The Math Debate: When Johnny Can't Count

A new survey shows three out of four high school graduates aren't ready for college even though they've taken the recommended classes. The problem for many students is math. But math is an issue for teachers too because many educators can't even agree on the best way to teach it. Eleven-year old Rebecca Lucas is a modern-day ice princess. After two years of lessons, she can spin and jump. She's also a talented student. But in the fourth grade last year, she wasn't even sure how to subtract, let alone multiply. Her mother, Nicole Lucas, remembers the stress. "[There was] a lot of crying, arguing," she recalled. "I was pushing her." And there was also the confusion. Nicole said, "She would get lectures from me 'Are you paying attention?' 'Why aren't you getting this?' And then, of course, we find out later it's because she just didn't know it." Rebecca joins countless students across the country whose lack of basic math skills may hurt their college career. That's why one group of fifth-graders is practicing their multiplication. Their immediate reward is a lollipop. But experts like NYU's Dr. Sylvain Cappell say the long-term benefit is mastering the fundamentals. "If you can put aside the technical steps and just do the calculations automatically then you can go on to advanced material," Cappell said. But how much emphasis should be placed on "the basics" versus lessons that emphasize conceptual thinking and self-discovery? That question has been the subject of an almost 20-year math debate that began when the National Council of Math Teachers endorsed so-called "reform math." It began because of a concern about future competitiveness for tomorrow's jobs. Reform math emphasizes hands-on learning and real-world situations. The textbooks are heavy on story problems and light on numbers, equations, and practice sheets for kids. "They need to become engaged. And if they don't become engaged they don't learn, they don't retain it," said Dr. Joseph Rosenstein of Rutgers University. In the last several years, Rosenstein, the council, and others have shifted somewhat, admitting that perhaps schools should focus more on skills such as arithmetic, multiplication, and division. But in many communities from coast to coast, the tide is turning too slowly for parents. Those worried that reform math isn't teaching their kids the basics are waging curriculum battles on their local turf. One of the hottest debates might be in suburban Ridgewood, New Jersey. There, a new superintendent is taking over for a math reformer who left after protests from parents. Opposing a math curriculum may appear straightforward on the surface. But in towns like Ridgewood the debate has become ugly. Parents here who oppose reform math refused to go on camera with us, fearing harassment or even their own personal safety. Ridgewood police are even investigating threats against one family, the Carolls, which has publicly opposed the new math. Kathleen Carroll said, "It's really sad that it's become a big deal. It's very divisive." But long-time New York City math activist Elizabeth Carson says it's no surprise that math is such a big deal. "We're talking about a huge industry that's involved in this reform math, so there's a lot of money at stake, a lot of professional careers on the line," she said. "There's a pride of a school system on the line. In towns like Ridgewood, parents suspect reform math is the reason for booming tutoring businesses. "Most of these kids are average or above average IQ that are coming to us," said Lisa Mlinar of Huntington Learning Center. "They don't tend to get enough of that core skill and drill. They never really master a single subject like multiplication or division before they move on to the next thing." Troubles with math are also surfacing on college campuses, as shown in a new survey by the college testing service act. "Only 16 percent of the kids who took core courses in math are ready for college-level courses," ACT's Cyndie Schmeiser said. Right now, remedial education costs more than a billion dollars a year. College math professors say high school teachers are trying to cover too many different kinds of math and many students don't even know their basic skills. "Many of the students will use calculators in my freshman calculus classes when they really shouldn't. They will use it to multiply two times three," Rosenstein said. With more jobs demanding math and science know-how, the stakes are higher than ever. That's a main reason some math professors worry about reform math. "There may be several generations of students who've been brought through that kind of curriculum who've been told they know math, who've played games with it-all of which is fine-but in the end didn't have the skills they need to advance into the fields that need it," New York University's Dr. Charles Newman said. And that may make reaching for the stars literally impossible. Schmeiser said, "We owe them the education we promise in K through 12, and that is to be ready to go out into the world when they graduate.