“It’s not bad enough that the United States ranked near the bottom of the list. What’s more disturbing is that our students actually did worse than they did the last time the test was given. The results from the first test embarrassed U.S. educators. They discussed plans to do something radical to improve math studies. Obviously, not much happened, because U.S. kids on the latest test fell behind three more countries: Hungary, Poland, and Spain.”
The uproar over the new test results reminds me of the old definition of insanity - you keep doing the same old thing over and over and expect to get a different result.
Some days I don’t know who to blame, although I suppose there’s enough to go around. Many of the math teachers around here aren’t qualified and by the time the students get to a good one they have lost interest.
As some may remember from my previous posts, I do vocational evaluations for a living - testing, vocational guidance & career counseling. If we (there’re five of us in just this one office) hear one more high school or college student say they can’t do arithmetic and that they aren’t enrolled in a math class and that they haven’t been for at least a year or two…well, we’re going to scream.
Okay, my break is over.
John
Re: ABC News excerpt - 12/11/04
Do hope “disaster” wasn’t having the post in the wrong place :-)
Mutual sympathies for the “I just can’t do arithmetic” story. Hmmm…. maybe it’s time to write that grant for the adult numeracy instructional materials…
This was supposed to go under the topic “more on the school math situation/disaster”
Oh, what’s one more disaster.
John