RACE TO THE TOP AND K-12
MATHEMATICS EDUCATION:
A
Letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Introduction
If
a first grade teacher
read at the fifth grade level, we'd be outraged. But what if she had
only third
or fourth grade mathematics skills and lacked the conceptual
understanding
needed for teaching mathematics?
Unfortunately, this is the reality for all too many licensed K Ð
8
teachers in this country.
According to a recent report by the National Council on Teacher
Quality,
the current training that prospective K-8 teachers receive in the vast
majority
of this country's education schools assures that this appalling
situation
will continue unchanged.
We
agree with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's statement:
"... it is hard to
teach what you don't know. When we get to 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, we
see a
lot of students start to lose interest in math and science ... because
their
teachers don't know math and science". For
the United States to remain competitive, every part of K-12 mathematics
education in this country must be strengthened: curriculum, textbooks,
instruction, assessments, and, above all, the preparation and
continuing
professional development of those who teach mathematics and science,
regardless
of grade level and the kind of school in which they teach.
TeachersÕ
mathematical
knowledge is particularly important in K-8, since studentsÕ
mathematical
foundations are built there. The first priority must be rigorous
mathematics
courses for prospective teachers of
elementary and middle school children, followed by state-approved
licensing
tests that fully assess their knowledge and conceptual understanding of
elementary mathematics. We must
radically upgrade the mathematical content of their professional
development
programs as well.
Recommendation
1.
The United States Department of Education should fund only those states
that present a plan to implement the recommendations of the National
Mathematics Advisory Panel in mathematics courses or programs for
prospective or current teachers of mathematics and science in K-8 and
on their licensing (certification) tests. The rigorously researched Panel's 2008 report
advises that teacher preparation programs and licensing tests for all
K-8 mathematics teachers should fully address the foundational topics
in arithmetic (including fractions, decimals, and percents), geometry,
measurement, and algebra that are spelled out in the Panel's report.
Middle school teachers should know more than teachers in early grades. Other professions have state licensing
requirements, whose purpose is to protect the public from practitioners
without entry-level knowledge and skills. Good
grades from law school do not exempt aspiring lawyers from having to
pass state bar exams. Clearly the education of K-12 students should be
considered as important to safeguard as the interests of a lawyer's
clients.
What are
needed are serious college mathematics courses. The Massachusetts Department of EducationÕs
guidelines for the mathematical preparation of elementary and special
education teachers are a step toward describing the content of such
courses. The courses must cover the core material that we should expect
teachers to know in order to prepare our children to compete
successfully in the world economy and to help their students
avoid remedial coursework if and when they
enter college.
Recommendation
2. The programs funded by the U.S.D.E. should
require instructors of the mathematics courses for aspiring or current
K-8 mathematics and science teachers, coaches, and supervisors to hold
a Ph.D. in mathematics or a mathematics-dependent field (or at least be
closely supervised by someone holding such a degree).
All prospective K-8 mathematics and science teachers, coaches,
and supervisors should be required to pass a solid test on the core mathematical material (especially
arithmetic) for licensing. Mathematics
supervisors and coaches should be required to have at least the
mathematics qualifications of those they supervise.
Recommendation
3.
The U.S.D.E., as part of the provision in Title II of the Higher
Education Act, should require each state to report publicly by
institution the pass/fail rates for all prospective elementary and
special education teachers on a mathematics licensure test as demanding
as the 40-item test now required in Massachusetts. This recommendation
is fully supported by the report of the National Council on Teacher
Quality documenting the inadequate preparation in mathematics of future
elementary school teachers in 67 of the 77 colleges/universities
surveyed.
Recommendation
4.
The states funded by the U.S.D.E. should be required to align the
courses in mathematics pedagogy taken by prospective K-5 teachers with
the new mathematics coursework, as outlined in Recommendation 1. Current methods courses too often focus only
on demonstrating how to teach very low level mathematics content.
Recommendation
5. The U.S.D.E. should fund
content-rich professional
development programs for current K-8 mathematics and science
teachers, coaches, and supervisors, and for elementary
and middle school principals.
It should not fund professional development programs that do not
have a significant arithmetic component.
Close
cooperation between teachers
in the field, mathematicians having an active interest in K-12
mathematics
education, and mathematics educators, together with the active help of
government and the business community, can turn our mathematics
outcomes
around, but time is of the essence.
References
National
Council on Teacher Quality. (2008).
No common denominator: The preparation of elementary teachers
in
mathematics by AmericaÕs education schools. NCTQ:
Washington, DC: www.nctq.org/p/publications/docs/nctq_ttmath_exec_summ_20090208042841.pdf
National
Mathematics Advisory Panel. (2008). Foundations for
Success: Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. U.S. Department of Education:
Washington, D.C. www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/mathpanel/report/final-report.pdf
We, the
undersigned, support this letter:
Writing group
and signers of submission to RACE
TO
THE TOP comments section
of the federal
government website, www.regulations.gov/search/Regs;
details
at end.
Richard
Askey
Professor
Emeritus of
Mathematics, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Edyth
May Sliffe Award for Distinguished Teaching
Member,
National Academy
of Sciences
Scott
Baldridge
Associate
Professor of Mathematics, Louisiana State University
Co-author of two
textbooks: "Elementary Mathematics for Teachers" and "Elementary
Geometry for Teachers"
Adviser and
mathematics professor in the Geaux Teach Program at LSU for prospective
middle and high school mathematics teachers;
co-founder of the content-based master's program for mathematics
teachers
Richard
Bisk
Chair
and Professor of Mathematics, Worcester State College
Mathematics
Adviser on Guidelines for the Mathematical Preparation of Elementary
Teachers, Massachusetts Department of Education
2006-2008
Andrew Chen
President,
EduTron Corporation
Member,
Advisory Panel for the report by the National Center for Teacher
Quality on the mathematical preparation
of
elementary school teachers.
Jerome
Dancis
Associate
Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland
at College Park
Member, Content Review Panel for Primary Textbook Adoption
in Mathematics, California Department of Education
2007
Solomon
Friedberg
Professor and Chair, Department of Mathematics, Boston College
Bert
Fristedt
Morse-Alumni
Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics, University of
Minnesota at Twin Cities
Member,
National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2007-2008
Thomas E.
Fortmann
Mathematics Consultant and Educator
Former Engineer and Executive, BBN Technologies
Madge
Rosenbaum Goldman
President,
Gabriella and Paul Rosenbaum Foundation
Roger
Howe
William
Kenan Jr. Professor of Mathematics, Yale University
Member,
International Commission on Mathematics Instruction (from 2010)
Former
Chair, Committee on Education of the American Mathematical Society
Patricia
Clark Kenschaft
Visiting
Distinguished Professsor of Mathematics, Bloomfield College, New
Jersey
Professor Emerita of Mathematics, Montclair State University, New
Jersey
Author, "Racial Equity Requires Teaching Elementary School
Teachers More Mathematics" at http://www.ams.org/notices/200502/fea-kenschaft.pdf
Steffen
Lempp
Professor
of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Co-chair, Mathematics Education Liaison Committee at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison
Supervisor of Mathematics Courses for Elementary and Special Education Majors at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison
R.
James
Milgram
Professor
Emeritus
of Mathematics, Stanford University
Ralph
A. Raimi
Professor
Emeritus of
Mathematics, University of Rochester
Former
Acting Chairman
(twice) of the Department of Mathematics
Former
Associate Dean
for Graduate Studies, and Chairman of the Department of Sociology.
Co-author
(with Lawrence Braden) of two Fordham Foundation
reports on K-12 state mathematics standards
Wilfried
Schmid
Dwight
Parker Robinson Professor of Mathematics, Harvard University
Member, National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2006-2008
Mathematics Adviser, Massachusetts Department of Education 2000-2001
Yoram
Sagher
Professor
of
Mathematical Sciences, Florida Atlantic University
Professor
Emeritus of Mathematics,
University of Illinois at Chicago
Member,
Advisory Panel
for the report by the National Center for Teacher Quality on the
mathematical
preparation
of elementary school teachers.
Martha
Schwartz
Paleomagnetism
Laboratory, University of Southern California
Mathematics
and science education consultant
Member,
California Mathematics Framework Committee 1997
Sandra
Stotsky
Professor
of Education Reform, 21st Century Chair in Teacher Quality, University
of
Arkansas
Member,
National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2006-2008
W. Stephen
Wilson
Professor
of Mathematics and Past Department Chair, Johns Hopkins
University
Senior Advisor for Mathematics, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, USDE 2006
Hung-Hsi Wu
Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, University of California at Berkeley
Member, National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2006-2008
Additional
signers:
George Andrews
Evan Pugh
Professor of Mathematics, Pennsylvania State University
Allegheny
Section Distinguished Teaching Award, Mathematics Association
of America
Member,
National Academy of Sciences
Stuart
S. Antman
Distinguished
University Professor, Department of Mathematics, Institute
for Physical Science and Technology, and
Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland at
College Park
Carlos
A. Berenstein
Professor
Emeritus of Mathematics, University of Maryland at
College Park
Steven
Blumsack
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Florida State University
Mathematics consultant and professional development provider
Khristo N.
Boyadzhiev,
Professor
of Mathematics, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Ohio Northern
University
Ward
Canfield
Associate
Professor, Chair, Department of Mathematics, National-Louis
University, Wheeling, Illinois
Sylvain
Cappell
Silver
Professor, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York
University
Director
of Mathematical Sciences Programs, Faculty Resource
Network
Member
of Advisory Board, Mathematics Museum Project
Jeff
Cheeger
Professor
of Mathematics and Silver Professor
Courant Institute of
Mathematical Sciences, NYU
Joel
M. Cohen
Professor
of Mathematics, University of Maryland at College Park
Larry
D'Antonio
Professor
of Mathematics, Ramapo College of New Jersey
Past Chair, New Jersey Section, Mathematical Association of
America
Jane M. Day
Professor of
Mathematics, San Jose State
University
Bruce T. Draine
Professor of
Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton
University
Member, National Academy of
Sciences
Yakov
Eliashberg,
Herald
L. and Caroline
L. Ritch Professor of Mathematics, Stanford University
Member
of the National
Academy of Sciences
Robert
Ellis
Professor
Emeritus of
Mathematics, University of Maryland at College Park,
Author
of several
mathematics textbooks
Richard
H.
Escobales,Jr.
Professor,
Department
of Mathematics and Statistics, Canisius College
Bill
Evers
Research
Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford
University
U.S.
Assistant Secretary of Education, 2007-2009
Commissioner,
California State Commission on
Academic Content & Performance Standards, 1996-98
Lauretta
Freeman
Education
consultant
Terry Y.
Fung
Associate
Professor of Mathematics, Kean University
Eric
Gaze
Director
of
the Quantitative Reasoning Program, Bowdoin College, Center for
Learning and
Teaching
Dina
Gutkowicz-Krusin
Principal
Scientist, Electro-Optical Sciences,
Inc., Irvington, NY
Co-founder of
Princeton Charter School,
Princeton, NJ
Sheldon Kamienny
Professor of
Mathematics, University of Southern
California
Lisa Graham Keegan
Principal, The
Keegan Company
Former Superintendent of Schools
for Arizona
Semra
Kilic-Bahi
Associate Professor of Mathematics , Colby-Sawyer College
New London, New Hampshire
Donald N. Langenberg,
Chancellor Emeritus and retired
Professor of Physics of the University System of Maryland,
Former Professor of Physics and
Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
Co-Principal Investigator of one
of the first NSF MSP grants
Steffen
Lempp
Professor
of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Co-chair, Mathematics Education Liaison Committee at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison
Supervisor of Mathematics Courses for Elementary and Special Education Majors at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison
Edgar
K. G. Lopez-Escobar
Professor
of Mathematics, University of Maryland at College Park
Joanna
Mitro
Professor of Mathematical Sciences and Associate Dean for
Undergraduate
Studies, McMicken College of Arts and Sciences,
University
of Cincinnati
Advisory Board Member, FUSION Center (Furthering Urban STEM
Innovation,
Outreach and New Research)
Henri
Moscovici
Professor,
Alice
Louise Ridenour Wood Chair in Mathematics
The
Ohio
State University
Charles
M. Newman
Professor
of Mathematics
Former
Director, Courant
Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
Member,
National Academy
of Sciences
Donald
S. Passman
Richard
Brauer Professor
of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin Ð Madison
Kenneth
Ross
Professor
Emeritus
of Mathematics, University of Oregon
Past President, Mathematical Association of America
Albert Schwarz
Distinguished
Professor of Mathematics, University of
California at Davis,
Barry Simon
IBM Professor of
Mathematics and Theoretical
Physics
Chair, Department of
Mathematics,
Caltech
Richard
V.
Snyder
Life
Fellow,
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
Thomas
P.
Walsh
Associate
Professor
of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, Kean University
Editor-in-Chief,
New Jersey Mathematics Teacher
Stephen
Willoughby
Professor
Emeritus
of Mathematics, University of Arizona
Past President, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Past Chair, Council of Scientific Society Presidents
James
Yorke
Distinguished
University Professor of Mathematics and Physics
Chair,
Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland at College Park
This
letter
was posted, in August, 2009, to the RACE TO THE TOP comments section of
the federal government website; the letter was divided into five parts
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