time in a traditional classroom. They are a much more efficient use of the students' time and cover examples that make sense to a student. In other words, students can see and understand how they would use a math procedure (division of fractions) that you are teaching.

Students can not only learn division of fractions in 5th grade, but they can also learn to identify when and how to use that procedure in real life. Here are some examples that make sense to children.

Remember, from my last post, that students are learning how to reword a division of fraction problem, without rewriting it. We want students to learn that for division, we are really trying to find "How many ___'s are in ___?" So we use 3 circle manipulatives for our first example. "There are 3 huge cookies. Each child will get 1/2 of a cookie. How many 1/2's will there be in 3 cookies?" I suggest that you also have fractional pieces for 1/2, 1/4, 1/3, etc., for the students to use. Have the students use the pieces to determine how many 1/2'a are in 3 cookies.

I suggest using whole numbers when introducing division of fractions. Repeat the same idea for a few more "whole cookie" problems. Or use stories for pizzas.

You can then progress to yards of rope or ribbon. "The boy scouts had 5 yards of rope. Each scout needs 1/2 yard of rope. How many 1/2 yards can the scouts get from their 5 yards of rope?" Or for the girls: Each girl needs 1/3 of a yard of ribbon for the project. If there are 6 yards of ribbon, how many 1/3 yards are there in the 6 yards of ribbon.

Using rope and ribbon examples are a little different in a child's mind, and a number line and small yardages are recommended for the first examples.

Back to the circular manipulatives, tape thirds and fourths together to form 2/3's and 3/4's. This can be done ahead of time by the teacher, or students can tape their own thirds and fourths together. Here is a real life problem: If you have 2/3 of a pizza, how many 1/6's are in that 2/3's? Write the problem on the board or overhead using the division sign and have the students reword the problem "How many 1/6's are in 2/3?" Have the students use their fraction manipulatives to solve.

As students work over several days, they will become very quick to reword the problem, and will be able to use fractional manipulatives to demonstrate.

Notice that you are teaching children what division of fractions looks like in real life. This is before we even present the procedure of using the reciprocal to solve the problem.

Fraction rods can be used as manipulatives for teaching division of fractions. Also useful is a product called "Fraction Tiles in a Tray"

Be creative with your real-life stories, and there are so many things in real life that students can relate to. Stories of dividing fruit (apples, oranges) are every day events in my family. There are ample opportunities for homeschooling parents or for parents who are trying to help their child understand and catch up with the concept of division of fractions. If you have 1/2 of a cantaloupe, it's so easy to just discuss "how many1/4's are in this half of a cantaloupe?" If your student catch on quickly, go on to use 1/8's and 1/10's when using 1/2 of a cantaloupe.

Then as students progress to use the reciprocal, to invert the fraction and to multiply to solve the problem, there are different real-life problems which students are now ready for. Here are some examples.

Mother needs 3/4's of a yard of ribbon to make a bow. If she has 16 yards of ribbon, how many bows can she make. Discuss this problem with students. "What are we trying to find?" We are trying to find "how many _ _ _ are in _ _ _?"

It may be helpful at first to start them with the incomplete question, but most students will be able to ask the question because they have learned to recognize what it is that we are trying to find and they will be able to reword the problem. If it were my classroom, I'd have each student write the problem (16 divided by 3/4) and have students read the question out loud, maybe even write the question "How many 3/4's are in 16?" Yes, I know this is writing, but we are not using volumes of paper here, nor are we using an hour per problem. We are practicing and training the brain to think "How many _ _ _ are in _ _ _?"

Yes, 5th graders can learn to divide fractions and they can "see" it and they can understand examples in real life when they need to use division of fractions to solve the problem. Your student is smarter than the "fuzzy math" people think. If your student is struggling to understand, I promise you that your student wants to understand. So, take some time, invest some time, in helping him/her. Practice at home with them -- set aside 15-30 minutes a day to practice on this. They can get it. It's like finally understanding long division! It's liberating!

Teaching division of fractions

In a previous post, I mentioned that, according to the "new math" folks, 5th graders are not able to learn division of fractions. These 5th graders are just not supposed to be able to grasp that concept!!

Now, this is almost funny to me, yet it's sad. Talk about "dumbing-down". That's exactly what this is. Why, I've taught division of fractions for 17 years in 5th grade and students are able to learn division of fractions. They understand it too. And since I rather suspect that "understanding" division of fractions is what the "new math" people really mean, I want to share with you how to be sure that your student understands. It is a procedure that I have used for the last 8 years very successfully. And it is important to "hang" division of fractions to something the student already understands.

If your student is entering 5th grade, he/she may or may not be expected to learn division of fractions. Some curricula (fuzzy, new-math types) will wait until 6th grade because that's when your child can learn it!!

Here's how to guarantee that your child learns and understands division of fractions, whether they are learning it in 5th or 6th grade. Remember it must be "tied" to a previous concept, and that concept is division of whole numbers. If you are helping your child review or relearn "division of fractions" here is what you must do.

Teach your child to reread or (more properly) reword every division problem -- I'm speaking of division of whole numbers.

Example: 12 divided by 4 (Write the problem sideways using the division sign. Or teach your child to rewrite the division problem using the division sign if it is written another way.)

Your child needs to reread/reword that problem as follows: "How many 4's are in 12?" because that is what we are really trying to discover. I show the students that we are almost reading the problem backwards (and we are indeed mentioning the numbers in reverse order). But do not rewrite the problem. It is important that your student see the problem written as a proper division problem as he/she rewords it.

Have your student repeat this activity early on as he/she is learning division of whole numbers. Write a problem. Ask the question, "What are we trying to discover?" Then ask your student to reword the problem. ("How many 6's are in 24?" or "How many 9's are in 63?") Use craft sticks, pennies, or other small manipulative items to work on this if your student needs to "see" it. This rewording of the problem needs to become second nature to your child before division of fractions is introduced.

Using manipulatives can be helpful indeed, but as soon as the student learns multiplication facts, the manipulatives should be used less and less. And the facts need to be learned before division is taught. Remember, Division is the process of searching for the missing factor. So students must know the two factors for 63 (9 and 7), hence learning the multiplication facts from memory is so important.

Do not assume because you have your student reword a division problem a few times that he/she will do it automatically. Practice, practice, practice it. This needs to become a part of your child's thought process every time he/she works a division problem. It will be invaluable later.

Now, when it's time to learn, or review/relearn division of fractions, the student will be used to seeing the division sign in the problem 3 divided by 1/2 and the rewording will come easily. Have your student read the problem "How many one halves are in 3?" Remind your child: "That's what we are really trying to find out, how many 1/2's are in 3." Starting with whole numbers is really smart. Ask your child, "What are we trying to find out?" (how many 1/2's are in 3, or how many 1/3's are in 2)

[Later on you can try 1/2 divided by 1/4 or 2/3 divided by 1/6. Have the student read "how many 1/4's are in 1/2?" or "how many 1/6's are in 2/3's?" ]

Now, hopefully you have some fractional pieces, so that your child can use manipulatives to determine how many 1/2's are in 3 or how many 1/3s are in 2 [or later, how many 1/4's are in 1/2 or how many 1/6's are in 2/3].

Remember the important thing is that students learn to think "how many ----'s are in ----?"

There are so many (real life) problems that we could generate which will show students how we are going to use division of fractions, but I will save that for another post. And it will come shortly. (And by the way, you will notice that we can use real life situations in a traditional classroom without getting bogged down for hours or days.)

Do You Live in a New-New Math City? State?

I've added a new link on the right to help you identify if you live in a "new-new math" city or state. There are even a couple of links with England and Canada.

You also are invited to contact them with information on your city if yours is not on the list. Send them your story, or your child's story.

Head First, Calculator Second

Wow, did I locate an excellent page on "fuzzy math" procedures and thoughts, entitled "Everyday (Fuzzy) Math is Dumbing Down our Children", written by Ian Shapira. You people in Virginia may have already read Ian Shapira's writings.

Some of his observations about Everyday Mathematics follow:

"There is a 23-page chapter that teaches nothing but how to use a calculator." Shapira goes on to explain his own take on why so much space is used for teaching how to use a calculator: ". . . the odd algorithmic methods taught in the book for solving math problems are so confusing and unworkable that the students must resort to using a calculator in order to solve math problems."

"The most surprising thing is that the total number of pages in the book devoted to teaching algorithms using whole numbers is 11 pages! That's correct! There are only 11 pages in a 400 page book devoted to explaining algorithms using whole numbers. Only 3 of those pages offer instruction on standard algorithms. . . . On page 50 the book states: 'Finding a percent of a number is the same as multiplying the number by the percent. Usually, it's easiest to change the percent to a decimal and use a calculator.'"

"The preferred Everyday Math are crutches. The crutches are needed because the students are not taught the standard algorithms. The lack of skill in standard algorithms ends up crippling their ability to solve math problems without their crutches. The EDM crutches become cumbersome and hold children back when they are later exposed to to more advanced math problems. Their crippled minds are unable to sprint ahead in math, because they trip all over the crutches imposed upon them by EDM."

"One of the alternative algorithms that is a standard method taught in Everyday Math was authored by a first grader!"

". . . students are expected to invent their own algorithms. Adding to the silliness, the authors of Everyday Math expect the children to invent their own algorithms before they are taught any standard algorithms."

". . . The Everyday Mathematics advocates admit that the standard algorithms used for the past 100 years are 'highly efficient'. One might ask: If the standard algorithms are 'highly efficient,' why replace them with invented and other non-traditional algorithms? The reason is that the Everyday Math advocates are not satisfied with a 'highly efficient' method. They want the 'most efficient' method. In their view the most efficient method is 'mental arithmetic or a calculator.'"

There is so, so much here to read. This article helps all of us identify "fuzzy math" programs, whatever they may be named. Everyday Math is only one, and they all do their damage. The sad thing is, once the damage is done, it's very difficult to go back and redo 4,5,8 years of damage.

Fuzzy Math -- trying to make math more "interesting"

Here is another "public comment to the national math panel" from yet another college professor and author, J. Martin Rochester, Ph. D.

In his letter, Professor Rochester states the following:

"Fuzzy math . . . has been driven by the same constructivist paradigm and same dumbing-down, populist impulses that gave us the now discredited "whole-language" pedagogy in English. That is, in place of the old maxim 'no pain, no gain,' we now have the new maxim in K-12, 'if it ain't fun, it can't be done.' Under the guise of 'critical thinking' and 'problem solving,' which are ubiquitous buzzwords in every discipline in today's schools, fuzzy math is trying to make math more 'interesting'. . . . The new math deemphasizes and devalues direct instruction, drill and practice, basic computation skills, and getting it right -- getting precise, correct answers. Forget rigor -- the key concern here is to alleviate bordom and drudgery for mathphobes and those who suffer from math anxiety."

Dr. Rochester's letter, short but dead on, is must reading!!!

New Battles Every Year

A few years back, when I first got word that there were math wars going on, it was because a parent told me what she was learning by searching the internet. She had discovered that our middle school curriculum was rated quite low by Mathematically Correct. And why was she searching? Her daughter was struggling through the 6th grade curriculum and she was initially looking for something to help her daughter.

As I searched, I came across "math wars" and "fuzzy math" and "new math" and "new, new math" and were my eyes opened to what had been going on for years in California, in New York, in Illinois, in Plano, in Penfield, in Utah . . . it just kept going on and on. And I realized that I had been in the dark about all of this. That was back in 2004, 2005.

And as I searched to learn what was causing all of the wars, I read about the college professors who had spoken out years earlier, and who were continuing to speak out and who were taking an active part in making known their concerns of what was happening at the universities because of the math taught at lower levels.

I saw what I thought was the beginning of some success in stamping out the math curricula which were causing all of the confusion and problems, and I breathed with a sigh of relief that perhaps things were getting better for those folks who had fought so relentlessly to get rid of their bad math programs, (after, of course, so much damage had been done to their own children).

* * * * * * *

Now I see that "math wars" are springing up again and sadly now another group of students is suffering and struggling in places such as Florida and Missouri.

And now another group of college professors is speaking out against what they see happening.

The "fuzzy math authors" do not give up so easily. They have their fingers in their ears and masks over their eyes. They refuse to believe that their precious, new math curricula are the cause because after all, "research shows" that students need to learn by discovering and investigating, that students remember best what they figure out on their own without any interference from the teacher, that students need to know they are valued.

In a Missourian article entitled "Math Professors Seek Change in State's K-12 Math Curriculum", college professors are quoted expressing their concerns with the state's math standards and the curriculum. Below is a quote from Missouri Univerisity math professor Adam Helfer:

"One of the most painful things for me as a math professor at Missou is to work with students who have native ability in math but are not going to be able to capitalize on it because their K-12 preparation is inadequate. There is just nothing that can be done at the college level to make up for this -- it's far too late."

Another MU math professor, Alex Koldobsky, is also quoted in the article:

"I have been teaching Calculus I for the last few years and I clearly see the deterioration of computational and algebraic skills of incoming freshmen. Instead of working on the concepts of calculus, the majority of the students have to think for a long time about every elementary arithmetic and algebraic step, which at this point have to be automatic for them."

More than 50 math professors signed the letter, critical of the "student centered focus" which dominates the Missouri K-12 standards -- which repeatedly prescribes that students 'explore', 'investigate', 'develop models', and 'conduct experiments'.

Go here to read the entire article, and while reading it, take the time to go to the side link to the 9-page letter (5 pages of which are signatures of college professors) dated May 5, 2008, sent to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

If you live in the state of Missouri your children may be affected by the weak standards and "fuzzy math" curriculum. If you are in other states, you need to be vigilant to what is being taught in your state. This is not going away.

"Fuzzy Math" Faces Revolt in Texas

Because I teach in a private school, this all slipped right past me! I've just discovered that my own state had at one time adopted a "fuzzy math" curriculum, Everyday Mathematics.


I am so proud of the Texas state school board. They have responded to the complaints of many people in a number of school districts, and they have dropped that curriculum. Thank you, Terri Leo and others on the board for listening to parents, teachers, and district board members.

Go here to read the story. Be sure to scroll down and read the letters from parents at the bottom. Thank you Elizabeth Carson for letting us all know who Jesse Arnett is and why he writes with such strong support of Everyday Math.

Here is the story at Edwatch. Scroll through this page because there is so much linked here.

Interactive Concept Development

I'm reading through the Overview and Implementation Guide for enVisionMath, by Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley (Texas). Because I am used to a traditional, instructivist curriculum, where the teacher guides the student step by step through the lesson, teaching algorithms to help students with knowledge and understanding, I just naturally have some concerns. So, how "new math", how "fuzzy math" is this math textbook?

(My principal stated, as she was giving me the materials, that there were many group activities for developing new concepts and I might want to look over them. Hmmm.)

Several things JUMP out at me.

On about every page so far: "Research says . . ." followed by an explanation of what enVisionMath provides. (There are lots of "Research says . . ." explanations.)

I notice that this seems to be TAKS (our Texas test) driven, and I see that all of the 20 topics are designed to be covered prior to the spring date for students' taking that test.

[One of my prior posts (Expectations Need to be Measurable and Concepts Need Time) referred to an article by William H. Schmidt, where he explains that "top-achieving countries" focus on fewer concepts so that teachers can cover them in depth, rather than the many (up to 20) that our country's math curriculum force teachers to cover.]

And I see that these 20 topics are covered in about 127 lessons (so they can be covered prior to the TAKS), some topics being covered in as few as 4 lessons. So some of the topics are small, bite-sized that hopefully are reinforced throughout the year. I hope there is built-in reinforcement. I'm hoping . . .

Uh-ohhh! Here it is! Interactive Learning

Research Says that students learn best when they have opportunities to interact with teachers and with other students. . . [Research says] Problem-based instruction (before making math concepts explicit) enhances learning because it gets students actively engaged in thinking about a problem and shows students that their thinking is valued.

Teachers are instructed to pose the problem, asking students to work in groups on a problem and share their thinking "before receiving teacher guidance that makes the math explicit".

Before making math concepts explicit ???

And I see lots of writing, writing to list and explain the steps you used, writing to explain what you and your partner decided to do to get the answer and why you chose that method.

Oh my!!!

And while these interactive groups are working, teachers are to be making sure that students are discussing what they are doing and that they are using the proper language and vocabulary in their discussions. How on earth can a teacher be listening to 10 pairs of students at one time to be sure they are using proper math language????

This is why teacher directed instruction is so important. When I teach (prior to the group practice) and when I make concepts explicit (prior to group practice), I can also make sure students practice explicit oral vocabulary (prior to group practice).

More later . . .

Why memorize facts?

One day, few years back, my principal called me in to her office. She knew I had been researching "new math" and "fuzzy math" and she had a related question.

It seems that a parent of a younger-aged student had questioned why their daughter needed to learn math facts. The teacher of the girl's class had been working on speed drills for math facts and the father was disputing the need for knowing the facts. My principal wanted to get my take on the subject.

The battle is on-going indeed.

So, is memorization of math facts important? You or your student will be confronted with this dilemma, sooner or later, and we need to be prepared. "New math" tells you your child doesn't need to be forced to do the pencil and paper work of the "drill" of traditional math. Your child needs to learn what "8 X 9" actually means, and he/she can always calculate by drawing groups. But your child will understand how to do it, and that's what is important!

According to an article in the March 14, 2008 issue of The New York Times, a recent report, presented to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (March 2008), addressed the importance of mastering the basic facts.

The report stated that it is important for students to master their basic math facts well enough that their recall becomes automatic, stored in their long-term memory, leaving room in their working memory to take in new math processes.

"For all content areas, practice allows students to achieve automaticity of basic skills -- the fast, accurate and effortless processing of content information -- which frees up working memory for more complex aspects of problem solving," the report said.

According to the NYT, the report found that "to prepare students for algebra, the curriculum must simultaneously develop conceptual understanding, computational fluency, and problem-solving skills."

The report also said that prekindergarten-to-eighth-grade math curriculum should be streamlined and should focus attention on skills such as the handling of whole numbers and fractions.

Read the entire article here.

By even the 5th grade, the number of steps in problems necessitates that students know those facts quickly so they don't get bogged down in recalculating the facts several times while solving the problem.

The above report stated that by 3rd grade students need to have addition and subtraction facts mastered. By 5th grade, students need to have multiplication and subtraction facts mastered so that they are quickly put to use.

So work with your student on math facts. This is one thing students can do over the summer. Practice, practice, practice.