Math Education in Jeopardy

Jay Matthews at The Washington Post wrote another piece about the crisis in our nation’s math instruction under Common Core. In his article he quotes a parent who happens to be a college chemistry professor.  John Fourkas, both a parent and a University of Maryland chemistry professor, said much of the Common Core-based math curriculum seems to him “completely disjointed, focusing too much on specialized vocabulary.” He said there is “not enough repetition of key skills as new topics are introduced.”  “Our son has had the misfortune of being on the leading edge of the reform, and so every year there is a new curriculum with which the teachers are not familiar,” Fourkas said. “Our son is in Algebra 2 this year, and I give them great credit for learning from their mistakes and designing a curriculum that is far more coherent.”  Matthews also discusses parental frustrations with the delay of algebra.  read