What IS Constructivist Math, or Fuzzy Math anyway?
Constructivist Math is students constructing their own understanding of math concepts. The teacher guides the students as they work together in groups, helping them to develop their own understanding of the concepts. Group work has a huge focus, as does the introduction of using calculators to work out equations, usually in first grade.
At the elementary level, students are not taught division until very late 5th grade, and then the methods used are so confusing as to make the problems tedious to work out, at best. In high school, students are required to purchase and use a TI-84 graphing calculator, rather than learning to actually graph equations. They have become dependent on calculator use in middle school, as basic, core math concepts have been glossed over or skipped all together. Concepts which should come automatically to them are now essentially extra calculator strokes, because memorizing multiplication tables, fraction/decimal conversions, and long division have been classed as "outdated" and "unnecessary".
Reform math, constructivist math, or fuzzy math: No matter what you call it, it fails to provide the instruction that children need in order to learn. State after state, school district after school district, constructivist math has swept in and taken over. College after college, counselors are finding that there has been a huge increase of incoming students requiring remedial mathematics prior to even being able to begin their college level courses! This should NOT be.
At the elementary level, students are not taught division until very late 5th grade, and then the methods used are so confusing as to make the problems tedious to work out, at best. In high school, students are required to purchase and use a TI-84 graphing calculator, rather than learning to actually graph equations. They have become dependent on calculator use in middle school, as basic, core math concepts have been glossed over or skipped all together. Concepts which should come automatically to them are now essentially extra calculator strokes, because memorizing multiplication tables, fraction/decimal conversions, and long division have been classed as "outdated" and "unnecessary".
Reform math, constructivist math, or fuzzy math: No matter what you call it, it fails to provide the instruction that children need in order to learn. State after state, school district after school district, constructivist math has swept in and taken over. College after college, counselors are finding that there has been a huge increase of incoming students requiring remedial mathematics prior to even being able to begin their college level courses! This should NOT be.
A Math Book by Any Other Name...
is still "fuzzy math"
These programs come under a whole host of different names:
* Cognitive Tutor Algebra
* College Preparatory Mathematics
* Connected Mathematics Program
* Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CMIC)
* Discovering Math
* Everyday Mathematics
* Growing With Mathematics
* Interactive Mathematics Program
* Investigations Math
* MathLand
* Middle-school Mathematics through Applications Project
* Number Power
* The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project
* Trailblazers
If you have a child in a school, and they are using one of these programs, you need to seriously consider an alternative!
* Cognitive Tutor Algebra
* College Preparatory Mathematics
* Connected Mathematics Program
* Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CMIC)
* Discovering Math
* Everyday Mathematics
* Growing With Mathematics
* Interactive Mathematics Program
* Investigations Math
* MathLand
* Middle-school Mathematics through Applications Project
* Number Power
* The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project
* Trailblazers
If you have a child in a school, and they are using one of these programs, you need to seriously consider an alternative!
So What Do I Do?
Get Involved!
Your options are few, but the first thing should be obvious.
1. Talk to the teacher. Talk to other parents. Bring it up at a school board meeting, and go up the chain from there. Find out if there are advocacy groups in your district, county, or state, and get involved! When elections for school board members come up, find out who are pro-math, and then work to vote out the others.
2. Consider supplementing. The two most user-friendly programs out there that parents use to supplement for their children are Saxon Math
and Singapore Math. Both programs are solid, based on standard algorithms for problem solving.
3. Consider homeschooling. This may sound rash, but think about it. Your child spends all day at school, and then brings homework home. If you are teaching him math on top of helping with homework, aren't you already homeschooling? Would you prefer to spend the evenings teaching math to a tired child, or cover it in the morning along with all the other subjects, and be done before the neighborhood school kids even get out of school?
4. If you are financially able, you might also consider private school. This isn't an option for most families, but for some it may be the answer if the other options won't work for you.
1. Talk to the teacher. Talk to other parents. Bring it up at a school board meeting, and go up the chain from there. Find out if there are advocacy groups in your district, county, or state, and get involved! When elections for school board members come up, find out who are pro-math, and then work to vote out the others.
2. Consider supplementing. The two most user-friendly programs out there that parents use to supplement for their children are Saxon Math
and Singapore Math. Both programs are solid, based on standard algorithms for problem solving.3. Consider homeschooling. This may sound rash, but think about it. Your child spends all day at school, and then brings homework home. If you are teaching him math on top of helping with homework, aren't you already homeschooling? Would you prefer to spend the evenings teaching math to a tired child, or cover it in the morning along with all the other subjects, and be done before the neighborhood school kids even get out of school?
- In the case of high school, you can usually homeschool for just one class. (This is what I do with my 11th grader.) She takes math by correspondence through a local private school, using Saxon. They are accredited, and her credit will be transferred back to the school at the end of the year, to go on her full transcript.
4. If you are financially able, you might also consider private school. This isn't an option for most families, but for some it may be the answer if the other options won't work for you.
How Do I Know What They Know?
Test your children.
The two most popular programs used for supplementation and homeschooling are Saxon Math and Singapore Math. Both programs have free online placement tests.
Singapore Math Placement Tests- Keep in mind that Singapore's math programs are approximately one year ahead of the U.S., so you would first want to test them one grade below where they are in school. If that test is fine, then test the next grade level up. I wouldn't consider scoring below 80% to be passing a placement test.
Saxon Math Placment Tests:
For Grades K - 3 take the Elementary Grade Math Placement Test
For Grades 4-8 take the Middle Grade Math Placement Test
For Grades 9-12 take (Pre-Algebra & Algebra 1) the Upper Grade Math Placement Test
For Grades 9 - 12 (Alegbra 2) take the Algebra 2 Placement Test
Singapore Math Placement Tests- Keep in mind that Singapore's math programs are approximately one year ahead of the U.S., so you would first want to test them one grade below where they are in school. If that test is fine, then test the next grade level up. I wouldn't consider scoring below 80% to be passing a placement test.
Saxon Math Placment Tests:
For Grades K - 3 take the Elementary Grade Math Placement Test
For Grades 4-8 take the Middle Grade Math Placement Test
For Grades 9-12 take (Pre-Algebra & Algebra 1) the Upper Grade Math Placement Test
For Grades 9 - 12 (Alegbra 2) take the Algebra 2 Placement Test
Amazon
![Primary Mathematics 2A Textbook (U.S. Edition) [Singapore Math]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41MG8ADB0ML._SL75_.jpg)
Where's The Math?
Where's the Math? is the Washington State parent's group. They have worked very hard for change in the state math standards, and for curriculum changes at the district level.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byFuzzy Math Videos
- Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth
- Meteorologist M.J. McDermott presents vivid illustrations of the problems with fuzzy math, specifically using problems and methods from Everyday Math and TERC Investigations programs.
- Math Education: A University View
- Professor Cliff Mass, from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington explains that college students now are much less proficient in math than they were 10 years ago. College professors are now in the position where they need to "dumb down" college math and science courses accordingly. Professor Mass says that the impact of fuzzy math in K-12 is directly to blame.
- Math With Madeline
- Madeline is an intelligent fifth grader who demonstrates how confusing the reform methods are when working out standard math problems.
- NBC News Reports on Fuzzy Math
- Even the nightly news jumped in and did a story!
Concerned Groups & Articles
For more information
I will add as many groups here as I can locate!
- How Not to Teach Math
- City Journal (New York) article.
- Mathematically Correct
- Math Activism group.
- New York City HOLD
- New York actvism group.
- Teach Math Right
- Parent group for Prince William County, New York.
- Weapons of Math Destruction
- Great comics about fuzzy math!
- Fuzzy Math Isn't Cuddly
- New York Post article
by MommaKnows
I'm a stay at home mom who works very part-time as a CNA in a long term care facility.
I have 5 kids at home and 1 grown, and a baby grandson. Our k... (more)
I have 5 kids at home and 1 grown, and a baby grandson. Our k... (more)
